Here’s a report from Bloomberg News about the multi-generation "assimilated" Turkish population of Germany, and the World Cup. It seems that they don’t think of the German soccer team as "their" team, but support the Turks:
, where he has lived all his life. When it comes to soccer, he roots for Turkey.
''It’s all about heart, blood and passion,'' Abay, 28, said over a glass of tea in the Internet cafe he co-owns in Kreuzberg, a predominantly Turkish neighborhood. ''I’m preparing myself for defeat though, which is kind of symbolic of Turkish life over here.''
Germany plays Turkey today in the first semifinal of the European Championships, the continent’s most prestigious soccer tournament. With as many as 3 million ethnic Turks living in Germany, or about 4 percent of the population, fans' divided loyalties are deepening the divisions in German society.[More]
Samuel Huntington mentions this in his book Who Are We as an example of the problems caused by mass immigration from Mexico.
Obviously, there’s a difference between the two cases — Germans take soccer very seriously, whereas Americans only notice it when the American team wins, or when something unusual happens. But the underlying problem is similar: the Prime Ministerof Turkey, channelling Vicente Fox, told a Turco-German audience in February that assimilation was "a crime against humanity."
