German Soccer Officials Score High
June 18, 2005
As their team was getting dismantled on the field, Greek fans in the stands at Leipzig's stadium Thursday evening were slowly, but surely gaining the upper hand in the party duel against their Brazilian rivals.
The much-hyped Syrtaki vs. Samba matchup was more evident in the stands than on the pitch, where the European Champions lost 0-3 to a far superior Brazil side. More than 44,000 fans, including Greeks and Brazilians from all over Germany, filled the Leipzig stadium with song, chants, and samba for most of the night. Outside, more than 15,000 partied on the street.
"The international soccer family has been welcomed here," said Sepp Blatter, president of the world soccer association FIFA. "You can feel the emotion."
A party, and a safe one at that
The Brazil-Greece matchup has so far provided the best atmosphere of the tournament. But organizers and security officials are just as happy about fans watching the other three games. There have been no arrests so far, and not a whisper of hooligan activity -- either inside or outside the stadium.
"There have no incidents worth mentioning," said a spokesperson at the state police agency responsible for sporting event security.
Granted, many of the countries known for hooliganism -- England and the Netherlands, for example -- are not competing in the tournament. But the opportunity offered by the Confederations Cup to fine-tune Germany's security concept will help police officials by the time the World Cup rolls around next year.
Germans doing what Germans do best
Germany's well-earned reputation for good organization has been on full display so far. Frankfurt's refurbished stadium, which played host to the opening Germany match against Australia on Wednesday, was a building site the day before kickoff. But everything was in place by the time the referee blew the start whistle.
"German thoroughness," was Blatter's explanation.
Things haven't been as thorough with ticket sales -- at least so far. Tournament favorites Argentina played in front of only 25,000 spectators against Tunisia in Cologne on Wednesday. Only 24,000 spectators watched Japan against Mexico in Hanover a day later. Around 540,000 of a total 620,000 tickets have been sold, a figure below the 600,000 organizers had hoped to sell by now.
But as the matches continue to win in importance, the number of spectators will grow, say officials. One semi-final match is already sold out. But fans can still get seats for the final.