Unlike other spheres of life in which active ill will or malice aforethought are frowned upon as bad manners possessed by people blighted by dark hearts, football fans have long held a license to enjoy the misfortune of rival teams. Hordes of soccer aficionados take as much pleasure in their own team’s success as in the defeats of rivals in what is referred to in psychological parlance as Schadenfreude.
The dictionary definition of this German oxymoron is “the emotional experience of pleasure in response to another’s misfortune”. It combines ‘Schaden’ which means damage and ‘Freude’ – joy.
A good example of this emotion can be found in the race for this season’s English Premier League title. Most neutral Ugandan fans would prefer reigning champions Manchester City to retain the title rather than leaders Arsenal because Gunners fans, who are the majority will make ‘too much noise’.
Fans of teams which never qualify for Europe may soon be forced to support rival teams carrying their league’s flag on the continent thanks to the introduction of two performance slots in the expanded Uefa Champions League. Those two slots in next season’s competition have already gone to Italy’s Serie A and the German Bundesliga on account of the three semifinalists each of the countries has in this year’s premier club competitions.
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Bundesliga reps Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund however start as slight underdogs ahead of semifinal second leg ties away to Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain. Allianz Arena coach Thomas Tuchel will demand a reaction from his players when they face record champions Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu four days after they were played off the park 3-1 by Stuttgart.
Former European Golden Glove winner Thibaut Courtois makes his first European start this season after emerging unscathed from Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Cadiz which propelled Los Blancos to another Liga Santander title. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who is bidding to become the first manager to lift the Champions League five times is likely to resist to temptation to field another returnee, Eder Militao, despite his flawless display on Saturday.
Dortmund carry a slim 1-0 advantage to the Parc des Princes but they will have to defend better to prevent Paris Saint Germain, who hit the post three times at Signal Iduna Park, from thriving in front of their own fans. Super star Kylian Mbappe Lottin is desperate to make an impression in what will be his final home match in Europe before he departs on June 30.
TODAY
Paris Saint Germain v Dortmund
WEDNESDAY
Real Madrid v Bayern Munich
