If the Germany vs Brazil game was a
shockingly open match, this was a chokingly tight match. In a game where the
light blue of The Albiceleste came out all trumps, there weren’t really any
winners from the night, except of course Sergio Romero.
It is expected that teams containing the
likes of Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben, Lionel Messi and Higuain will light up
the stage with some dazzling football. In all fairness the match failed to live
up to any sort of expectations. One game which you would most likely put in the
Stinker pile of 2014 World Cup.
Both the teams looked to have taken the
German romp of Brazil a bit too seriously. The match was labelled to be a cagey affair by
the pundits considering the defensive solidity of both these teams. Caution and
safety must have been in the team talk of the 2 managers before the start of the match.
When we speak of Argentina vs Netherlands,
we speak of the legendary 90th minute goal by Dennis ‘The Iceman’
Bergkamp at France 98 World cup. Frank De Boer booting a 50 yarder ball towards
the arsenal striker who controlled it with a feather light touch and finishing
it with aplomb, sending the commentator Van Gelder into an absolute frenzy. The
hopes of hearing him going crazy once again were dashed by two teams not ready
to take any sort of risks.
Photo Credits: news.bbc.co.uk
The first half started and ended without
giving us any sort of edge of the seat stuff. Some neat reverse flicks by the
below average Higuain were the only highlights of a forgettable first half.
There was a moment when arguably Argentina’s best player of
the world cup so far, Javier Mascherano went down in a heap. The sight of a
wobbly mascherano must have brought hearts in mouth of every argentine out
there. Fortunately for the them and my
Fantasy premier league team he seemed fit enough to continue*phew*.
If one player in the bright orange stood
out, it was their towering defender Ron Vlaar. Time after time being in right
positions and marshalling the defence of the Oranje highlighted his importance
to the team. He prevented a clear goal scoring opportunity with a spectacular
tackle on Lionel Messi. It says a lot about the team when their defender is the
only one worth mentioning out of the playing 11.
Messi was shackled, Robben was fettered and
Van Persie was just disappointing. It seemed fair that the match had to be
decided on the lucky draw of the penalties. A DOZEN YARDS, A MILLION
DREAMS. That’s exactly what world cup
penalties are all about.
It seemed extremely harsh that the best
player of the match missed his penalty, but at the same time it seems awfully
weird that a centre back taking the first penalty in a team comprising of
Robben, Huntellar, Sneijder and Kuyt. Louis Van Gaal couldn’t work his tactical
magic this time as he was out of substitutions. 12 yards of glory seemed too
far away for the Dutch. Argentina received a new hero in the shape of their often
criticised goalkeeper, Sergio Romero. The save from the Sneijder penalty in
particular will make him a proud man.
This will not go in the history books like
the first Semi-final, far from it. It will however give a Messi led Argentina a
chance to win the greatest prize of them all at the home of their arch levels
giving them bragging rights for the foreseeable future.
It
is definitely going to be a mouth-watering clash between the world’s best
player and the world’s most feared midfield. Will Messi fulfil his destiny of
winning the world cup? Will Germany finally lose the tag of Chokers? Only time
will tell.
Until next time. Stay safe.
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