Germany vs Argentina..
Yeah, so finally I did watch a match in the TV lounge fully. And I must say, the match was quite special. I, for one, thought Argentina would win the contest hands down, although I had this creepy feeling that it was going to be Germany which would come up trumps. Or maybe my tendency to support the underdogs took control of me. Because it seemed quite illogical. It was one of those things wherein the mind tells something but the heart tells the opposite.
Anyways coming back to the match, the first half, to sum it in one word, was unexciting. Argentina dominated the half with almost 65% posession, but were unimpressive. Ballack missed an easy header, and I was hoping secretly that it does not prove costly for Germany. However Tevez was the most impressive with his slick passes and sublime touches.
Coming to the second half, it was quite evident that both the teams were looking to increase their tempo. First up, Germany conceded a corner in the 48th minute. And Ayala converted it into a goal with a beautiful header. And celebrate he did. Little did he know that he was going to be one of the two who'd let Argentina down later in the evening. It was only after the goal did we see the Germans trying to attack much more. Wave after wave of the German attack crashed against the sturdy, Argentinian defense. But little came out of it.
However the turning point of the game, according to me, was in the 62 minute, when the Argentinian goalkeeper was injured. After a few minutes he had to be stretchered off the field. And after that, a couple of disastrous substitutions by Jose Pekerman just made matters worse by replacing Riquelme and Crespo. WHAT WAS HE THINKING? And to top it all, Messi and Saviola were overlooked. Was it over confidence on Pekerman's part or under-estimating the young lads? But that was all the Germans needed. In the 80th minute Ballack gave an excellent pass inside the box to Borowski, who headed it to Klose. Klose had no problems in converting it into a goal and suddenly everyone (almost) around me went into raptures. The Germans were back into the match.
The extra time was safely negotiated by both the teams. And then it came down to deciding the match through penalty kicks. (Somehow I was reminded of Patnaik's miss) And as I had anticipated, Germany came on top with Cambiossa and Ayala hitting it straight to Lehmann, the German goalkeeper while the Germans converted all their spot kicks. And the final score read :
Germany 1(4) - 1(2) Argentina
Argentina is a very good team which showed a lot of promise. I wont be surprised if they are chosen as favourites for the WC 2010. However they were just not meant to click in this WC. On the other hand, the German defense was not even half as strong as the Berlin wall. In fact at one juncture, Lahm made a weak pass to Freidrick which was intercepted by Crespo and it could have proved dangerous had Maxi not messed up the shot. There was another instance when I thought the referee was going to award a spot kick to Argentina when Lahm felled Rodriguez in the box. Instead the referee yellow-carded Rodriguez. There were other debatable decisions as well. The refereeing, I felt, was biased towards the Germans.
However it was their day on the field today, and I salute their dogged determination, which saw them through. And I feel happy for Klinsman. It could well turn into a second successive final if they get past the Italians. But that was easier said than done. Although Ballack did show a few flashes of brilliance, he was limping for most part of the second half. Schneider also looked incompetent. But one never knows when the Italians might snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They're the best chokers after Spain and Netherlands. Lets hope for the best and may the best teams win. And on that note, this is the optimist from utopia signing off.
My man of the match: The German goalkeeper, Lehmann
PS1: This was not the football post I promised. However I couldnt keep myself from posting about the match. It was the match of the WC. Waiting for tomorrow's quarterfinals.. esp Brazil vs France. Its time for vengeance guys.
PS2: Going home tomorrow. Just cant stop myself from getting bored. In fact I got so bored, that I started editing my orkut profile. (I dont like doing it, but then you know how bored I am now a days) And I guess, it came out quite well :P
PS3: India is tottering at 144/6 . No comments :(
PS4: WC UPDATE!! Pekerman quit as the Argentina coach. Shit happens, dude.
PS5: Tipo cant stop himself from mentioning assimov in every sentence. Its irritating.
PS5: 2 term assesment tests during this weekend. May the Lord save me. AMEN.
