Good hosts keep partying

And yet it looked so hopeful for such a long time yesterday. The Germans had been outplayed but had taken the Italians to the brink of a penalty shootout, which Germany have never lost. Then, in the space of two minutes, the stiletto was plunged deep, and then twisted. The wall of sound that is the Dortmund arena fell into silence; this was the first time Germany had lost here.

Then, as the final whistle blew, and it became official that Germany would not, as the chants said, march to Berlin, the singing began again, perhaps even louder. 8220;Deutschland, Deutschland8221;.

As the PA system blared out the universal football anthem You8217;ll Never Walk Alone, the players a tearful lap of honour. There was Prince Poldi, Lukas Podolski, perhaps the young star of this tournament; there was the speedy David Odonkor; there was Jens Lehmann, who began this tournament an outsider, replacing the great Oliver Kahn, but ending it a national hero. There was Michael Ballack, the strong man unable to control his emotions, aware that for the second tournament running he would bow out in the semi-finals.

And here, there, everywhere was Jurgen Klinsmann, the coach who had blended this team. The tabloid Bild ran a front-page picture of Klinsi at the moment of reckoning, his hands buried in his face, but he had recovered by now and was walking round to each of his players, consoling them, lifting them up.

The fans didn8217;t linger but there was no bitterness. What helped, perhaps, was the complete chaos on the streets as the public transport and traffic collapsed. It helped them divert their grief and they responded with a humour that doesn8217;t fit the stereotype.

The morning after, there was much discussion but no blame-game; even the absence of Torsten Frings 8211; 8220;ousted8221; by the Italian media for his role in the bust-up after the Argentina match 8211; was not referred to.

The consensus was that Italy were deserving winners, Germany had done well to get this far.

There are still four uncomfortable days to get past; the splendid Olympic Stadium in Berlin will not host the hosts. Yet Germany will be there at the party. 8220;I have a ticket for the final8221;, said Anders, a young man on his way to Munich today. 8220;The Italians offered me 5,000 euro. I said no. This is the only chance for me to see a World Cup final in Berlin and I will go and enjoy it.8221;

If they do, so will we all. That8217;s what the World Cup is all about. Let the party continue!