BUENOS AIRES, July 13, 2014 (AFP) — Removing dark outerwear to reveal white jerseys, scores of Germans swarmed a Buenos Aires bar Sunday, hoping to watch their team beat Argentina in the World Cup final.

La Muzza Inspiradora, a dive bar and pizzeria in the center of the Argentine capital, has become known as the top spot for German expatriates to watch a World Cup whose grand finale pits their homeland against their adopted country.

Singing “Deutschland!” and wearing the jerseys of Schweinsteiger, Podolski and Schuerrle, around 100 Germans began descending on the bar hours before the match.

Lifting glasses of Quilmes, the ubiquitous Argentine beer, they made cheery toasts of “Prost!” and gathered around the small bar’s five TVs to watch the game.

La Muzza Inspiradora has drawn this crowd by hiring a German chef, Michael Schnirch, to serve up bratwurst, schweinebraten, currywurst and hand-twisted pretzels to appeal to the greater Buenos Aires area’s 200,000 German expatriates.

Schnirch, who moved to Buenos Aires nine years ago after falling in love with an Argentine woman he met on a beach in Chile — now his wife — launched his career as a caterer in an effort to bring a little of his native Bavaria to Argentina.

“I missed German sausages, so I decided to start making them myself — first for events and for the embassy, and then for restaurants,” the 35-year-old told AFP.

The bar first hired him to cater during Champions League matches. The idea worked so well they hired him again to serve up his native cuisine for all of Germany’s matches during the World Cup.

The bar tried to strike a neutral tone Sunday, putting up balloons in Argentina’s sky blue and white along with streamers in the yellow, red and black of the German flag.

But the clients, many of whom were already several beers into the party by the time the match began, exuberantly popped the balloons.

It was a stark contrast with the atmosphere outside, where Argentina flags covered the city and tens of thousands of Argentines gathered at giant screens set up in public squares.

“In here, it’s fine, but I wouldn’t wear this out there,” said Sebastian Eigenrauch, 20, referring to his Germany jersey.

Like many in the bar, he was clutching the gray sweater he had used to cover it up outside.

– Historical ties –

Argentina has had a close relationship with Germany for much of its history.

It was a top destination for German migrants during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the young South American nation had one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Long-time President Juan Domingo Peron, the towering figure of 20th-century Argentina, was close with German leaders and during World War II remained neutral until the conflict was nearly finished.

After the war, the country developed a reputation as a haven for Nazi fugitives, including Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele.

But the vast majority of Argentines with German roots are the descendants of ordinary immigrants who moved to the new world in search of opportunity.

Along with Italian descendants, the children of these immigrants today make up one of the country’s main demographic groups.

“There are a lot of German Argentines who have a relationship with their families in Germany,” said Tobias Brickel, a 22-year-old German studying management in Buenos Aires.

“There are German schools, and some people still speak German even though their great-grandparents moved here.”

But when it comes to football, the relationship is a bitter rivalry — especially for Argentina, which last made it to the World Cup final in 1990 and lost to West Germany.