“All or Nothing”: New documentary shows how sad the World Cup in Qatar was

October 6th, 2006, what a beautiful day it was for German football fans. Sönke Wortmann’s film “Germany. A Summer Fairy Tale” was released in cinemas. During the World Cup a few months earlier, the director was constantly close, the camera was on it, capturing a euphoric sporting spectacle, with the focus on a German team that, under Jürgen Klinsmann’s scepter, fought its way to third place in this tournament against a lot of resistance and inner bastards . This is probably what the DFB’s PR department had hoped for for the 2022 World Cup when they signed the contracts with Amazon for the Qatar series.

But everything turned out very differently, the rhetorical question in the title of the series, “All or Nothing”, has long been answered.

Everything? Nothing!

But in entertainment as well as in football, the iron rule applies: The show must go on. And: a contract is a contract. So from Friday “All or Nothing: The National Team in Qatar” can be seen on Amazon Prime. The fiasco of the group exit in the desert is revisited in four episodes instead of the planned six.

Kimmich fights with Süle, Rüdiger with Kimmich

Winter nightmare instead of a summer fairy tale: Kimmich clashes with Süle. Rüdiger with Kimmich. Sometimes it’s about respect, sometimes it’s about a lack of coordination. Kimmich wants more exercise. Süle goes for it: “I’m not interested in what the little fish say here!” Well, what the big fish say doesn’t seem to really interest anyone here. Hansi Flick trudges into the dressing room after losing the opening game against Japan and can hardly believe what he has just experienced. “Fuck off,” said the otherwise calm instructor, a state of mind that was unlikely to change in the eventful days that followed.

Meanwhile, outside, Football Germany and the rest of the world were discussing things like the “One Love” armband, bought fans and a bought tournament, about the line-up and the scheduling. In the inner circle, things were even more fun-free than the biggest regulars’ table pessimist would have imagined. Waterfalls to the detriment of disillusioned football romantics: scenes like the one in the team hotel’s large confit. Elaborate presentations are thrown on the wall, animal films about flocks of geese and animated defense lines are shown, the audience in the hall, the Schlotterbecks, Raums, Goretzkas and whatever they are called, seem as euphoric as if they were sitting in the ice barrel.

Flick’s call for an open discussion is also interesting: when Kimmich quietly questions the chain of five, the room temperature drops by a few degrees, Flick’s carotid artery swells, and ice crystals form on the projector. That’s probably not how it was meant. Anyone who still dreams of a committed team will wake up with disheveled hair and wide-eyed eyes – no thrilling cabin atmosphere, instead the atmosphere in the hall as if the slides from the fall in the share price had just been presented to a bunch of shareholders.

Manuel Neuer plants a tree. Julian Brandt is late

The mood barometer goes up, hardly surprisingly, rather seldom. When families come to visit, for example. As Costa Rica beat Japan, relieving some of the pressure on the German team in their upcoming all-or-nothing game against Spain. When the filling jug first gave a brilliant speech, then scored a brilliant goal. And otherwise? Manuel Neuer plants a tree. Julian Brandt is late. The sheik shows his palace. And Hansi curses. A viewing pleasure like the crooked picture of the traffic accident: bad, bad, bad, all that, but look away? Impossible.

It now happens tragically that the handling of the series directed by director Christian Twente does not ultimately offer an ideal solution. Next weekend, Germany will face Japan, of all places, and on Tuesday the opponent will be vice world champion France, and the home Euros are coming up next year. Summer fairy tale probability? Status now: rather low. That “All or Nothing: The National Team in Qatar” is being shown now of all times? See above: A contract is a contract, the options of the DFB PR department are like in a Greek tragedy. Two options – both wrong. If the series had been stopped, the media whirlwind would be hard to imagine. Secret keeping! Manipulation! Breach of contract! So now the series is being shown, and that’s not right either: bad timing! Bad advertising! Now it starts up and is being watched. Or not. What was Dragoslav “Stepi” Stepanović once called?

Lebbe goes further. Even. Drum.