CHENNAI: As another familiar wave of Germany attack overpowered the Indian team in their daze in the semifinals of the junior men's World Cup on Sunday, all the noise at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium came from a small pocket. A small army of supporters were either banging some makeshift drums or whistling to their hearts content.
Even as the majority of spectators wore expressions that wouldn't have been out of place at a poker tournament for the majority of the game, this small section created quite the din. The only time they had stopped making noise was when the match was over. When they weren't busy banging their musical instruments, they were jiving to Tamil numbers the DJ had played during breaks in play.
The source of their happiness lied in watching their sons, brothers or boyfriends tear the home team apart. Even as the hosts' dream lay in tatters, for the 50-strong German contingent — mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and girlfriends — this was going to be a special night. "There are 50 of us here," says Martin Steinebach, Ferdinand's father. On the field, Ferdinand has emerged as one of the key performers for the junior set-up. Off the field, Martin has ensured his son doesn't have to worry about anything. "I have come from Cologne for the World Cup. Really overwhelmed by how well the tournament has been organised, also have to appreciate the crowd tonight (Sunday). I hope the crowd cheers for us against Spain on Wednesday."
A lot of families have travelled to the junior World Cup (Spain, the other finalists, will also have a contingent in the stands) but nobody has travelled like the Germans. "Among us, there are parents, siblings and girlfriends," Martin says. "I started planning for the trip in August but I booked my tickets and stuff when I knew for sure when my son would be part of the team."
Even though the families planned individually, there was always going to be a sense of collectivism between them. They sit together and have done some shopping and sight-seeing together. It's normal because they do have meet-ups around their sons' hockey activities in Germany as well.
If Martin, who works in banking, has had to take off from his work to make this possible, the Wex family have used the tournament to have a mini family reunion of sorts. While the parents flew from Germany to watch Titus score in their 5-1 win over India, their other son joined them from New Zealand where he's currently studying. "We are from Hamburg," says Carsten, Titus' dad. "Hockey has brought us all together." Post the World Cup, dad and mum will leave with their other son — Emil — to New Zealand. "It was great to watch Titus score today (Sunday), very proud of him," Emil says. "We have been here for a few days now. We will be staying till the final now and then leave."