After Germany’s staggering victory over Brazil in the World Cup, the Germans played in the cup final that saw their country crowned winners of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
But when did the term cup and cup final come into the English language? The first time that anyone wrote about cups to be won was in the context of horseracing when the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell wrote about cup day at Ascot in 1860.
In 1894, the term cup fighters is mentioned in relation to football in a newspaper article which describes the “mighty cup fighters Blackburn Rovers” – mighty, perhaps, because they had won the FA Cup five times in the previous seven years.
The first FA Cup was held in 1871, so it is most likely from that year that the term Cup Final, as we understand it today, first came into our consciousness – and it is a term very much on the lips of all Germans today. The country has been so close to cup final victory before, being runners-up in 2002, third in 2006 and in 2010, but despite Gary Lineker’s belief that “Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win”, the Germans do not believe it. They have not won the World Cup since 1990 and they are hungry for it. Thanks to their performance, confidence in their team is now sky rocketing and they believe that it is Germany’s time to shine and bring home the cup.
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