"What is it about you and Germany?" This is a question I get rather a lot. As a Scot whose broadcasting travels have taken me around the world since first picking up the microphone professionally in 1986, no country has had a hold on me quite like the land of bratwurst, BMWs, Beckenbauer and of course, Bayern Munich.
The seed was planted in 1974, when West Germany hosted the World Cup in the Cold War days, and the country's division added intrigue and mystery for a then-inquisitive 7-year-old football fanatic. As much as this was an immersion in the greatest sporting tournament on the planet, it spawned an interest in all things German, particularly after the DDR national team from the East defeated their more glamorous Western counterparts in a one-off game.