a tragedy of Shakesperean proportions
Saturday morning (New Zealand time). I met up with some Argentinian friends and we headed to the Sportscafe for the biggest game of the World Cup so far. Argentina vs Germany. We arrived just before 2:00am and joined the 150-or-so people already queuing to get in. The national anthems were under way when we finally got through the doors. The crowd in the Sportscafe was split roughly 60:40 in favour of Argentinian supporters. And the first half of the game followed that ratio – Argentina dominated, with at least 60% of the possession. Argentina scored shortly into the second half. Argentinian chants echoed around the Sportscafe and there were Argentinians jumping and dancing all around me. The German supporters sat there stone-faced.
And then it all went horribly wrong [for Argentina]. They subbed off midfielder Riquelme and striker Crespo and started playing more defensively. Around the same time, Abbondanzieri, Argentina’s first-choice goalkeeper, went off injured. Germany equalised and came alive. At fulltime it was 1-1. Germany kept playing well as the game went into extra time. Nobody scored and it came down to penalties. Argentina had to rely on their second-choice goalkeeper. Lehmann, Germany’s keeper, pulled off two brilliant saves. Germany won. I walked home with a bunch of very depressed Argentinians.
[although it's a pity there won't be an Argentina-Brazil final, it's good that Germany are still in it, seeing as they're hosting the tournament...]
