Darn that (West) Germany!

Doubtlessly a response to this blog’s recent trips down memory lane, Team Poland footballers recently spoke a bit about their past history against host and groupmate Germany in a nice article from the Reuters wire.

Polska lost to West Germany in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in 1974 in a soggy hard-fought game media played up as another round of the plucky underdog German vs. the commies. (cf. the Hungary-West Germany final in 1954.)

In fact, the Reuters piece hits high hilarity when summarizing the, ahem, relationship between Poland and Germany the nations. The sports stuff, you guys can read. But this really should be posted here. It’s the funniest thing you’ll see in this blog, i’m sure:

Poland’s post-war generation grew up deeply suspicious of their western neighbours, whose World War Two occupation left one-fifth of its 30 million population dead, millions more homeless or exiled and the capital Warsaw razed to the ground.

The animosity faded in recent years, however, as thousands went to Germany to work or study and Berlin backed Poland’s European Union (EU) membership ambitions.

Now that’s succinct journalism. And in a sports article! Next, Reuters will summarize the history of the Hapsburg Empire and the effects of its dissolution on pre-World War II Europe in sixty words or less, and stick in a wire story about the Austrian national ski team…

Oops. Got off on a rant there. Good piece, really (at least the stuff about the team).