Heartbreaking ...
Seeing Klose score his 5th goal of this World Cup in the 80th minute of the match was sooo heartbreaking for me ... i just became gloomy after that. I guess there were many more who felt the same about it.
Well, nothing wrong with the goal, it indeed was a good one with some great anticipation from Klose who headed the goal to equalise the scores and bring in a stalemate to the match, that was so evenly fought, though i felt that the Argentines were a notch above the Germans all through the match.
Its the Quarter final match which many were predicting to be like the final before the final. It indeed lived upto the expectations with the Argentines gaining an early hold on to the match keeping the Germans at bay in the first 15 to 20 minutes of the match. Neither of the teams could break through the opponents defense, and it just showed that its the defense that makes the matches more interesting. Argentina was playing great football, with Riquelme providing great break throughs and their attack was looking very ominous. But the Germans had a very good defense in place and Argentina was never allowed to score a goal. A wonderful shot from Requilme of a corner found the first goal of the match in the early 5 minutes of the second half that lifted the tempo of the whole game. The Germans were worried about losing in front of the home crowd and started attacking, and it was a feast to watch the players play some very beautiful football. The way they held the possession, and later even the clean way in which the Argentines were taking possession of the ball, it was a lovely sight.
But, after replacing his main striker Crespo, and the play maker Riquelme, the Argentine coach Jose Pekerman, made a tactical mistake and it caused him the match !!!. Argentina was short of strikers and they didnt have them when it mattered the most in the penalty shoot out. Lehmann proved his worth, and made a statement that he was the right replacement for Oliver Khan, by saving 2 penalty shots and sending the Germans through to the Semis.
It was tough to watch the next match between Italy and Ukraine after coming to terms with the fact that we will no longer be able to see the beautiful game of football played by the Argentines. And it was even more sad to see the way the Italians crushed one of my favorites for the Semis, the Ukraine. This was the first time that Ukraine had qualified for the World Cup, and it was an inspiring come back in the group stages and showed some great character in these players.
But, in this quarter final match, it was clear that the Gods had already decided who the winner would be, and the Ukrainians were lacking all the luck they needed to bring fruits to their valiant efforts of scoring goals, after breaking through the tough Italian defense. With an early goal in the 6th minute, a beautiful long shot by Zambrotta, Italy had a strong grip on the match. Shevchenko tried all he could and all his team mates could not score a goal for Ukraine. After the second goal by Italy in the 60th minute, it was all over for Ukraine, and they left out a huge hole in their defense which helped Italy score another goal and seal the match at 3 - 0.
The Italian defense said to be one of the toughest to be broken, and guided by the world costliest goal keeper, Buffon is gonna be tested against the fast paced, and menacing strikers of Germany. It looks like an easy match for Germany, but the convincing win over Ukraine should have bolstered the confidence of Italians, especially after reaching the semis after a gap of 2 World Cups. The first semi final between Germany and Italy definately promises to be a tough one, and hope we get to see the best team reach the finals. My personal favorites are Italy, which I suppose is clear enough because of my vengeance for Germany against the Argentine loss, rather than for the glory of Italy :)
Well, nothing wrong with the goal, it indeed was a good one with some great anticipation from Klose who headed the goal to equalise the scores and bring in a stalemate to the match, that was so evenly fought, though i felt that the Argentines were a notch above the Germans all through the match.
Its the Quarter final match which many were predicting to be like the final before the final. It indeed lived upto the expectations with the Argentines gaining an early hold on to the match keeping the Germans at bay in the first 15 to 20 minutes of the match. Neither of the teams could break through the opponents defense, and it just showed that its the defense that makes the matches more interesting. Argentina was playing great football, with Riquelme providing great break throughs and their attack was looking very ominous. But the Germans had a very good defense in place and Argentina was never allowed to score a goal. A wonderful shot from Requilme of a corner found the first goal of the match in the early 5 minutes of the second half that lifted the tempo of the whole game. The Germans were worried about losing in front of the home crowd and started attacking, and it was a feast to watch the players play some very beautiful football. The way they held the possession, and later even the clean way in which the Argentines were taking possession of the ball, it was a lovely sight.
But, after replacing his main striker Crespo, and the play maker Riquelme, the Argentine coach Jose Pekerman, made a tactical mistake and it caused him the match !!!. Argentina was short of strikers and they didnt have them when it mattered the most in the penalty shoot out. Lehmann proved his worth, and made a statement that he was the right replacement for Oliver Khan, by saving 2 penalty shots and sending the Germans through to the Semis.
It was tough to watch the next match between Italy and Ukraine after coming to terms with the fact that we will no longer be able to see the beautiful game of football played by the Argentines. And it was even more sad to see the way the Italians crushed one of my favorites for the Semis, the Ukraine. This was the first time that Ukraine had qualified for the World Cup, and it was an inspiring come back in the group stages and showed some great character in these players.
But, in this quarter final match, it was clear that the Gods had already decided who the winner would be, and the Ukrainians were lacking all the luck they needed to bring fruits to their valiant efforts of scoring goals, after breaking through the tough Italian defense. With an early goal in the 6th minute, a beautiful long shot by Zambrotta, Italy had a strong grip on the match. Shevchenko tried all he could and all his team mates could not score a goal for Ukraine. After the second goal by Italy in the 60th minute, it was all over for Ukraine, and they left out a huge hole in their defense which helped Italy score another goal and seal the match at 3 - 0.
The Italian defense said to be one of the toughest to be broken, and guided by the world costliest goal keeper, Buffon is gonna be tested against the fast paced, and menacing strikers of Germany. It looks like an easy match for Germany, but the convincing win over Ukraine should have bolstered the confidence of Italians, especially after reaching the semis after a gap of 2 World Cups. The first semi final between Germany and Italy definately promises to be a tough one, and hope we get to see the best team reach the finals. My personal favorites are Italy, which I suppose is clear enough because of my vengeance for Germany against the Argentine loss, rather than for the glory of Italy :)
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