Hurt crowd cheer Germany to title

 

The crowd was hurt and angry after India’s semifinal defeat and the subsequent behaviour of a few Pakistan players. And they made it obvious which team they were going to support as soon as the Germans walked on to the blue turf. Chants of ‘Germany, Germany’ were interspersed with wild roar whenever the German players, completely taken aback by the support, waved to the stands.

 

Then Pakistan entered and the east stand, above the teams’ sitting area, boomed with an even louder roar. It spread across the whole stadium. The spectators were not going to play the generous hosts anymore. They were going to make the conditions unbearably hostile for Pakistan. German Captain Moritz Furste picked up on the tension and saw it as an advantage. One of the cleverest players in world hockey right now, Furste charged up the crowd just before the starting whistle. He waved passionately. The crowd responded. For the next 60 minutes, Germany was going to be the home team.

 

A few minutes ago, India had lost to Australia. The crowd wanted a happy ending. And the dependable Germans provided it in commanding fashion.

 

Throughout the match, Furste made sure that his antics kept the crowd charged, though he didn’t need to. The crowd lifted every German attack with a wave of deafening cheers and snubbed every Pakistan move with crushing boos.

 

It worked. The match was 99 percent Germany and 1 percent Pakistan. It was just that Germany missed innumerable chances, at least 10. But it didn’t really matter in the end as they defended the lead with great authority. Christopher Wesley scored the first in the 18th minute before Florian Fuchs made it impossible for Pakistan to make a comeback with a precise finish, which went in off the far post, in the 57th minute.

 

In the end it didn’t matter for the crowd that Germany had won their 10th Champions Trophy title. The win was not about numbers or records. It was a balm that soothed the hurt.