Language is a symbol, therefore in its use it must have a connection and identity that shows the real facts.
This idea was previously put forward by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein in his book Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus , published in Germany in 1921.
Bertrand Russell's student wrote Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus while fighting for Austria in World War I in 1918.
From this war, Wittgenstein put forward findings regarding the logic of the philosophy of language that could be scientifically justified.
One idea that emerged from Wittgenstein was his picture theory , which posited that meaningful sentences or propositions are logical representations of the real world. Language describes facts like a map.
Now let's play around in the world of football journalistic terms which often attach terms referring to certain teams or countries.
For example, the Brazilian national team is familiarly known as the Samba team, because of the cultural identity attached to the typical Brazilian samba dance.
Or the Dutch national team which is nicknamed De Oranje (The Orange) referring to the color of the uniforms worn by the players.
Then there is England, which is nicknamed The Three Lions, referring to the great logo of the English football association which has a symbol of three lions.
The German national team is facing a complex problem which has lost its identity or, in the language of Wittgenstein's image theory, cannot find a logical "image".
National team nicknames in various countries stem from concrete identities (culture, colors, symbols, or history). But the German national team is essentially like a child still searching for its own identity and linguistic representation.
In Wittgenstein's framework of thought, Germany, which previously had the nickname Die Mannscaft, experienced a problem of representation.
"Die Mannscaft, " which comes from German and means "team" or "squad," seems to be missing the symbols and images that have no direct connection to the facts that distinguish Germany from other countries.
In fact, Germany historically has a very strong identity to be used as a symbol because it is a country rich in roots and cultural heritage.
The German Football Federation (DFB) officially removed the term "Die Mannscaft" in July 2022, deeming it too arrogant, too corporate, and disrespectful to both local fans and football officials. Despite its international popularity, the term has become widely used.
The removal of the term, which was introduced in 2015 after Germany won the 2014 World Cup, cannot be separated from Germany's difficult situation, which has always failed to escape the group stage at the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 World Cup.
The term Die Mannscaft was later removed by the DFB, although a number of international media, including Indonesian media, still use the term in their journalistic writing.
Returning to the logic of Wittgenstein's philosophy of language, sometimes in the case of using the nickname for the German national team we still act so carelessly.
For example, the use of the term "Der Panzer" to mean "Panzer Team." This term belittles Germany, as "Panzer" refers to the tanks used by the Nazi army during World War II.
Germany today is a team formed in the historical context of the merger of West and East Germany. It seems inappropriate to apply the term " Der Panzer" to today's Germany.
The construction of foreign media that continues to attach the history of World War II to Germany is a labeling construction that is inappropriate to use because the DFB as the official football association has never used this term.
