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Anorak News | Three World Cups & One World Pope

Three World Cups & One World Pope

by | 14th, March 2006

‘THE best football chants are the spontaneous ones.

‘Inger-world. No. Inger-place. Not that. How does it go?’

The “Let’s all have a disco” England rallying cry of World Cup Italia 1990 was one such moment when fans got it right. “Inger-land, Inger-land, Inger-land” is unequivocal in it intent, but fails to lift the spirits.

Of course, the Inger-land chant will still be sung at this summer’s World Cup. And fans plan to sing renditions of those other mainstays of the England songbook – Two World Wars And One World Cup and the one about the Ten German Bombers. They will want to humm the Dambusters theme.

But if England fans stick with the tried, trite and tested, humour – the essential ingredient in determining the success of the unrehearsed chant – will have to come from the opposition.

Germans might like to counter with chants about “Three World Cups and One World Pope”. And before you say Germans don’t have a sense of humour, that ditty was coined by Henning When, a German stand-up comedian.

But not helping England’s lyricists is the news that they must not mention the war.

The Telegraph reports that Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, wants England’s travelling fans to obey the local laws – and that means no goose stepping and no wartime songs.

There is a certain irony that England fans are also discouraged from chanting Sieg Heil and giving the Nazi salute – some England supporters have been known to engage in such antics without any humour.

Says Clarke: “It’s not a joke, it is not a comic thing to do. It is totally insulting and wrong. The German authorities will have my full support in enforcing this law.”

He goes on: “Anyone who thinks it’s entertaining to get involved in this sort of thing, I absolutely urge them not to do so.’

Although if England do win the World Cup, an outburst of two World Cups and one World War should not be condemned out of hand…’



Posted: 14th, March 2006 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink