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The Soccer World Cup 2006 is just about the only thing that anyone in Germany is thinking about or that the German media is reporting on, German Consul General Hans Joerg Brunner told GlobalAtlanta on June 7 in a filmed interview.

Mr. Brunner was on vacation in Germany before returning to Atlanta Wednesday. Germany is “excited” about hosting the event in which 32 countries will compete, and it is “prepared” to handle the more than one million visitors expected, including hooligans who are notorious for violent behavior at the matches, he said.

The opening match between Germany and Costa Rica’s teams begins at 11:30 a.m. eastern daylight time Friday, June 9, in Munich’s new high-tech stadium.

Mr. Brunner said, of course, that he would root for Germany’s team and plans to view the match at the Friends of Goethe/German Cultural Center in Colony Square. Most of the games will be able to be seen at the center including the final on Sunday, July 9.

But he also said that he was apprehensive that the German team didn’t appear “hungry” enough to win.  He followed the accepted wisdom that Brazil’s team is the most formidable one to beat, and complimented the U.S. team, saying that it is widely considered competitive and could not be discounted as a possible victor.

While the official slogan for the World Cup is “A Time to Make Friends,” Germany is making certain that security is tight for the event to watch the 64 matches that are to be held in 12 German cities.

Just before he left Germany this week, 320 policemen from around the world arrived to assist the German police and armed forces keep order with visitors from their individual countries.

He also said that in the same way that Georgia promoted itself as an attractive location for investment at the time of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, Germany is highlighting its economic strengths with its “Land of Ideas” campaign. Wide-ranging exhibits about German innovations in different industries have been set up throughout the country.

In keeping with the theme of German innovation, he said that a new security measure is the personalization of all tickets to prevent hooligans to gatecrash or for tickets to be sold on the black market at exorbitant prices.

Besides the new stadium in Munich in Mr. Brunner’s native region of Bavaria, there have been eight other new stadiums built in anticipation of the event for which an unprecedented 194 countries participated in 847 qualifying games.

While Americans aren’t as involved in soccer as people elsewhere in the world, he said that he has noticed a fast growing appreciation for the sport. He also was surprised to find that the local media were covering Germans’ criticism that a German brewery is not an official sponsor of the World Cup.

Anheuser-Bush Companies Inc.’s Budweiser beer is a major sponsor, but the beer doesn’t meet German “purity standards.” Nevertheless, an accommodation has been made to allow some German beer to be sold at the matches, he said.

McDonald’s Corp., another major sponsor, he said, will sell German sausages and other foods at its outlets.

The cost of attendance at the “kick off” party at the Friends of Goethe/German Cultural Center is $30. The cost for Goethe members is $20 and for students and interns, $10. For more information, call (404) 892-2388 or visit www.german-institute.org

Phil Bolton for GlobalAtlanta