Anyways coming back to the match, the first half, to sum it in one word, was unexciting. Argentina dominated the half with almost 65% posession, but were unimpressive. Ballack missed an easy header, and I was hoping secretly that it does not prove costly for Germany. However Tevez was the most impressive with his slick passes and sublime touches.
Coming to the second half, it was quite evident that both the teams were looking to increase their tempo. First up, Germany conceded a corner in the 48th minute. And Ayala converted it into a goal with a beautiful header. And celebrate he did. Little did he know that he was going to be one of the two who'd let Argentina down later in the evening. It was only after the goal did we see the Germans trying to attack much more. Wave after wave of the German attack crashed against the sturdy, Argentinian defense. But little came out of it.
However the turning point of the game, according to me, was in the 62 minute, when the Argentinian goalkeeper was injured. After a few minutes he had to be stretchered off the field. And after that, a couple of disastrous substitutions by Jose Pekerman just made matters worse by replacing Riquelme and Crespo. WHAT WAS HE THINKING? And to top it all, Messi and Saviola were overlooked. Was it over confidence on Pekerman's part or under-estimating the young lads? But that was all the Germans needed. In the 80th minute Ballack gave an excellent pass inside the box to Borowski, who headed it to Klose. Klose had no problems in converting it into a goal and suddenly everyone (almost) around me went into raptures. The Germans were back into the match.
The extra time was safely negotiated by both the teams. And then it came down to deciding the match through penalty kicks. (Somehow I was reminded of Patnaik's miss) And as I had anticipated, Germany came on top with Cambiossa and Ayala hitting it straight to Lehmann, the German goalkeeper while the Germans converted all their spot kicks. And the final score read :
Germany 1(4) - 1(2) Argentina
Argentina is a very good team which showed a lot of promise. I wont be surprised if they are chosen as favourites for the WC 2010. However they were just not meant to click in this WC. On the other hand, the German defense was not even half as strong as the Berlin wall. In fact at one juncture, Lahm made a weak pass to Freidrick which was intercepted by Crespo and it could have proved dangerous had Maxi not messed up the shot. There was another instance when I thought the referee was going to award a spot kick to Argentina when Lahm felled Rodriguez in the box. Instead the referee yellow-carded Rodriguez. There were other debatable decisions as well. The refereeing, I felt, was biased towards the Germans.
However it was their day on the field today, and I salute their dogged determination, which saw them through. And I feel happy for Klinsman. It could well turn into a second successive final if they get past the Italians. But that was easier said than done. Although Ballack did show a few flashes of brilliance, he was limping for most part of the second half. Schneider also looked incompetent. But one never knows when the Italians might snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They're the best chokers after Spain and Netherlands. Lets hope for the best and may the best teams win. And on that note, this is the optimist from utopia signing off.
My man of the match: The German goalkeeper, Lehmann
PS1: This was not the football post I promised. However I couldnt keep myself from posting about the match. It was the match of the WC. Waiting for tomorrow's quarterfinals.. esp Brazil vs France. Its time for vengeance guys.
PS2: Going home tomorrow. Just cant stop myself from getting bored. In fact I got so bored, that I started editing my orkut profile. (I dont like doing it, but then you know how bored I am now a days) And I guess, it came out quite well :P
PS3: India is tottering at 144/6 . No comments :(
PS4: WC UPDATE!! Pekerman quit as the Argentina coach. Shit happens, dude.
PS5: Tipo cant stop himself from mentioning assimov in every sentence. Its irritating.
PS5: 2 term assesment tests during this weekend. May the Lord save me. AMEN.
blabbered by The optimist from utopia at 2:13 PM
4 Comments:
Lost a bet on Argentina. My world cup has more or less ended now.
Jose was a darn good coach man, sorry to c him go... :-(
dood, its asimov not assimov !! btw, the match was asimov
@ spawn :
hahaha..Germany won ..
Dude it was obvious that the argentininans psyched out man :)
WC bhi hogaya yaar ab tho blog kar!
Post a Comment
<< Home