Argentina: From sublime attack to ridiculous defence

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Europe is back. A majestic Germany hammered Diego Maradona’s Argentina 4-0 here on Saturday to advance to the semifinals of the World Cup.
Inspired by a cracking team performance, Germany tore Argentina’s chaotic defence into pieces. Miroslav Klose took his all-time World Cup tally to 14 after scoring a brace.

What was touted to be a South American World Cup has turned into a South African nightmare. Argentina have followed Brazil, who went down to the Netherlands on Friday, to the exit door. The tournament, which has lost two glamour teams in the space of 24 hours, may now have three European teams in the semifinals if Spain beat Paraguay in the late kick-off on Saturday.
Even Maradona will not have any complaints about Germany’s win. The Argentinian legend had never got on to the score sheet against Germany in the World Cup and his team was never close to scoring at the packed Green Point Stadium here.
Klose may have scored a double but the evening belonged to winger Thomas Mueller and midfield maestro Bastain Schweinsteiger. Mueller, the rising star of the tournament, opened the scoring in the third minute with a glancing header off a cross from Schweinsteiger. Joachim Loew’s team never looked back from there.
Maradona wouldn’t have envisaged such a dismal second half. Even though his team started well after the break, German efficiency told in the end. Germany exposed Argentinian weaknesses at the back with ridiculous ease.
Lionel Messi showed flashes of his brilliance in the early minutes but faded away as the match wore on. Maradona cut a forlorn figure as his team suffered a shocking meltdown in the middle. He was powerless as well as clueless, unable to alter the course of the match. Germany were simply superior in all areas of the pitch.