Klinsmann is not prepared to bear this cross
IT’S not entirely uncommon for the expression ‘he’ll be crucified for that’ to be used in a sporting context, but German paper Die Tageszeitung took it a step further when writing about Jurgen Klinsmann after Bayern Munich were hammered by Wolfsburg in the league and then Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Beside the headline “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life” (taken from Monty Python’s Life of Brian) the paper used a crucifixion image of Klinsmann on a cross. “From Germany’s superstar to Bayern’s bogeyman,” read the sub-headline. “Sonny boy Jurgen Klinsmann loses one match after another. Why the fallen saviour faces crucifixion.” Did Jurgen see the, eh, funny side? Well, no. The paper promptly received a letter from his lawyers claiming that their client had been “deeply and massively violated” by the image, and that they were suing for damages. They reckon, if successful, the case will cost Die Tageszeitung €100,000.
Bayern spokesman Markus Hoerwick said the affair was “perhaps the worst gaffe ever made by the German media”, a comment, incidentally, that drew this response from the UK Telegraph: “A little hyperbolic given that the German media was in the hands of Goebbels for a decade”. Lovely.
Editor Bascha Mika insisted the paper only “nailed Klinsmann to the cross metaphorically” as a reference to how the club had turned against him, after he had been their golden boy. “I expected a better sense of humour from Bayern Munich and especially from Jurgen Klinsmann,” she said.
Most of all, it reminds us that The Daily Telegraph will always be The Daily Telegraph.
