The Berlin Olympic Stadium for the June 15 Sweden v. Paraguay match. Image taken during the warm-ups.

An enthusiastic US supporter before the USA v. Ghana match in Nürnberg

An enterprising lab at RU has seamlessly integrated soccer and science, projecting games on the wall above a hood.

Kevin O’Donovan (far left), his wife, and a few friends at the World Cup. Behind is a USA flag decorated with the name of their New York club team— Barnstonworth Rovers.

I was fortunate enough to have been able to attend three matches in Germany. The Sweden v. Paraguay match in Berlin’s renovated Olympic Stadium was a sight to behold with upwards of 60,000 yellow-clad and partying Swedes who rejoiced into the wee hours following Ljungberg’s injury time winner. The Paraguayans were buoyed by their enthusiastic though severely outnumbered supporters.

Next up, it was USA v. Italy at the Fritz Walter Stadium in Kaiserslautern where the atmosphere was electric. K-town, as Kaiserslautern is known to US military personnel, and its surroundings are populated by more than 30,000 Americans as the massive Ramstein Air Base is nearby. As such, the American presence was strong at the match and helped the US earn a valuable point while playing with sheer grit and determination against a tentative Italian side. That said, heart alone is not enough if you want success on the soccer pitch, and the US lads will have to, as we say over here, raise their game if they want to compete for a trophy in future World Cups.

Finally, on to Nürnberg where sentimental favorites Ghana received generous support from the locals in their 2-1 victory against the US. Unlike the US v. Italy match where I was seated amongst thousands of Americans, in Nürnberg, I found myself in a “neutral” section made up of mostly Germans who opted to support Ghana.

Before I sold the pair for a modest profit to an Englishman, I also had tickets to the 2nd round England v. Ecuador match in Stuttgart. In the months leading up to the tournament, ticket brokers and people like myself did a furious business selling tickets. For those of you who may be curious, some friends who were using scalpers (buying tickets from ticket brokers at the stadiums on the day of the game) on their way across Germany routinely paid from €200–€500 for first round tickets on game day. Most of the tickets were printed with the original buyer’s name, and this information along with each person’s nationality and passport number were digitally encoded into each ticket. The rules were very clear that at each venue everyone would have to match their identity to the tickets in order to gain entry into the stadium. However, the only thing they were concerned about at the stadiums was safety. Everyone and all bags were thoroughly searched and throughout my entire stay in Germany, I observed no fan violence. And I must add that save the sweaty rides on the jam-packed S-Bahn to and from the games, the matches were an absolute delight.

So I’ll go out on a limb here and see how my prediction holds up. Finally, it will be the Klinsmann led Germans who win it all. A Huntington Beach, California resident now, Klinsi played football with an infectious exuberance and he has brought this energy to a German squad that usually is lacking in this regard. His attack-minded strategy takes shape with a core of creative players who feed the Polish-born strikers Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski. Indeed, the duo have scored seven goals in four games and if they continue at this rate the German captain Ballack will surely hoist the Cup on July 9.