Shock & Awe
History repeated itself as Germany dumped Argentina at the quarterfinal stage of the World Cup for the second edition in succession, here on Saturday.
Cheered on by their ever-smiling chancellor Angela Merkel, Joachim Loew’s young team demolished a clueless Argentina by a massive 4-0 margin.
Diego Maradona’s dream of adding another World Cup medal to his cupboard was crushed on a stunning evening at the seaside stadium. Germany delivered yet another blow on the Argentinian legend 20 years after the final of Italia 90.
The football world has a new superstar in Bastian Schweinsteiger. The second name of the Bayern Munich player may be a tongue twister but he was simply out of the world at the raucous Green Point Stadium. Argentina had no answers to Schweinsteiger’s midfield masterclass
Germany’s 4-0 win was as comprehensive as the score-line suggests. The wheels came off Argentina’s game after they fell behind to a Thomas Mueller’s third-minute glancing header off a freekick from Schweinsteiger.
Argentina’s outrageously talented team were never able to mount a serious challenge to the technically accomplished and athletic Germany. Many had expected Lionel Messi to take South Africa by storm but the reigning World Player of the Year will be returning home without a goal to his name.
Messi tried his best to pull Argentina out of the rut but German resistance at the back proved too strong.
The defining quality of Argentina’s abysmal show in the high-profile match was their defending. The writing was on the wall from the moment Mueller strode in, unchallenged, to put Germany ahead. Argentina right-back Nicolas Otamendi never bothered to keep track of Mueller.
Argentina would have ended up as the worst losers of the tournament had Germany taken all their chances. Miroslav Klose, who scored a brace to take his overall World Cup tally to 14, was guilty of missing a sitter in the first-half, blazing a shot wide from 12 yards after Mueller had set him up with a superb square pass.
But the miss never mattered in the end as Germany turned on the style after the break.
Mueller, who will miss the semifinal after receiving a second yellow card of the event for a handball on Saturday, was involved in the build-up to the second goal as well.
Despite going down near the penalty box he showed admirable alacrity to tee up the ball for the onrushing Lukas Podolski on the left. Klose had the simple job of tapping in Podolski’s pass. The goal sucked the life out of Argentina. It was only a question of how many from that point.
Schweinsteiger left a trail of Argentine players in his wake to create Germany’s third. Central defender Arne Friedrich was the beneficiary of Schweini’s probing run on the left. German defenders of yore rarely ventured out of their own half, but Loew’s charges are different. Klose completed the rout with a volley.
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