FIFA World Cup: More than a cup

Chennai: “To think of football as merely 22 hirelings kicking a ball is merely to say that a violin is wood and cat-gut; Hamlet is so much ink and paper. It’s conflict and art.” English novelist J.B. Priestley

Priestley’s quote can also be applied to the Fifa World Cup. To say that the quadrennial event is only to decide the best among 32 nations in putting a spherical object into the opponents’ net would be the understatement of the year.

Football is more than a sport because it’s the only common language in a world which is getting increasingly disparate.

By extension, the World Cup is not another tournament to decide the best in the sport. Fifa’s showpiece event can inspire a nation after a war and it can help immigrants assimilate into a new country.

The World Cup can give a boost to a society that had been divided on racial lines. It would be an exaggeration to say that the tournament can cure societies of their ills but the healing touch of the Cup is incontestable.

The success of West Germany at the 1954 World Cup is widely seen as a seminal moment in the history of the country.

West Germany hadn’t yet recovered from the aftermath of World War II when they entered the World Cup in Switzerland.

Their economy was in ruins and self-esteem at its lowest ebb. The Germans hadn’t got an invitation to take part in the previous edition as a punishment for their role in the war that had shaken the world.

No one expected Germany to go all the way across the border. Hungary hadn’t lost a match in ages and they started their campaign as champions-in-waiting. 

An 8-3 loss at the hands of Hungary in the group stage did nothing to boost the confidence of Germany.

Before the same two teams met in the final, the result appeared a foregone conclusion. The time was ripe for the coronation of the Mighty Magyars.  

But Germany had different ideas. Despite conceding two early goals, they fought back as if their lives depended on the result and turned the tables on their fancied opponents.

The achievement of Fritz Walter’s team was a timely tonic West Germany needed to rise from the ashes of World War II. Germans from other spheres were inspired by the triumph which was achieved under a host of hostile circumstances.

The history of modern West Germany can’t be written without a reference to the Miracle in Bern.

The first World Cup in unified Germany in 2006 helped dispel negative notions about the country.

The ebullient playing style of Jurgen Klinsmann’s home team and the superb organisation of the tournament cast a positive light on Germany.

From the most hated team in the 90s to one of the enchanting teams now, Germany have come far.