The faces of patriotism in the German model of integration of a multicultural society during the football matches

Abstract

The article presents the question of perception German national identity, being formed in the first decade of the new millennium. In addition to the ongoing debates about patriotism in the German public space, the competitions of German national football team during the football World Cup in 2006, which took place in the Federal Republic of Germany exercised essential influence on the issue of collective identity of German society. The euphoria of those victories was repeated during the World Cup fever in 2010 in the Republic of South Africa as well as the European Championships of2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Football matches drew the world's attention to the German model of integration of a multicultural society. The president, the chancellor, and many politicians across the German political scene joined in the discussion on the need of strengthening patriotism. European integration, which was the substitute of the national pride, lost its primacy to the national community. German patriotism took the economic, social, and athletic faces and for the first time since the second world war, it was free from any negative connotations.