Latin American diplomats in Canberra have formed a 12-country block to support the Argentines in the World Cup final but the lederhosen-clad president of the German Harmonie Club thinks they’re dreaming.
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Hans Stoehr, the man behind the taps at the German club in Narrabundah, has planned “the biggest shindig in Canberra” and urged all German fans and any brave Argentines to get down for the game and have a good time.
But the Latin Americans have their own grand plans; they are hosting a breakfast club at Argentina's Barton compound with arepas and other local delicacies.
Mr Stoehr, who will favour steins over steaks, said the German community were beside themselves with excitement he and was confident his boys would clinch the title under coach Joachim Loew.
“The Germans have showed they are the powerhouse of world football against the Brazilians the other morning, but we haven’t yet seen the full extent of their might.”
Mr Stoehr said he was hopeful his team would toy with the Argentines in the same way they embarrassed the Brazilians during the semi-final.
“The coach basically said to the team let’s just slow it up otherwise it could have been totally embarrassing for the Brazilians,” he said.
Deputy Head of Mission at the Argentine Embassy, Eduardo Acevedo-Diaz, said representatives from Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador and Cuba would join them for breakfast and, hopefully, post-match celebrations.
“The Ecuadorians will be bringing the arepas and we’ll be supplying our own Argentinian food,” he said. “The Mexicans will also bringing some of their own breakfast recipes.”
Mr Acevedo-Diaz said the Argentines were thrilled to represent the whole of Latin America in the final.
“It’s something to be proud of for the whole region and that’s why we’re all getting together,” he said.
“We tend to have a tradition of working together on many things including events like the Latin American Festival and the Multicultural Festival. We work well together and get along very well.”
But Mr Acevedo-Diaz was more diplomatic than Mr Stoehrin when it came to match predictions, with the German predicting a white wash result.
“We certainly hope for the best and are very happy to be in the final,” said Mr Acevedo-Diaz.
The Argentine diplomat was hopeful the stars would align for striker Lionel Messi in his first World Cup final.
“He is an excellent player and the whole team is putting everything into this game we’re sure,” he said.
