ABSTRACT
The 2002 Soccer World Cup in Japan/Korea was full of surprises on and off the pitch. The expectations of the German fans were rather humble and modest due to their team’s poor performances in the qualifying stages. The most startling of these had been the dramatic 5–1 home defeat to England in September 2001. Reaching the final of the 2002 World Cup with a team of unknowns was, therefore, a major achievement and celebrated at home as if the German squad had in fact won this prestigious competition.
