DThe pink and purple jersey of the German national team is, according to DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, the best-selling “of all the away jerseys we have ever produced. I think people just like it because it’s fashionable.”
The German team played in white jerseys for the opening match of the European Championship against Scotland (5:1) and will play on Wednesday (6 p.m., in the live ticker at WELT) against Hungary in Stuttgart in pink and purple. The new jerseys were presented in March. Many saw the away jersey as a possible sign of more diversity. Neuendorf said that the choice of color should not be “overinterpreted in any way. I simply believe that people are concerned about fashion when they wear the jersey – and that’s fine.”
A real eye-catcher. And the jersey too – Toni Kroos in the pink-purple bestseller
Source: dpa/Tom Weller
16:10: Thousands of Turkey fans march through Dortmund city centre
Turkey will start the European Championships on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. The Turks’ first opponent: Georgia. By the afternoon, Dortmund is already full of Turkey fans. Thousands of supporters are in the city and are eagerly awaiting kick-off. They want to walk to the stadium together – despite the storm warning. The police asked people who do not have a ticket “not to take part in the fan walk”.
In sporting terms, the Turkish team around Inter Milan star Calhanoglu is difficult to assess. Their performances in the test matches varied widely. However, Turkey is the favorite against Georgia.
Turkish fans in Dortmund
Source: REUTERS
14:57: Stielike sees parallels between DFB team and Spain
Uli Stielike, former DFB international and Real Madrid professional, sees similarities between the European Championship teams of Germany and Spain. The Furia Roja has some parallels to the German national team, said the 69-year-old in an interview with the Spanish portal “AS”. “There are also three very young players there: Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Pedri. The mixture of good young players with experienced players leads to a balance in the team, which both Spain and Germany have found.” After the two title candidates’ furious opening victories against Scotland (5:1) and Croatia (3:0), Stielike pointed out that neither are under any pressure yet and, in his opinion, will not be under any pressure in the group matches either: “That changes when you get to the round of 16 or the quarter-finals, when it’s all or nothing.”
Stielike was European champion with the German national team in 1980 and runner-up in the World Cup in 1982. The former Gladbach player played for Real from 1977 to 1985. From 1998 to 2000 he was assistant to the hapless national coach Erich Ribbeck. The 42-time national player hopes that Spain and Germany will not meet in a possible quarter-final at the European Championships. “That would be an early semi-final or final. It would be a shame if the two teams met so early.”
13:50: The fan zone in Berlin also closes due to weather warning
The two Berlin fan zones at the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag will remain closed this Tuesday due to the current official severe weather warnings issued by the German Weather Service DWD. The visitors who are already on the green lawn at the Brandenburg Gate fan zone will be escorted off the site by 4 p.m. “We ask everyone to stay safe at home. From tomorrow, Wednesday, at 2 p.m., we will be ready again, especially for the Germany vs. Hungary match from 6 p.m. in both the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag fan zones,” said Moritz van Dülmen, managing director of the organizer Kulturprojekte Berlin:
Due to the severe storm warning, the fan zone at Friedensplatz and the public viewing area at Westfalenpark were closed in Dortmund. Many Turkish football fans wanted to watch their team’s opening match against European Championship newcomer Georgia at 6 p.m. There. Up to 80,000 Turkish fans are said to be in Dortmund, and they wanted to gather in the relevant areas before the match. The meeting points planned with the fan associations of both nations were also cancelled, according to the city. The three other European Championship host cities in North Rhine-Westphalia – Cologne, Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen – also reacted and closed their public fan and public viewing areas.
13:01: Large contingent secures Germany game
The police are deployed with more than 2,500 officers in and around Stuttgart for the second group match between the German national team and Hungary, which is classified as a high-risk match. The respective fan groups are to be strictly separated on the way to the arena and in the area around the stadium, the Stuttgart police headquarters announced on Tuesday in response to a request from the German Press Agency.
There is a “high risk of clashes”. Police forces will prevent disruptions “robustly and with low thresholds”. The match (6 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker) has been classified as a high-risk match by the police and the European Football Union UEFA because of violent Hungarian fans. “We are of course preparing especially for this,” said Baden-Württemberg’s Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) to SWR. A total of around 15,000 to 20,000 supporters of the Hungarian team are expected in Stuttgart.
12:48 pm: “Shit in the brain”
Around 15,000 football fans from Austria made their way to Düsseldorf on Monday. They wanted to watch Austria’s first group match against France in the stadium that evening. But Deutsche Bahn had other plans. BILD reports this. There are currently no trains running between Passau and Regensburg. The route is closed. Buses normally take rail passengers from A to B. But on Monday of all days, the rail replacement service did not work as it should. When the first ICE from Austria rolled into Passau station at around 8.35 a.m., there were no buses waiting there, reports “oe24“ Chaos ensued when hundreds of football fans in red, white and red got out of the seven train carriages and wandered around the station forecourt.
“We don’t know when a bus will come, or how many,” a DB employee is quoted as saying in the report. Some football fans reacted angrily: “You’ve got it all stuck in your head,” one replied. Others took it with humor. “Luckily we’re not playing until 9 p.m.” A time that seemed manageable in the morning, but became unattainable for some football fans as the day went on. The “Kronen-Zeitung“ reports a tour group from Vienna. The men were stranded in Passau at around 9:30 a.m. There were hardly any buses and taxis were only available for a lot of money, they say. At 3:34 p.m. they changed trains in Nuremberg for Frankfurt. The men were still optimistic that they would be in Düsseldorf before 8 p.m. But then they were stuck in Würzburg (Bavaria). The reason: a cancelled train. They were on the road again from 6:30 p.m. They were in the stadium by the 70th minute.
12:03: Tapir Theo is predicting against Germany again
He seems to have something against the German national team: Tapir Theo, the European Championship oracle at the Allwetterzoo Münster, predicts a defeat against Hungary for the second group match. But Theo was already wrong in the first match: he predicted a victory for Scotland.
To make the prediction, the lowland tapir has to choose between cut balls in the national colors of the teams and a neutral ball for a draw. Each ball contains tasty food.
After several laps through his outdoor enclosure, Theo finally ran to the ball with red, white and green stripes on Tuesday to eat – the colors of Hungary’s flag.
Theo has another chance on Friday before the last game of the group phase for the Germans
Source: dpa/Christoph Reichwein
“Perhaps Theo always picks the loser,” says a zoo spokesman. Lowland tapirs have a good nose, but are extremely short-sighted. A particular preference for a flag can therefore be ruled out, it was said.
10:26 am: Willi Orban wants to annoy the Germans
On Wednesday, the national team will play against Hungary. Defender Willi Orban is convinced that he and his team can beat the DFB team. The aggressive defense is “our strength, even against top teams,” the RB Leipzig professional told the “Editorial Network Germany“The big nations are even easier for us. We have often upset the favorites, and we actually did particularly well against the Germans.”
Hungary’s defender Willi Orban during training
Source: dpa/Tom Weller
All games of the home European Championship at a glance:
Schedule of the European Championship 2024 with all results
European Championship schedule as PDF to print