June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Kayhan Abay attended a German school, drives a German car, and runs a business in the German capital of Berlin, where he has lived all his life. When it comes to soccer, he roots for Turkey.

``It's all about heart, blood and passion,'' Abay, 28, said over a glass of tea in the Internet cafe he co-owns in Kreuzberg, a predominantly Turkish neighborhood. ``I'm preparing myself for defeat though, which is kind of symbolic of Turkish life over here.''

Germany plays Turkey today in the first semifinal of the European Championships, the continent's most prestigious soccer tournament. With as many as 3 million ethnic Turks living in Germany, or about 4 percent of the population, fans' divided loyalties are deepening the divisions in German society.

Police in Kreuzberg are investigating attacks this week on 18 cars sporting the scarlet Turkish flag, while Turkish-born German lawmaker Lale Akguen warned June 23 of riots whatever the match outcome. Bookmakers favor Germany to win and progress to the final in Vienna on June 29.

Soccer in Turkey, which hasn't lost a match against Germany since 1992, ``is a machine designed to fuel nationalism and xenophobia,'' Turkey's Nobel Prize-winning novelist, Orhan Pamuk, told news magazine Der Spiegel on June 2.

The match comes at a sensitive time in German-Turkish relations. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party opposes Turkish membership of the European Union, even as the EU presses ahead with membership negotiations.

Assimilation `a Crime'

Merkel is scheduled to fly to Basel, Switzerland, to cheer on the German team. She'll sit beside Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Chancellery said.

Erdogan, who yesterday called on German and Turkish fans to walk ``shoulder to shoulder,'' himself fanned tensions with his German hosts during a visit in February, when he told Turks at a rally in Cologne that ``assimilation is a crime against humanity.''

``We always get the short end of the stick when competing with Germans'' for jobs, said Turkish-born Fikret Okur, 52, who owns a cafe in Kreuzberg and has lived in Berlin for 37 years. ``That's anything but equal opportunities.''

Okur said Germany owes a debt of gratitude to immigrants from Turkey and other countries, such as Italy, Greece and Spain, whose workers were recruited after World War II to meet the economy's growing demand for labor. That's a debt that remains unpaid, he said.

Two young Germans were arrested by Berlin police this month on suspicion of throwing homemade incendiary bombs at houses occupied by a Turkish and a Bosnian family, setting both premises on fire, the Tagesspiegel newspaper reported.

Not Accepted

Even in Berlin, a city of 3.4 million where ethnic Turks make up about 5 percent of the population, according to official figures, Turks are still not fully accepted, said Abay, the Internet cafe owner. Turks are scorned for working as cleaners or garbage collectors, jobs most Germans are unwilling to do, he said.

``We've been here such a long time those streets belong to us, even though they carry German names,'' he said, nodding toward the traffic intersection at Kottbusser Tor in the heart of Kreuzberg. ``I could imagine that some people here may despise us even more if Germany wins easily.''

German lawmaker Akguen, 54, a member of the Social Democrats, coalition partners to Merkel's party, said the game's outcome is unlikely to affect integration of the Turkish community in Germany. Even so, some political groups may seek to ``exploit'' the match to stoke anti-Turkish resentment.

Soccer `Riots'

``Riots can't be ruled out, no matter how the match ends,'' Akguen said in an interview.

Others say the shared history binds rather than divides the two nations. Jogi Loew, the German national team trainer, lived and worked in Turkey, where he coached clubs Fenerbahce Istanbul and Adanaspor for stretches between 1998 and 2001.

Germany's biggest-selling newspaper, Bild, and Turkey's Hurriyet have called a ``truce'' and agreed to urge readers to regard the game as a ``German-Turkish party,'' ZDF television reported yesterday.

German-born Hamit Altintop, 25, who plays for German club champions Bayern Munich and for the Turkish national side, said the showdown with Germany will be ``a very special game.''

``I owe Germany a lot, if not everything,'' the bilingual son of Turkish guest workers told Spiegel Online.

Altintop will line up alongside another German speaker, defender Hakan Balta, 25, who was born in Berlin and plays his football in Turkey with Galatasaray.

Injury List

The Turkish team has been plagued by injuries and suspensions. As many as nine first-choice players could be missing, including frontline striker Nihat Kahveci, who has already left the team camp for treatment on a thigh injury.

``Of course every Turkish fan is waiting for this match,'' teammate Gokhan Zan told reporters before an afternoon training session in Vienna, which drew some of the Austrian capital's 50,000-strong Turkish population.

``I wish the Turkish fans will watch with the German fans in a good, fair-play spirit without any problems. But of course I hope Turkey will win.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Andreas Cremer in Berlin at acremer@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 24, 2008 19:25 EDT