Soccer loyalties divided as Germany, US square off

PEABODY – Karl’s Sausage Kitchen sells a German treat called katzenzungen and Tyrolean hats, but its cafe will become Soccer Central today for German-American fans watching the United States and Germany in World Cup competition.Karl’s co-owner Anita Gokey expects the 27-seat cafe serving German food and beer and outfitted with a television to be filled by the time the two teams take the field in Brazil at noon EST. She spent part of this week filling catering orders sent in by local German-Americans planning soccer parties and even companies with German connections taking a break to tune into Cup competition.Gokey, who owns the Peabody store with her husband, Robert, said most of her German-American customers are rooting for the soccer powerhouse to beat the United States. But she also knows customers who are grappling with split allegiances when it comes to soccer loyalty.”I’m on the American side of the family,” she added.Michael Schwenn thinks Germany will win today’s match, but he said he rooted for Germany and the United States to advance in World Cup action while watching matches during a just-completed trip to Germany.Schwenn, a German-American, grew up in Syracuse, N.Y., and, as a boy, he frequented a store similar to Karl’s. Schwenn said Germans, not surprisingly, are immersed in their team’s fortunes.”In every barroom they took the televisions outside so people could watch the matches,” he said.Karl’s moved from Route 1 in Saugus to Peabody just off Lowell Street two years ago and brought along longtime customers like Margaret Buchman, a Germany native who is rooting for her home country along with Karl’s employee Barbara Schade.Soccer enjoys popularity in the United States and Germany, said Schade, but she said German youth who play the game advance into teams attracting top talent unlike American teenagers who abandon soccer to play potentially lucrative sports like football and basketball.Schade played soccer in the central German town she grew up in, and her son, Dominic, loves the game.”He played goalie since he could walk,” she said.Gokey and Karl’s customer Christina Copeland said World Cup competition highlights a sport that attracts kids and unites people around the world. She hopes the matches proceed untouched by political grandstanding or violence.”I just don’t want any negativity or overzealous fans,” she said.Although she is rooting for Germany to win, Schade hopes the match ends in a tie.”That way, both teams will profit,” she said.