As Germany goes on to face Argentina in the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals on Sunday, you may have noticed that quite a few of your Tamil friends are truly, madly, deeply in support of Germany. Now this would make sense if the majority of them currently lived there, but they don’t. So why the love? We reached out to a few die hard fans to hear what they had to say.

“Growing up as a child in Germany and Canada, soccer was the sport my parents always watched. It was the kind of sport that had my parents yelling at the TV, always waiting for Germany to score. This soccer craziness passed onto me too. Eventually, it became my favourite sport to watch and the true Tamil German in me always had me screaming and cheering for Germany!”

– Jasica

“My family moved to Germany in the mid 80’s. Living in West Germany at the time my father was amazed at the level of play by the German National team. He was lucky to witness Germany lift their third trophy in 1990. I was only 5 and I can still recollect the joy it brought to not only my father but the other Tamil friends as well living in Germany . Especially after leaving a war torn country, it brought everyone together. After moving to Canada I still represent and support the Mannschaft aka German national team in international play. Nothing excited German Tamils other than waving that flag every 2 years.”

– Jey

“I was born in Germany but that’s just an added bonus. I’ve loved watching FIFA (not a hardcore fan) since 1998 and that’s when I first got to familiarize myself with different players and teams. With Germany over the years, you can see how much of a powerhouse they are. Their team is literally stacked- from having the best goalie, best defenders, best midfielders, best strikers.  I love how each and every one of the players play to win. Unlike other teams that depend on a particular player or couple of particular players you don’t see that with Germany. They play cohesively. I just love how they play. I love how they are such a complete, well balanced team.”

– Suvetha

“I discovered the team during my first trip to Germany in 2000. Although Germany didn’t win that event, I was inspired and in awe of the sheer mastery that star players like Michael Ballack displayed in the matchups. I had never played football for more than fun and with friends, both in India and Canada. As a shocked and easily impressed 10 year old who had never seen this side of the game previously, I promptly started to follow this team at every national event from that day forward.

I grew up throughout my teenage and as a young adult watching players come through the national Deutschland team, bringing their own character and flavor to this game which I had learned to love. Fast forward three World Cups and two European Cups later, and we are at the crossroads of what has been over a decade in the making. A strong and stable national German team which functions akin to a well designed machine. Hungry to win, I’ve shared the sadness and joys of the German team’s highs and lows throughout the last ten years. Today the team has learned from the mistakes and will take the cup on Sunday. I couldn’t be a prouder fan who is looking forward to adding a fourth star on their jersey and looking forward to the well deserved WC retirement of my now favourite player, Klose.”

-Valavan

But not everyone is a fan.

“I don’t get the Germany love (and I was born there!). How many Tamils were flying the Canadian flag during the Olympic hockey finals earlier this year? Wish Tamils would be more patriotic towards Canada, the country that actually treated us better than anywhere else…”

– Sankruthian

Now, let’s see if Germany makes these fans proud come Sunday!