A weekend with Gareth Southgate and friends
England football fans abroad: soft boys playing at being hard men
On the 302 tram to Gelsenkirchen, a grim industrial city near the Rhine, a group of England fans are hammering the ceiling and chanting: “He comes from Barnsley/He plays in blue and white/He hates the Germans/He thinks they’re fucking shite/He’s breaking ankles, everywhere he goes/His name is Johnny, Johnny fucking Stones.” Then the tram pulls up to a stop named after Willy Brandt, a former West German chancellor. Singing about the English centre-back stops and a discussion of German historical trivia begins. “Shame his secretary was a spy,” says one of the chanters, displaying a surprisingly detailed knowledge of 1970s cold-war history.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “England away”
Britain July 6th 2024
- Labour’s landslide victory will turn politics on its head
- The inheritance awaiting Britain’s next government
- The woes of Hargreaves Lansdown, Britain’s DIY-investing titan
- Nukes and King Charles—but no door key
- A prime minister, a plotter and others say farewell as British MPs
- A weekend with Gareth Southgate and friends
- What now for Britain’s right-wing parties?
From the July 6th 2024 edition
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