Four years is a long time in football, but when Germany face Argentina on Saturday, memories will be fresh of an afternoon almost exactly four years ago.
That quarter-final on 30 June 2006 between the two sides is one of the most memorable encounters in recent history; a dramatic penalty shootout followed by chaotic scenes of scuffles involving a number of players and coaches on both sides.
This time around, the game has the potential to be a real classic, with young stars like Germany’s Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller up against Argentina’s Leo Messi, Angel di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain, each of them ready to make history on the biggest stage in football.
The incomparably talented Messi has the potential to cement his reputation as the best player on the planet, while German playmaker Ozil has been brilliant so far in this tournament, setting the stage for a really mouth-watering encounter.
Yet most of the talk leading into the game has been about the crazy scenes that followed the penalties in 2006, which appear to be fresh in the memories of those involved.
Of course, many of the players who will take to the field on Saturday were not involved in 2006. Argentina’s squad is drastically different four years on under Maradona, while five of Germany’s likely XI have only made their international debut in the past two years. Despite that, what happened four years ago is clearly a factor, given that many of the game’s main protagonists do remember what went down in Berlin and have been clear on that fact this week.
The likely presence of Gabriel Heinze and Maxi Rodriguez in the Argentina starting lineup will certainly add to the spark; Heinze was in the thick of melee four years ago, while Rodriguez’ flying punch into Bastian Schweinsteiger’s back earned him a two match ban.
Schweinsteiger, who started that game as a 21 year old and attempted to play the role of peacemaker during the scuffles, has been fairly scathing of the Argentine side this week, saying;
“When one sees Argentina's games and the way in which they try to influence the referees... It is a lack of respect, but this is what the Argentines are like. We have to be ready for it; I just hope the referee has a good day.”
“My memory of the shootout is there, but what remains is what happened at the end, what the Argentines did is deeply ingrained in my mind.”
In the same press conference Schweinsteiger also took the unusual step of criticising Argentina’s supporters, making it clear just how objectionable he finds them;
“We have already seen how the Argentine fans sit together in spite of the fact that those are not their proper seats, and they stop other spectators with the correct tickets from enjoying the game.”
This was always likely to provoke a response from Diego Maradona, with the Argentine boss inevitably having a lot to say in response to Schweinsteiger’s claims;
“We don't have time to think of Schweinsteiger, the boys are thinking about getting on the field and playing a 2006 rematch. So it doesn't worry me what he says about penalties, kicks, that we don't know how to lose, it doesn't interest us.”
“A different game is played every match and this is going to be different, because we are coming out to attack them and play in their faces. This is what has them nervous.”
“What's the matter Schweinsteiger? Are you nervous?”
Maradona chose to mockingly imitate a German accent when delivering his jibe at Schweinsteiger, a further indication that there will be no love lost between the sides on Saturday.
Both sides are high on confidence going into the game after impressive Second Round wins, albeit with the help of controversial refereeing decisions. There will be a mutual respect between the sides in terms of how seriously they must take each other, but that seems to be where the respect ends.
Further indication of this came when Germany captain Philip Lahm also chipped in with a few pointed comments about the approaching fixture;
"Bastian said what he said, we know the South Americans are on the temperamental side, they are hot-headed and they hate losing. We'll just see how they lose on the pitch and see how they react after that."
This is surely a case of mind games from the often outspoken Lahm, whose comments fall somewhere between self-belief and arrogance. Yet after all the criticism of Argentina, Lahm reserved his strongest insult for England;
"We have to show the world we can beat a team like Argentina. Now the big teams are waiting for us and it would be great if we can beat a big opponent."
"Teams like Brazil, Spain, Holland and Argentina are definitely stronger than England."
Ouch, talk about kicking a team while they’re down. With England out the way, it remains to be seen how this new generation of German talent will perform now they finally face up against a ‘big’ team.
After all the talk this week, the fuse is lit for an explosive match in Cape Town. Let’s just hope that all the fighting has been done off the pitch and that whoever comes out victorious, this game is remembered for all the right reasons.
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