Last Thursday (July 7 2016)’s Euro 2016 semifinal match between Germany and France was another memento of the German’s invasion of France in ww2 – the battle of France. I had long to watch this match with keen interest hoping to see a re-ignition of the long time rivalry of this two nations. Never was I disappointed, last November’s friendly that rewarded the spectators with a terrorist attack still roams in my memory like a lost sheep and one couldn’t help but to expect something close.
Believe it or not, this match actually started some 77 years ago when France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939 after Germany failed to yield to a French ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of German forces from Poland. The “French team” quickly gained support from her allies leading to French offensive on September 7, but the Germans had conquered Poland already, so the French forces were withdrawn on September 17.
Prior to this time, the two side had met four times on the pitch in international friendlies between 1931 and 1937 with the German victorious on two occasions including a 4-0 thrashing of France in 1937. The French won one of the two other meetings and the last was a draw.
In a return to the battlefield on May 10 1940, the German launched an offensive operation that forced the allied forces including Britain and Belgium to a retreat. The French were still gathering resistance and momentum when the German forces made a second offensive and left the army crumbling with defeat.
This simultaneous defeat brought France under the German occupation until the re-conquest of the former by the joint power of the allied forces in 1944.
The freed French team battled against the defeated German (now West Germany) again on the pitch twice in international friendlies in 1952 and 1954, and this time it was the French gaining victory with a 3-1 win on each occasion.
The first competitive game between both teams was the third place match of the FIFA world cup in 1958 in Sweden. The defending Champion West Germany was one of the favourite for the competition and made an impressive through the tournament until a defeat by the host, Sweden in the Semifinal. The French triumphed on the pitch once again with a 6-3 win.
The FIFA World cup was followed by six more international friendlies between 1958 and 1980. Two draws, three wins for Germany and one for France.
The 1982 FIFA world cup Semifinal game was more of a battlefield work than of a football pitch. It was a stalemate 3-3 after 120 mins with both teams scoring twice in extra time. For the first time in history, the game had to be decided by penalty shootout. This was why Michael Platini described it as his most beautiful game. He scored his penalty shootout but his team lost to the German this time. It ended 5-4! The French quickly followed this up with a win in an international friendly in 1984.
Competitive action resumed in 1986 FIFA world cup with both teams “clashing” again in the semifinal. This time, it didn’t take long before the Germans defeated their perennial rival. It was a 2-0 straight win. Another friendly marking the 750th anniversary of Berlin ended 2-1 in favour of the celebrant, West Germany.
As the Berlin wall was pulled down, seven more international friendlies between 1990 and 2013 saw the French gaining upper hands with five wins, one loss and one draw.
In 2014 in Brazil, Germany defeated France in the quarter final of the 2014 FIFA world cup and went on to win the tournament, the first world cup victory as Germany (three previous ones as West Germany).
The 2015 friendly was played both on the pitch and on battlefield with the French winning on the former and losing on the latter. The match was overshadowed by explosions outside the stadium. Fans had to stay on the pitch hours after the match until it was safe to leave.
Now you see, the journey to the present is not a matter of 90 minutes but rather long years of rivalry both on the soccer pitch and on the battle field. Last Thursday's semi-final was the first European Championship meeting and it was the first victory against Germany in a major tournament.
The rivalry still continues on the soccer pitch but we hope that on the battlefield has actually stopped.
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