Germans crash out

It was a classic football match between two teams that have won 3 World Cups each. I put on my shirt, pants and leather shoes to prepare for school at 1 a.m., trotted off to the Hong Kong cafe as a teacher and as a football fan with long time Azzuri supporter JG. Unknowingly I have backed the Germans because I own a 1974 vintage Adidas Germany jacket, a FILA Germany 'Fubol' T-shirt and a NIKE Germany sports band. As much as I dislike Michael Ballack, I liked how the Germans finish off their penalties like that was the first thing their parents taught them to do. I also like Oktoberfest and Bratwurst sausages. But that's beside the point. We were having a side bet to see which record will be broken. Whether Italy will finally break Germany's impeccable record at penalty kicks or Germany will defeat Italy in a World Cup game. Well, in the end, none of that happened.

The only notable surprise omission is that of Bastian Schweinsteiger who did not impress in the Argentina game. The game began rather cautiously with the Germans showing none of their steely nerves in the quarter final penalty shootout victory. The Italians settled down quickly and showed that they were not all about defense with some attractive attacking play that the Germans struggle to break down. 118 minutes later, they were to discover that Jens Lehman was in uncompromising mood. Francesco Totti looked out of sorts and tried to play too many through passes that found nobody. Mauro Camoneresi probably was thinking about his Juventus career than chasing the ball at his right flank. But other than those two, Italy was in majestic form with Cannavaro marshalling his team and his defence with such ease and authority. Andrea Pirlo was in the thick of all the action, his repertoire of short, long passes were all capable of carving out chances and one finally did at the second last minute of extra time. Drawing three German defenders at the edge of the penalty box, he shrugged off the challenges and held his ground before releasing Grosso in the area whose first-time curling shot hit the back of Lehman's net and silenced the entire nation. Minutes before, Gianlugi Buffon had to make a stupendous save to stop Lucas Podolski's dipping and powerful shot.

Statistics say that Italy will reach this year's finals. They have reached a World Cup final every 12 years since 1970. They lost to all-conquering Brazil in 1970. Won it at Espana 1982 courtesy of Paolo Rossi, lost in the penalty shootout against Brazil via a Roberto Baggio miss in USA 1994. And now will that see-saw finally turn in to Italy's favour in 2006? What goes around comes around as Karma puts it, this could very well be their year with France and Portugal's defence not looking as solid as theirs.

Jurgen Klinsmann who captured the imagination of every young boy who yearned to be a super striker has breathed new life into Germany's footballing chapter. They were defeated by the better team that night but their squad never looked strong on paper anyway. It is Klinsmann's aggressive and predatory instincts at his heyday that inspired an average German team to one of the most entertaining and enterprising team that Germany has ever produced. It is a hard pill to swallow for the Germany supporters. The most ardent Germany supporter will want Klinsmann to stay but perhaps questions will be raised whether he could commit to the national team on a more frequent basis when this young team embroils itself in the qualifiers for the Euro 2008 championships. Klinsmann has managed to fool the world by saying that his team will win the World Cup but deep down he probably knew that the players he had were simply just not good enough. He can never fool himself but he instilled this a winning and attacking philosophy into his players. A semi-final exit is probably not what a powerhouse footballing nation like Germany deserve but for this crop of players, they have far exceeded all expectations and Metzelder and Co. should be pleased with their efforts. Germany's squad depth was exposed cruelly by Italy. David Odonkor and Oliver Neuville are hardly world class players although they did combine to score the winning goal against a mediocre Poland side. While Klinsmann pulls out rabbits from his hat, Marcelo Lippi pulled out tigers and dinosaurs from his hat.



And the dinosaur can't come bigger than Alessandro Del Piero who like Thiery Henry, so outstanding for club but so ordinary for country. He's probably past his prime but that wonderfully taken last minute goal reminds us so much of the Del Piero in the late nineties where he led Juventus to the numerous league titles and European glory. In the hat includes a wealth of strikers, Fillipo "Pippo" Inzaghi, Vicente Iaquinta, Daniele De Rossi, Alessandro Nesta, so on and so forth. This Italian side is not the Paolo Rossi one man show in 1982 but a team centered on success, battling against scandals in their homeland and mourning for Gianluca Pessoto. With the exception of Luca Toni, all the strikers have gotten a goal each. Iaquinta, Del Piero, Totti, Inzaghi and Gilardinio. The full backs Grosso and Zambrotta also found the net. Andrea Pirlo will be the main man in the final together with Cannavaro and Buffon and I wouldn't bet against new scorers in the final. Possibly Genaro Gattuso and Daniel De Rossi to end their campaign as the side with the most scorers in the World Cup to win the trophy.