The big story of World Cup 2006 is not that Italy won, nor even the shameful exit of Zinedine Zidane from a stage he graced for so long. It is the manner in which football and footballers helped a nation discover itself, feel the joys of waving the national flag, singing the national anthem. For 60 years Germany had been treading warily around the symbols of the Fatherland, consumed by guilt over past misdeeds; in four glorious weeks they learned to dance, as though making up for lost time.

Football, that most tribal, atavistic of sports — others may appeal more to basic instincts but lack universal appeal — has always been a catalyst of, and lodestone for, nationalist passions. Hitler’s Germany was not blessed with a good football team but Mussolini’s Italy was and the country won two World Cups under fascist patronage in the 1930s. In the 1950s Hungary’s two crushing defeats of England, in quick succession, were hailed as significant Cold War triumphs for the Soviet bloc.

Those were largely “Us vs Them” situations, one country or bloc against another. Nationalism in the 21st century, in the shadow of 9/11, inevitably highlights divisions within: native or ethnic nationals against immigrants, white against non-white. In Germany itself the recent displays of passion have provoked some concern, notably among the Left, in the former East. Indeed, the atmosphere at matches involving Germany could have been interpreted in any way: whenever Germany were in the lead, the crowd would enact a five--clap sequence, then stick out their right hand and chant “Sieg” (victory). Add “Heil” and you could be transported back in time 60 years. The national anthem, too, is largely the same as the old one, though the words “Deutschland Uber Alles” have been replaced.

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