Tournament News
Octopus: Germany come third
2010-07-09 12:19
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Berlin - The oracle has spoken. Germany will beat Uruguay in the third-place play-off on Saturday, according to Paul the "psychic" octopus with an unblemished record in picking winners.
The eight-legged oracle, who has become a World Cup sensation by correctly predicting all six Germany games, plumped for his country of residence on Friday, an event carried live on national television.
The two-year-old mollusc medium is now taking a brief rest before predicting the result of the final between Spain and the Netherlands.
The art of football predicting has become a dangerous job for the English-born clairvoyant cephalopod with some bitter German fans threatening to turn him into sushi after he predicted a semi-final defeat for the Mannschaft.
Paul's home, an aquarium in western Germany, has received death-threat emails saying "we want Paul for the pan," said entertainment supervisor Daniel Fey.
"Since yesterday our colleagues have kept a very close eye on Paul," Fey added.
No less an authority than Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero has called for octopus bodyguards.
"I am concerned for the octopus ... I am thinking of sending him a protective team," joked Zapatero on Radio Cadena Ser.
Spanish Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian has called for the creature to be given an "immediate" free transfer to Spain to "ensure his protection."
Stung by Paul's "treachery" at picking Spain over Germany in the semi-final, some sections of the 350,000-strong crowd watching the game on giant screens in Berlin sang anti-octopus songs.
The honour of Paul's mother was called into question, according to witnesses.
Friday's prediction is expected to be the last for Paul, who in octopus terms is a pensioner, at the grand old age of two-and-a-half. Octopuses generally live three years at the latest.