England fans revel in German defeat, mock Beckenbauer

Jun 18, 2010, 15:13 GMT

Cape Town - England fans, irked by Franz Beckenbauer's negative comments about the English style of play, joyously celebrated Germany's 1-0 loss to Serbia in Cape Town Friday.

The German legend infuriated England when, writing in a German Press Agency dpa column, he accused them of playing 'kick and rush' football in their opening 1-1 draw with the US.

Thousands of England fans - in Cape Town ahead of their Friday evening clash with Algeria - gathered in bars and around a big screen on Cape Town's Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, cheering and applauding when the final whistle blew.

They then quickly turned to mocking Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup as both player and coach.

'He's shot himself in the foot there,' said England supporter Dan Goodson, with a broad grin on his face.

Germany were lauded after their convincing 4-0 victory over Australia in the opening round of games, but a sending off for Miroslav Klose and penalty save by Serbian keeper Vladimir Stojkovic brought them crashing back to earth.

'I'd like to see what he (Beckenbauer) has to say about Klose,' said another England supporter, Peter Lawrence, amid a backdrop of England flags draped from the railings of the upmarket Victoria Wharf shopping mall.

'After they won their first game they were world beaters, they were always going to win,' he added. 'Now we'll see.'

However, not all England fans saw the defeat as positive.

A Germany-England final was a possibility if both teams won their groups, but should Germany now qualify in second place they will face the winners of Group C - which England is still favourite to top despite their opening draw - in the next round.

'It could be a problem,' said Gavin Johns. 'We don't want to meet Germany so early.'

However, the fans agreed the result was a much-needed boost for the travelling England support ahead of the Algeria game, which England need to win to put one foot in the next round.

Germany face Ghana in their last group match, while England take on Slovenia after Algeria.