Euro 2008: Germany, Turkey and a Conflict of Loyalties

Travel Blog  •  Elyse Franko  •  06.26.08 | 4:41 PM ET

imageI spent the latter half of yesterday afternoon watching the Germany-Turkey Euro 2008 match in a Washington, D.C., bar with a bunch of Turks while maintaining a text message conversation with a German friend. It was an odd situation for me. I’m neither Turkish nor German, but I’m a self-proclaimed Turkophile with deep-seated connections to Germany. Being that I’ve spent two years out of the last five living in Germany and only five months in Istanbul, it would seem my loyalties should be painted black, red and gold. But it wasn’t so clear cut.

I’m by no means alone in feeling conflicted. Turks in Europe have had difficulty deciding whom to support in this Euro Championship—the old country or the new? As Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday, German integration policies—which until 2004 did not automatically give German citizenship to German-born children of foreign-born parents—may have led some German-born Turkish athletes to play for Turkey, thereby posing a threat to the German national team. Hamit Altintop, who’s one of the Turkish team’s strongest players and normally plays for the German football club Bayern-München, played against several of his German teammates, including Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Anyway, I showed up in red and white. My German friend indignantly told me in a text message that I was a traitor. (“You’ve lived in Germany much longer! Put on black, red and gold right now and start some fights!”) But here are a few reasons for my decision:

1) At the beginning of this tournament, no one imagined that Turkey could come this far. Many of the team’s key players have been injured or red-carded and they’ve still played fantastically. They played yesterday without starting goalie Volkan Demirel and forward Nihat Kahveci, who scored two goals in Turkey’s game against the Czech Republic.

2) I would have loved to see a Turkey-Russia final, just to stick it to the EU.

3) I lost all respect for Michael Ballack when he began advertising for a German McDonald’s product called the “Big Tasty Bacon” in 2005.

After Philipp Lahm scored the winning goal for Germany in the last minute of the game, it turned into a somber afternoon for just about everyone in the bar—except for the Turkish girl sitting next to me, who’d apparently had her own inner conflict and was rooting for Germany.

Related on World Hum:
* How World Cup Losers Explain the World
* Soccer, Football or the Beautiful Game (Call it Whatever You Want): Three Great Books
* Early Morning with the Orange Army

Photo by Elyse Franko

Tags: Europe, Germany, Turkey

Elyse Franko is a Long Island native, a graduate of the American University School of Communication in Washington, D.C., and a former World Hum intern. During her time at university, she wrote and edited for several campus publications and fostered her love for traveling by spending time abroad in Istanbul, Turkey, and Berlin, Germany. She currently works as a teaching assistant in Vienna, Austria.


8 Comments for Euro 2008: Germany, Turkey and a Conflict of Loyalties

Julia 06.26.08 | 5:59 PM ET

Hey Elyse- where are you watching these games in DC? I ‘ve got to catch a couple this weekend.

Elyse Franko 06.26.08 | 6:13 PM ET

At Leftbank in Adams Morgan. I will probably be there on Sunday to watch the final. I believe Fado Irish Pub in Chinatown also plays them.

Terry Ward 06.26.08 | 6:42 PM ET

Go Germany! I land in Hamburg on Sunday at 3PM, just in time to see the final. Can’t wait.

Barbara 06.27.08 | 7:14 AM ET

I was there with my 11-year-old son. When ESPN had technical difficulties and could not broadcast several times during the match, and commentators said this was happening to broadcasters all over the world, the restaurant would switch to another channel and we’d watch the game in Turkish.

At the end of the game, a fellow at the next table cried. (Yes, I told my son, soccer makes grown men cry.) Then the fellow pulled himself together said he was proud that Turkey did so well. (They were down nine players.) I thought Turkey really outplayed Germany. How many shots on goal did they have? Did you happen to notice there was a man working at LeftBank who looked just like one of Turkey’s players, I didn’t catch his name, #9? Several Turks and I had a good laugh over the resemblance.

I agree, a Turkish-Russian final would have been interesting.

Open City in Woodley Park might broadcast the match. The Diner in Adams Morgan, too, but it doesn’t have a large-screen TV. The match will be shown on ABC, so you can watch it if you don’t have cable.

Elyse 06.27.08 | 9:53 AM ET

I agree. After the first goals had been scored by each team, Turkey kept the ball near the German goal for almost the entire match.

As for the guy who works there, I think he looks like Semih Şentürk. At least, I’m pretty sure that some guys on the other side of my table were laughing and calling him “Semih.” I guess it’s an ongoing joke with every Turkish football fan that goes in there.

Barbara Benham 06.27.08 | 4:07 PM ET

I would think so. It was a great place to watch a great game. Here’s to Sunday’s match!

Susanne Hamburg 09.28.08 | 9:06 PM ET

Hi Elyse,

I can understand your feelings about being pulled apart. I myself lived in various countries in Europe and even down under, but the home is where the heart is right?

As for Ballack, I can’t stand the guy, he is obnoxious and rude.

Bayram Turlari 10.08.08 | 12:53 AM ET

To be honest, Turkey has very good football teams and a far a I know their biggest coaches are European, Romanian, to be more specific. They’re doing a great job! I love watching their game.

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