Fifa's president Sepp Blatter should have been there. The World Cup took off in Frankfurt at 8.25pm on Wednesday, in Romerplatz, the picturesque medieval square reconstructed after devastating Allied bombing in 1944. First, up went the desultory cries of "Inger-lund, Inger-lund" among the sprinkling of England supporters to have already arrived early in the city that hosts England's World Cup opener.
Waiters and waitresses in the civilised eateries nearby looked on nervously. Five minutes later an advance guard of Brazilian supporters arrived in the square: four of them, one equipped with an ear-shattering klaxon. Within seconds, the two groups were embracing, dancing and offering to buy drinks. The mood relaxed again. In the square kids - and women too - kicked a football around. Time, truly in Fifa's words, to make friends. And no riot police - or any police, in fact - in sight.
So far there are almost more officials from the UK than supporters in Frankfurt. On Wednesday it was time to hear from the director of public prosecutions, Ken Macdonald. He's a Scot - and he almost let slip his indifference to how long England remain in the tournament. Suffice to say, his official car will not be following the example of the St George Cross-flying Tessa Jowell, our culture, media and sport secretary. But his team of Crown Prosecution Service prosecutors are in town. The arrangement is as jaw-droppingly ground-breaking and unprecedented as the presence of uniformed British bobbies at Frankfurt's Hauptbahnhof rail station.
The CPS team are here to collect evidence against misbehaving England fans. Step out of line and they will face a football banning order when they get back to the UK. And, according to Nick Hawkins, the lead official from the CPS, it is a powerful deterrent. The consequences? The minimum penalty for World Cup 2006 transgressors increases from a two- to three-year ban - recipients will miss all the Euro 2008 qualifiers and the finals in Austria and Switzerland, all domestic footy, and any European matches their club is involved in.
Are the authorities on to something at last? It is early days, but the atmosphere - so far, at least - in the Romerplatz suggests they could be.
