As the Argentinean teammates, distraught, worn-out, humiliated and some in tears while others trying hard to hold back, were walking out the stadium after their crashing defeat by Germany in the quarterfinal, I was a little saddened by the scene. Though not surprised by German’s victory as it’s ranked as one of the best teams in the soccer world - and better yet they’ve gained an impetus in the previous match by sending England home - I was very much taken aback by the surprising score of 4-0, with that the legendary Argentineans went home empty-handed. It’s more than a defeat to Argentina. It’s a disgrace.
For the German’s glorious victory, it’s their teamwork, pragmatism and well-rounded tactics that are at work. Although those young German players are highly skilled, their strategy relied heavily on collective collaboration rather than individual's skills. Every move was precisely calculated and each player, like a part of machine, was programmed to be exact in position and timing, thus to have yielded an optimized performance that finally paid off and had Argentina ousted.
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, a decorous and affable grandma-looking lady who you may see a dozen if you take a promenade in any of those suburban neighborhoods, paid her homage to the event and gave the German players a standing ovation each time they scored. She seemed gaining more satisfaction as Germany made a steady progress in the field. Her presence as a stateswoman sort of gave out something in the air to legitimize more the German’s victory.
To worsen for the Argentineans, the German’s merits are exactly their faults. There is no doubt that on individual level especially the techniques on the ball, the Argentina team are among the best, if not the best, in the world. Tevez, Heinze, and did I mention Messi? But there's something missing here, something that could synchronize the players’ best efforts and reinforce their top-notch skills. That something is just not there. In front of German’s relentless, efficacious attack wave after wave, the Argentineans were routed, and all we could see were the faces of angry Heinze, frustrated Tevez, helpless Messi, and the devastated Maradona on the sideline. Likewise with the Argentinean’s attack led by Messi, it paled each time facing German’s vigorous and well-organized defense machine – Messi scored 0 the whole evening, and the only goal attained by Argentina proved to be invalid because of its offside. It was so unfortunate.
Maradona, the invincible iconic soccer legend Diego Maradona, must have gone through an emotional rollercoaster. Rosary in hand, he appeared poised when the game started. Then he seemed to start losing his panache when the Germans scored the second goal, and the third, the fourth………Toward the end of the second half, his facial expressions and body languages betrayed him showing he was eventually resigned to the fact that the world had crashed down and he finally met his Waterloo……..
For Argentineans, soccer is an artistry; while for the Germans a math. When a romantic artist meets an austere mathematician and walks into a labyrinth the latter sets up, the artist will be more than likely lost.
