Football as integration-helper

Today (14:45 EDT/20:45 CET) is the third match in the Euro Cup qualifying stage. Germany's in group A with Belgium, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Austria and Turkey.

They're playing Turkey in Berlin. Much ado has been made about whether it will really be a home match for the Germans -- a lot of Turkish people live in Berlin and are expected to turn out at the stadium to support the Turkish team. It's going to be an interesting match: the player who was key to our success in South Africa, Bastian Schweinsteiger, is out with a torn ligament in his foot. Still shaky is the left back position; Boateng and Westermann are both candidates for the spot, though it's neither of their best position. (And Badstuber may be better as center-back than left-back; we'll see how he does there. Arne's still recovering from his back surgery.)

A lot of the usual league-toppers are having problems so far this season. Bayern's off to their worst start ever, with many key players (like Miro Klose) off form. Schalke, GK Manuel Neuer's home club, is down in 17th place, right above Stuttgart in last. The media are talking up a crisis for Bayern. There could be a bit of World Cup factor involved: half of Jogi's starting XI play for Bayern, so they're tired from working while their teammates had a bit of a break.

One thing that's heartening, at least, is that no matter how crappy they're doing in the clubs, Klose and Poldi have always been able to shape up for national team matches. Basti's absence will be felt, though; he's very good at directing play and holding the team together. He's also the best defensive midfielder we've got; the others are likely to wander forward, as attacking midfielders (Özil, Müller, Khedira).

Football, culture, and politics

There's a lot of talk about Mesut Özil in this. He's a third-generation German-born Turk, and he chose to play for the German national team over the Turkish, while the other Bundesligisten of German heritage chose Turkey. Özil said that for him, there was never any question that he would choose the German team. He grew up in Germany, and he feels comfortable there.

Hamit Altintop criticized Özil for choosing Germany over Turkey, suggesting that he made the decision on which team would best advance his career and that Özil wouldn't be playing for Real Madrid now if he'd chosen Turkey instead.

On several occasions, Özil was asked whether he thought football was important for integration. He's been asked so many times, he has an answer memorized: we always had multi-culti teams, and we always got on well together.

Another player with a "migration-background" is Sami Khedira, whose mother is German and father is Tunisian. In a press conference yesterday, he was *also* asked about his decision to choose Germany over Tunisia and about football as integration-helper. He said he goes to Tunisia every year to visit family ("it's also a beautiful vacation area") and feels close to his Tunisian roots, but "I was born in Germany. I grew up in Germany. I consider myself German. I *am* German."

I'm getting tired of hearing the question be asked. I can't imagine how tired those two are.

Earned victory

Germany 3:0 Turkey

The first goal (42 minutes), scored by Miroslav Klose, was... lucky isn't the right word, since all goals require a bit of luck. Müller shot a header, which Demirel cleared into the left post, and Klose headed in on the rebound.

The second goal was from Mesut Özil, and he had some clear mixed emotions. Yesterday in interviews, he said he'd do his best to score. Today, every time he had the ball, the Turkish fans in the crowd booed. It didn't seem to keep him down, because in the second half, at 79 minutes, he broke away and kicked the ball into the back of the net, just past Demirel's foot. His celebration was subdued, with some high-fives and hugs around.

Klose netted the third goal (87 minutes) right between Demirel's feet. Polish-born Klose is now the 4th most capped German international (104), surpassing Beckenbauer, and the 2nd highest goal scorer (57), right behind Gerd Müller.

In interviews after the match, Klose said there's a huge difference between Beckenbauer and himself (Beckenbauer is one of the most revered names in German football). He's very humble, which is rare in sports stars, especially talented strikers. He also said he asks himself all the time why he can score for the national team but not for his club, FC Bayern. Maybe there's a tiny bit more luck with the nationals, he said.

It was a good match, and the boys showed confidence. For Bayern fans hoping their team will turn around, that could be a good sign that they're getting their game back together.