As the year draws to a close, we take a personal look at special matches from the past twelve months. Today: a thrilling European Championship exit in England’s football temple.
Many years ago, it must have been towards the end of the noughties, I developed a love-hate relationship with London’s new Wembley Stadium. But love-hate is not really the right word. The affection for this special place is too great. It has nothing to do with football. I experienced my premiere at a concert by Britpop giants Oasis.
The Phantom Throw at Wembley
At the time, the Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel had already fallen out, but the band had not yet split up. And so they played the sold-out Wembley Stadium on three consecutive nights. I had managed to get a ticket for one of them. But before the rarely performed live B-side “Whatever” heralded the final third of the concert, I was already sitting outside on the concrete steps. A handful of stewards had fished me out of the upper tier shortly before and escorted me outside. I had thrown a beer mug, they said tersely. My reply that I didn’t drink any alcohol was drowned out by the noise of the guitars.
This June, I returned to Wembley, though not for the first time since then. But again it was a memorable experience. Not so much because of Germany’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of the hosts – you could have priced that in beforehand. But rather because of the circumstances surrounding it. A flight to England for a game with 40,000 spectators in the middle of a steeply rising Corona wave – that was admittedly a mental challenge for me, who had exercised caution in the weeks and months before and was used to ghost games, despite a double vaccination.
Euphoria breaks through the heaviness
The paperwork in the days before did its part. One needed countless documents to even be allowed to board the plane. First in Nuremberg, then again at the transfer point in Amsterdam. In London itself, everything was checked again meticulously by a border guard, friendly but quite firm in tone. I tried to protect myself with two masks. On the plane, in the taxi, on the streets around the stadium. The queasy feeling remained – until pure joy mixed with it in the stands at Wembley Stadium.
The joy of once again being part of a special event in the company of many. The joy of seeing happy faces, hearing chants and watching German and English fans peacefully get close to each other before the final whistle, bawling “Sweet Caroline” together and simply having a good time after the leaden heaviness of the months before.
Don’t look back in anger
Yes, there were a few whistles from the English blocks later when the German national anthem was played. But they came from a minority. They were ultimately background noise to an unforgettable evening at Wembley. Like my ejection from Oasis back in the day. An annoyance, sure, but nothing that could dim my affection for this special place.
I wonder if Joachim Löw feels the same way about affection. Probably not. For the long-serving national coach, the loss to England marked the end of his tenure. But as they say in one of the greatest Oasis hits: Don’t look back in anger.
