Germany Uncouples From Past With Post-Wall World Cup Bid

At Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, the crowd roared as the ball settled in to the back of the goal. Germany’s goal.

Just before the end of a humiliating 7-1 defeat at the hands of the German side, host-nation Brazil had finally scored in the July 8 World Cup semifinal. And nobody seemed happier than the tens of thousands of German fans on the “Fan Mile,” the tree-lined Berlin avenue where games are shown on TVs the size of drive-in movie screens.