Soccer Rules the Chancellery

When German Chancellor Angela Merkel replaced Gerhard Schröder as head of government last November, many thought that the country was now going to be ruled by a soccer ignoramus.

After all, Merkel is a woman, and females don't really like soccer now, do they?

Sure, German women are world champions in soccer and continue to rank No. 1 in the game. But who could ever picture Merkel donning a fashionable track suit like the one sported by Schröder? Not that Merkel has not been known to wear the odd fashion faux pas here and there, but the former chancellor even had a nickname -- "field" -- as an amateur soccer player and longingly used to watch a couple of guys kicking a ball around underneath his office window.

Frozen behinds

Well, Madam Chancellor seems to have proven that assumption is not the best tactic when judging other people. Since taking office, she's attended several soccer games and in a story in the current issue of Der Spiegel, she outed herself as a someone whose interest in soccer goes beyond the level that's obligatory for any politician and especially the leader of a country that's about to host the World Cup.

"I'm in a no-win situation as far as this issue is concerned," she said, adding that she's been a soccer fan since the age of seven. The fact that she ended up with a frozen behind while watching East Germany play England in Leipzig in 1974 probably also won't help her to establish herself as a serious fan, Merkel apparently told the magazine's reporter before going on to share her analysis of the state of Germany's national team.

Angela's "tip"

Yet -- despite all her expertise -- she's still the chancellor and knows that an objective assessment of Germany's chances can only go so far.

"I have organized my schedule in such a way that I could watch every match Germany plays, including the final," she told Bild am Sonntag tabloid, avoiding the wrath of her countrymen, who will not be quite as lucky -- let alone watch the games live in the stadiums.

Germany's first soccer widower

But there's at least one thing that Merkel shares with most male soccer fans -- the lack of spousal support.

Her husband, Joachim Sauer, a professor of chemistry, is unlikely to accompany Merkel to the games as she tends to be the greater soccer enthusiast in the family, she said.

"He says that the tickets are already scarce and therefore he doesn't just want to come along for reasons of protocol," Merkel added.

Looks like there will be at least one free seat left next to the chancelloress. Any takers?