Fan of the Day: Germany's loneliest World Cup watcher

Jun 23, 2006, 16:08 GMT

Memmert, Germany - Enno Janssen has to be Germany's loneliest World Cup watcher - alone on an island with only 100,000 birds to keep him company.

The 44-year-old spends his day on the 500-hectare bird island carefully taking notes of a wide variety of birds. That keeps him busy and doesn't allow him time to watch the full World Cup programme on television in his house.

'I only watch the German team play,' he said. 'At this time of the year I have enough work listing the nesting birds, that's my priority.'

Janssen said he has not had to change his television habits at all during the tournament. 'It (the TV set) is not even in the living room but rather in the meeting room,' he said. 'I did that deliberately so that I don't spend too much time in front of the box during bad weather.'

Janssen seems to be in the right place at the right time as he is also not a friend of flag-waving and beer-drinking, saying he prefers a cup of tea or a glass of wine when watching matches.

But despite his low-key attitude, Janssen has plenty of confidence in the home team.

'They are going to win the World Cup,' he said. 'Germany is a team that traditionally does well at tournaments, fights its way through and improves with each match.'