André Maia, sent to Munich

Anyone passing by the shy Trautenwolfstraße street in Munich would never imagine what was happening a couple of meters underground. The façade of the Shamrock Irish Pub is deceptive: from the outside all you can see are the tables on the terrace and a small atrium. But it’s when you go down the stairs where the magic happens. This typically British pub is underground, but lets emotions fly outside. Even more so in the case of football and the Scots. The noisy Scots. From the Fröttmaning subway station to Giselastraße, they were the ones who livened up the entire route.

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“Without Scotland there is no game” either “I can dance, dance, dance” They were some of the best hits that were sung – or shouted –, leaving the Germans small. But that was just off the field. Inside, it was a different story. But here our story doesn’t have so much to do with football. It’s about seeing it. And we saw this Germany-Scotland in Munich, but in a Scottish house, in a pub. And let’s be honest: is there a better place to watch a Scotland match than a pub? Not even in the stadium. That is to say, there are those who do not think the same.

Scott, the man who bought a ticket but never received it

There is unhappiness in life. And among the least important things you have, perhaps giving hundreds of euros for a ticket to a Euro Cup match, paying for the trip and then not entering the stadium is at the top. That’s what happened to Scott. Coming from Edinburgh he was left burning because the ticket never arrived, despite having bought it. “It was supposed to be there, but it wasn’t. “I came to Munich to be closer to the team and now I watch it on television.”he says with his head down (just for the entrance, because it was still 0-0 here).

Wirtz, the priceless phenomenon (literally): who scored the first goal of Euro 2024?

And why a pub that replaces the stadium? Obvious. “We always feel more at home. We are used to this. I wouldn’t choose any other place to watch the game. Without being the stadium, of course”, she tells us out loud, muffled by the sound of the speakers connected to the television, without taking her eyes off him at any time. But it’s not like she exactly expected to lose a Scotland goal, especially since Scott was one of the few pessimistic (realistic?) Scots we met: “My expectation is that we get a point in the group. Just one point. But we can pass. Because we can even beat Switzerland and Hungary. But I think we just want to make a point.”

In the end, Scott was closer to getting it right and suffered a double disappointment: He didn’t go to the stadium (despite having paid) and was still beaten. The beers were worth it, which guarantees that they were good.

How many beers have we had? “We’ve already lost count!”

Jarett and Xander entered the pub with the game already underway and out of breath. They were in the center of Munich until the start of the match and then ran towards Shamrock. Because? “We wanted to watch the game at home and since we can’t be in the stadium we preferred to come here.” And why not in the stadium? “We couldn’t get tickets anymore, they were sold out,” says Jarett, a little lost. How many beers have you had? “I don’t know anymore, honestly. I started drinking in the morning and now we’re going for another round. “I’ve already lost count.” Scottish players might say the same phrase, but in relation to the game.

But there were those who were worse off than Jarett and Xander. In fact, let’s face it: we interviewed another Scot, Callum McCartney, for about two minutes. Of them, she couldn’t even transcribe half of them, due to the alcohol, but also the strong accent. This is what we got: “I couldn’t get tickets because they were too expensive, but I wanted to be in Munich, so I came here. I think we can still qualify, I’m optimistic,” she said (among other things that would get Sir Alex Ferguson noticed).

At another table, with two other Scottish friends – already out of action – was Lewis. When we spoke, Germany were already winning 1-0 and then Scottish optimism began to change: “I already expected this result, Germany has a great team. But I still think we can qualify…” Germany goal. 2-0. Lewis interrupted the sentence and said simply this: “It’s hard.” It was difficult.

This Irish pub is really Irish. And it’s Michael’s dream

Michael was born in the Republic of Ireland. The land of leprechauns, of rainbows with pots of gold at the end, but also of pubs. When Michael visited Munich to take classes and saw a pub like the ones in his country, he didn’t think twice: he had to work there. So it was. He started as an employee and bought it in 2011, 13 years ago. From then on he made this his life. And football goes hand in hand with business. “There are so many football stories here. I hold the finals with special affection. The final of the last Euro Cup, for example. This is full of English people. Even more so in times of pandemic. “Football saved my business, because it was what filled the pub at that time.”

And he will be saved again. Michael explains that he had every single table in the pub reserved for today. Unfortunately, this was not actually confirmed. “It’s time. The rain doesn’t help. June is usually good, but this year we are unlucky.” He continues to trust in the rest of the Euro: “I think it is realistic to think that we will have more sales, but the weather has to help ”.

Wirtz and Musiala, the two boys who only needed 20 minutes to make history

Here, an employee of Michael interrupts to ask for help. When he finishes talking to the boss – in German – he addresses us laughing: “I apologize”. It wasn’t “I’m sorry.” Much less “Ich entschuldige mich”, which he would not understand. It was “I apologize,” in the language of the man who celebrated his 500th birthday this week.

Luísa, are there no German schools in São Paulo?

The world is really small, but five meters underground, in an opening match between Germany and Scotland, in a pub in Munich, we never thought we would hear Portuguese, much less behind the counter. Her name is Luisa Koprowski, comes from São Paulo and has been in the most famous land of Bavaria for four years. And he came about for a reason that is rarely used now, in the era of Duolingos and globalism: “I came with the sole objective of learning German. But then I went to university and that’s it, I ended up staying here.”. The 22-year-old is studying Biochemical Engineering and also works in the pub. And you can already notice differences in the air.

“You can already notice the difference in the air thanks to the euro. A week ago everything was calmer. Now the streets are full, the subway too. “You can tell that something is going to happen.” Break, for the match: there is a penalty for Germany! But since Luísa doesn’t care much about football, let’s move on. Is there more work now with the euro? “That depends. But I guess so. Considering that people want to watch the games, I hope it’s full,” she says.

And since there is no Brazil… from Portugal, what do we expect? “My boyfriend is Portuguese! That’s why I support Portugal. But here I intend to support Germany.”, he says between laughs. The problem is whether there is a Portugal-Germany. Who knows in the final. If the Scots dreamed it in the beginning, we can do it too. We do not want a fall as great as that of Messrs. Kilt. For them, the first night the only thing that mattered was the music and the beer.