If you are not interested in Football Science [1,2], look away now. Normal service will be resumed shortly.
Professor Gary Lineker has an intriguing idea:
“Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and in the end, the Germans win.”
The earliest source I can find for this infamous quote is an article in the Berliner Zeitung from 1996 [3] – in German, obviously. The English original is unfindable at the BBC where it probably came from. Strangely appropriate, nein?
So it’s Germany vs. Italy tonight; glück, buona fortuna. May the best team win (probably Germany).
References
- Hopkin, M. (2006). Goal fever at the World Cup, Nature, 441 (7095) 793. DOI: 10.1038/441793a
- Miller, P.S. (2006). The computiful game, Nature, 441 (7094) 784. DOI: 10.1038/441784a
- Anon (1996). EM-Zitate, Berliner Zeitung
O'Really? 