Ludwig the Dackel sniffs German Euro 24 win

BERLIN: 'Dackel' is short for dachshund in modern Germany. Ludwig, a cute dachshund, was, according to this Times report, enticed more by a bowl of chicken treats next to the German flag which indicated to Germans (! 🐶) a home win in their opening Euro 2024 match against Scotland. To be frank, if Germany don't beat Scotland then I would be shocked but then shock results to take place sometimes.

Ludwig the soothsayer. Photo: The Times.

There is quite a nice desire by humankind to have animals select winners in sports competitions. In 2008, Paul the Octopus garnered a huge following as a sporting soothsayer. Paul also selected the winners at the 2010 World Cup. More about Paul below.

And then we have Emma the pig and Nelly the elephant. There was also Konstantin the elk and the ferrets, Snow White and Freddy. Finally, there was Lorenzo the parrot and Fedor the Tiger. I could go on but we do like to do this sort of thing.

And in line with this tradition, Germany has a prediction for Euro 24 football competition. The opening match takes place tonight and Germany will win because Ludwig says so.

He's been described as a "Dachshund Oracle". He was presented with three bowls of chicken treats. One bowl was next to the German flag. Another bowl was next to the cross of St Andrew (the Scottish flag) and a third bowl was by both flags indicating a draw.

Ludwig confidently trotted determinedly over to the German bowl said the man organising the soothsaying, Philipp Paulus, the owner of a marketing company. He said that "Ludwig believes the German team will win the opener against the Scottish team."

Ludwig is three years old and entirely unfazed by all goings-on including the photographers. He also picked the tournament winner: Portugal.

It's possible he may be asked to make more predictions. It's hoped that he will be accurate! Apparently there have been some failures which is unsurprising when you think about it.

His predecessor was Sisi, also a dachshund, who picked Byern Munich to beat Chelsea in the 2012 Champions League Final and was off the mark by a small amount because the German team lost on penalties.

Ludwig's owner has confidence in his ability and added: "He is a very relaxed even-tempered and thoughtful character especially for a dachshund".

It appears that Germany had a fascination with animal oracles which dates back to Paul the Octopus. Paul lived in the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen. He picked the winner in four of Germany's six Euro 2008 matches. He also picked all of their seven matches in the 2010 World Cup and he predicted correctly that Spain would win. Remarkable.

On each occasion Paul was offered two transparent boxes marked with a national flag and containing a mussel. The first one opened marked the winner.

He became more famous after each new successful prediction. He became so famous that he had to have guards outside his tank at the Sea Life Centre.

He became an honorary citizen of the Spanish village of Carballino. Russian reporters travelled to Oberhausen to interview him to pick the winner of the next presidential election! Comment: no point as it had to be Putin 😡.

My thanks to The Times newspaper for this story.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.