Football fans in the Asian continent would rather go a month without sleep than actually miss a single match of the FIFA World Cup 2014. In the city, public viewing stations have been set up at the Vanchiyoor junction, for instance, and also by foreign cultural centres. The Goethe Zentrum has been decked up since day one, with a papier-mâché replica of the trophy near the entrance flanked by German tricolour flags.
While the German Cultural Centre has been screening every match at its amphitheatre, the one on Thursday is special. It is Germany vs. United States of America, the final of the group stage matches for Joachim Loew’s side and a high-stakes one for them since they failed to defeat the spirited Ghana team on Saturday and secure a spot in the round of 16.
The football frenzy at the cultural centre has even caught the attention of Jörn Rohde, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bangalore. He will fly in for the special screening along with his wife, Sonia Lapointe. “I had sent him a report about the kind of reception the screenings here have got and the fact the Kerala is more a football than a cricket-obsessed region and he had to see it for himself,” said Syed Ibrahim, Director of Goethe Zentrum.
People can still get free passes from the centre.