England versus Germany: On Tommies, Krauts and Footie Foes Anglo-German relations and discourses of national character in English and German press coverage of football games between these countries

Abstract

This study sets out to explore in which ways, to what extent and for what purposes the media both reflect and promote - and in some cases even revise - representations of national character. By analysing German and English press coverage of football games between these two countries, I want to shed some light on the relationship between the stereotypical 'Tommies' and 'Krauts', their mutual prejudices and issues of national identity. For each game, at least two German and two English newspapers are examined, one 'tabloid' and one 'broadsheet' paper, respectively. Four games of the years 1966, 1990, 2001 and 2007 have been picked for analysis. These are not only important in a purely sporting, but also in a broader historical and sociological context, which is also taken into account in this multidisciplinary approach. Through a chronological evaluation of coverage of the games in question, it is possible to trace some of the changes and developments in discourses of national character and Anglo-German relations. The methodological approach chosen here is that of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA).