In the dingy nightclubs of my youth, there was always a tipping point. Usually it came sometime after midnight, without warning, as disco frivolity was barged aside by young men with testosterone and alcohol sprinting through their veins. As an onlooker, you had a sudden ephiphany: this could kick off, you know. Sometimes it did, but not always.
I have a similar feeling sitting in Stuttgart's Schlossplatz, where I've spent the last four hours speaking to fans, policemen and passers-by. At first the atmosphere was jovial and good-natured. The England fans sang God Save The Queen. The Germans retorted with Football's Coming Home and Stand Up For The Deutschland. Now, however, the one-litre beers are distorting minds and loosening tongues.
Opposite me, there are about 500 England fans, mostly bare-chested or in Burberry. All the old favourites are coming out: Ten German Bombers, the theme from Dambusters, Two World Wars and One World Cup, Who the Fucking Hell Are you? It feels like having a front row seat at Last Night of the Chavs.
This behaviour is nothing new: from Frankfurt to Nuremburg to Cologne, a minority of the England fans have laid down large Nationwide-sponsored St George flags to mark territory, and spent their days drinking and taunting. By the end of the night, bottles are usally thrown and side streets are stained yellow, but tolerant and low-key policing ensures the evening passes off with confrontation. Last night, however, there were 122 England fans arrested. Tonight could be worse.
The problem is that the England fans are encamped on Koenigstrasse, the main street in Stuttgart, right next to the Fan Zone where 100,000 Germans have gathered to watch the match against Sweden. Usually England fans are left to sing and sneer without challenge, but before the Sweden game a significant number of German youths stood in front of them, singing and pointing and staring; like a rugby team accepting the challenge of the haka.
The evening may yet pass without incident, of course. But the combination of heat and alcohol is volatile one. All it needs is a few idiots to light the touch paper - and there are certainly a few of those in Stuttgart today.
