A triumph for German diversity

I grew up associating the German football team with the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann, Karl Heinz Rummenige, Lothar Matthaus...Unlike the Brits and the Dutch, they were ethnically homogeneous.

But times have changed. Now we have players with names like Özil, Boateng, Khedira, Podolski and Cacau. For more than 80 years, the rules about who could represent Germany were clear and strict. Players had to be German born, of parents born in Germany.

That law was scrapped in 1999 laying the foundation for the current squad. This change coincided by a general relaxation of citizenship laws which offered the prospect of real integration for “guest workers” who created much of Germany’s wealth in the post war days. Half the current squad were either born outside Germany, are the sons of immigrants, or have one non-German parents.

Surely football has on occasions been abused by neo nazi hooligans who see a chance to vent their aggressive nationalism. These types must be disoriented by the success of a multicultural team representing the nation.... Perhaps football is more successful than politics in evoking a new sense of inclusive and playful patriotism. For what does belonging to a nation mean today? What has blood to do with it?

Football shows us that it has a lot to do with shared success, a common venture and a sense of pride which comes from being a citizen of a particular country.