Qui ne saute pas ...

A wonderful night in Hannover with France beating Spain 3-1 with the last goal from the god Zizou. The french crowd went crazy, including me (as you can see, I have been influenced by the Argentine fans).
It was also a day of encounters, first with Asterix and Obelix (he had to leave his menhir at the security gate). Right after the game, I met my messiah from Japan: i had an England-Portugal ticket which I gave him in exchange for France-Brasil. And later that night, I bumped into Frank Ribery's cousin wearing the same shirt his cousin scored with. The train ride back home at 3am was very patriotic. Allez les Bleus. Bring on Brasil...

Te quiero mas

If you're a football expert, you would have heard of the Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires.Well although I was in Leipzig in former East Germany, it felt like being smack in the middle of the Bombonera. A few hundred macho gauchos put the place on fire: they sang the same song for 3 hours non-stop, standing up, and waving their shirts. And Diego Maradonna was doing the same but in the VIP section.After the game, Quilmes, an Argentinian beer brand, had put up a back-at-home party where they kept singing until the sun went up. The last line of that song is "Each time, I love you more" and I can´t get it out of my head.

Viva Mexico

The game Argentina-Mexico was like travelling to Latin America for a few hours. They were more Mexicans in the stadium but the Argentinians were much louder with their crazy fans (see next story). And I was in the middle of them insulting each other ;-)
Mexican fans are adorable and love their team like you love a family member. They come dressed in style and there are as many women as men. And to spice it all up, a fan in front of us asked her girlfriend to marrh him at half-time when he popped a ring. The family cried and we all cheered Mexico Mexico Ra Ra Ra.
Later that night, the Leipzig train station was like a battle field. Good night Mexico and see you at the next World Cup.

At night...

So when the game is over and your next train is not before 7am the next day, the best thing to do is to discover Germany by night. And the good news is that you find caipirinhas everywhere.

And if you think it could be better, you can always set up your own band with friends to roam the town. Meet 'Feijoada Completa': the band which brought samba to the streets of industrial Dortmund (people actually thought we were really from Brasil and we were even interviewed by German TV).
I love how late night is special wherever you go. You meet the weirdest people at the most unexpected places.
You can even meet people from beyond the grave (Karajan in this case)

France wins

Germans are funny (and creative)

I have to admit this was even a surprise to me, but they are funny indeed. For example, before the Germany-Sweden game, a journal shows how to handle Swedish things (dedicated to all of you who have spent countless hours at a famous swedish shop).

All over Germany, any bar shows the games but this one has karaoke commentators...
They even have special jokes for Armenian people.
And of course, if you drink too much (like everybody here for the last 3 weeks), you need nice comfortable toilets. All men have dreamt of it, but the Germans did it: a wall cushion to rest your head.
With your head rested, the next step of course is to score a goal (I´m good at it ;-)

A work of art

The Arena stadium in Munich is really a work of art. It might look like a Michelin ad, but it is modern design at its best.Needless to say I was impressed

My brother goes loco

Well he just watched Spain trash Tunisia, so Viva Espana !

Go Korea

So France did not manage to beat Korea. Not on the pitch nor in the stands where the Koreans kept shouting Korea Korea until you dropped dead and decided to buy a Hyundai. The French fans were feeling good before the game (aperitif time)... ....but Korean tigers can not be tamed
So would this be Zidane's last game (hope not) ?

But what about the Dutch?

They're not bad either.

A lot of common things with the Swedes (they're good looking, they like the same style of pop music) but the Dutch have a twist which can not be described...

It starts with the wooden shoes and the attire that goes with it.

It continues with the funky hairstyles

And of course, they are cocky ;-)

Who are the best fans?

A strong contender are the Swedes.First of all, they're gorgeous. Second, they sing all day & night (although their musical taste is stuck on Abba). Third, they drink like you can never drink. And fourth, they're the smartest blondes you'll ever see.

Hommage

To the humble security guys who can never see one second of action as they have their backs turned to the game.
To the Japanese football maniacs who travel around the globe and spend a fortune in black market tickets.
To all the fans who stayed under the scorching sun for hours for the last week.

The rain in Spain...

No rain for sure in the next game: Spain-Ukraine in a 35 degres Leipzig stadium. Plenty of goals and Viva Espana chantings as Spain crashes Ukraine 4-0. The Ukrainian star Shevshenko could not help his team. Maybe they should have trusted Brice de Nice instead (French joke)