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World Cup 2006 Blog Day 4
01/07/2006: I was a German fan yesterday though would have supported Argentina if I had been there. Very pleased the hosts have qualified as obviously everyone is in a great mood.
Watched the game in a sort Amish community Church Hall. Strange place but happy atmosphere with a mixture of Schalke 04 fans I turned up with and loads of families. What God would have thought of their unlicenced bar is anyone's guess but at €1 per litre bottle it was hardly a profiteering exercise and only Germans would have sold crisps in pint glasses.
I celebrated the German goal as though it was England – perhaps more so just to prove I was not anti-German – and felt proud to be the only Englishman in the crowd of 500.
Everyone stood up and linked arms for the national anthem at which point I felt like Edward Woodward in the Wicker Man. Lured to a Christian community then sacrificially torched to induce an equalising goal.
It was good to see the German fan did not think much of Michael Ballack and were more enthralled by Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klos and most surprisingly David Odonkor who will sign for Liverpool soon.
After a near miss from Klose in the first half I said: "That was klos." but nobody got it.
Can't stress how friendly and welcoming the German people are so I won't. I was looked after – fed and given drink; given precise instructions on travel and even picked up by car when I managed to get the taxi to me off at Körner Str. rather than Kölner Str.
Being ridiculously superstitious the whole group are going back to the same venue to watch the semi final though whether I will have the spirit to go should England be knocked out today remains to be seen.
I am staying in Essen, the same place as the England World Cup 2006 team and will watch the game there later. Not going to Gelsenkirchen as I'm a bit lazy, can't be bothered with the crowds and slightly hungover.
Supposed to be meeting some of the same German lads who were out last night but meetings arranged in drink rarely work out. Still, one of the girls from the flat is coming out and I expect there will be plenty of ticketless English fans floating about. We will win.
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Comments on: World Cup 2006 Blog Day 4
01/07/2006: Ballack is definitely one of the best midfielders in the world. He is also a level headed leader as shown in the match against Argentina. He did not give in and kept his cool to ensure Germany played in Dortmund. My best wishes to him and the German team.
01/07/2006: If a group of lions has their leader as a sheep, then they cannot win against group of sheep with leader as a lion. Packerman truned out to be a sheep leader of Argentinian lions. What a pity. People say if you do not learn from your past, then you are condemned to repeat it. England like Argentina were hot favourites in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. In the quarter-finals they were winning 2-0 against Germany, but the English coach made an egregious blunder by replacing the winning combination with substitutes, and even replaced the main England striker Bobby Charlton. The result was that England lost the match 3-2. It is the loss that England rue to this day. This is what Pekerman did in the quarter-finals against Germany. Pekerman's resignation is post-tragedy crocodile tears. To win a crucial match you need a schemer. The German coach did not change injured Ballack, and his move led to the equaliser. Riquelme, created the opportunity that led to a goal in the match from his corner kick. He has been the schemer of the game. The Argentine coach was not intuitve enough to realise that what a blunder he is commiting in a sudden death game. Packermann''s mistake has cost the best team in the world the world cup. One must be on the offensive in crucial matches. The coach is responsible for inducing fear in the team which has cost them the title and gifted tears and agony for the entire nation. The lions lost from the hand of sheep. What a pity. It was not the German game that defeated Argentina, it was their inspiration that outplayed them. Learn next time and don't cry for Pekerman Argentina. Let inspirational and aggresive Maradona be your coach.Mohammad Asim. Lahore, Pakistan
02/07/2006: well looks like the french sent brazil home vive la france
03/07/2006: Maradona was the best player, but he sucks as a coach. He tried, and failed. Horribly. However, I don't think replacing Riquelme was the problem. Cambiasso and Aimar have demonstrated they can fill his shoes with no problems, but it was Abondanzieri's injury that complicated things in two ways: first, it left the team without its most experienced goalkeeper (and the best one at penalties), and second it forced a substitution, that was reserved to put Messi on the field. The germans were exhausted, and like he did with mexico, Pekerman wanted to get Messi on the field to run into the german defense and wreak havoc when they could no longer run to catch him. That's why he was warming up, but never entered.On the other hand, I disagree with the man of the match award going to Ballack. He's a great player, no doubt about it, but there was another on the field that really impressed me. Tevez. He ran all the 120 minutes, forward and back, the team was attacking, and there he was. 4 seconds later, it was Germany attacking, and Tevez could be seen running like mad to help the defense. It was minute 115, everybody was practically walking, Ballack had cramps in both his legs, and Tevez was _still_ running like crazy. Pure devotion. The man left _everything_ on the field. It's a shame it wasn't enough.But hey, 4 years go by pretty quick ;)cheers from an Argie
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