Ominous for the octopus: Paul the psychic octopus has predicted Spain will beat Germany but its days may be numbered as angered Argentinan fans have threatened to cook it in a paella. Photo: AFP

German fans are now hoping the opposite will happen and by picking Spain to win it will actually be Germany who come out on top. Such is the popularity that surrounds the octopus the German news channel n-tv actually broadcasted its Germany-Spain prediction live, even having two reporters commentating on it.

The handlers of the psychic octopus at Aquarium Sea Life in Oberhausen encourage Paul to make the predictions by putting mussels into two glass cubes, with each cube having one of the nation's flags on the front. The mussel Paul chooses first is taken to be its prediction.
Paul initially went to the Spain-marked container before moving around the tank and then hovered over the German box. But he eventually opted for the European champions.

Paul has become world reknowned, but this good humoured, quirky phenomenon has not been well recieved by everybody.

Following the quarter-final prediction where Paul correctly guessed Argentina would lose to Germany the Argentineans threatened to kill the octopus and put it in a paella. The newspaper El Dia gave this recipe for anyone daring to capture Paul: "All you need is four normal potatoes, olive oil for taste and a little pepper." Argentinan chef Nicolas Bedorrou has suggested on Facebook a far more simplistic and brutal way to cook the octopus.
"We will chase him and put him on some paper. We will then beat him (but correctly!) in order to keep the meat tender and then put it in boiling water."