First Layla ran, then Laola waves splashed: Impressions of the mood at Germany’s World Cup opener against Japan.
The German national team’s first World Cup group game hadn’t even started when the DJ in the party zone in front of the Khalifa International Stadium was already talking about an early farewell. “No, man. I don’t want to go yet. I want to dance a little more,” came the deafening volume of the speakers about four hours before kick-off.
As if the DJ had had a premonition, Germany then lost 2-1 to Japan. On the second day of the game, a win against group favorites Spain will almost certainly be needed to avert the end of the group stage. Otherwise Germany really has to go, otherwise the football dance of the DFB team in Qatar is over.
As a neutral observer, you remained undecided about what was more absurd: how Germany gave a sovereign 1-0 lead against Japan in the final phase? Or the scenery in front of it in the party zone?
“No, man” was just one of numerous highlights of an all-round curious playlist, the elements of Ballermann and RTL-“Schlagernacht des Jahres” cleverly combined. It is unclear how the DJ’s song selection came about. Was she officially recommended to him by the German side? Did he just google “party hits germany”?
Playlist in front of the stadium: Ballermann and Schlager night
As a reminder: Before the controversy surrounding the World Cup in Qatar, the question of the raison d’être of this song by DJ Robin & Schürze dominated the national headlines for days.
By the way, the German fans largely owed what the German songs managed to do: create a good atmosphere. They were clearly inferior to the Japanese not only numerically, but also acoustically. Due to the human rights situation in Qatar, the circumstances of the award and the high travel costs, only around 7,000 to 9,000 Germans are expected in Qatar for the entire tournament – at least as many Japanese were in the stadium on Wednesday alone.
The hard Japanese core formed as a blue block behind a goal and convinced with constant singing. From the black-red-gold side, after a collective flag-waving, there were only isolated calls of “Germany, Germany, Germany” and a few attempts at Laola. Despite loud countdowns, the waves lapped rather than sloshed.