Serbia Shock Germany with Help from the Ref
Germany was defeated by Serbia 2-0 in today's match at Nelson Mendela Bay stadium. The upset has Serbia fans celebrating their victory over three time German champions.
The German legend Franz Beckenbauer was scathing in his criticism of England last week after England and Germany's opening games at the World Cup.The former German captain, 64, said: "What I saw of the English against the US had very little to do with football. It looked to me as if the English have gone backwards into the bad old days of kick and rush."
"I am not sure if the England coach Fabio Capello can still change much there," he told South African newspaper the Times. "The English are being punished for the fact that there are very few English players in the Premier League as clubs use better foreign players from all over the world."
However, former England international forward, Peter Beardsley, warned the German to not be so quick to judge his former team after only one performance at the World Cup. "When you look at the way Germany played and the way we played, you would say he has got a point," he said. "But overall it is about getting to the final and although Germany were outstanding, there is nothing to say they will continue to be outstanding. He's right on one game, but overall time will tell."
Serbian left winger Milan Jovanovic scored in the 37th minute, right after Germany's striker Miroslav Klose's was handed a red card after for catching Dejan Stankovic. Klose is the first German player to be sent off in a World Cup match since Carsten Ramelow in 2002 against Cameroon.
Vladimir Stojkovic, Serbia's goalkeeper, stopped Lukas Podolski's penalty kick for Germany in the 60th minute. The only other penalty miss for Germany in regulation play was by Uli Hoeness in 1974 against Poland.Germany had three minutes of injury time to find an equaliser, but the downtrodden team was tired and by the looks of it gave up before it was over.
It looked good for Germany in the beginning, coach Joachim Loew used the same line-up from the 4-0 German victory over Australia last week. Alan Shearer from the BBC Sports was confident Germany would do well, "Germany have started this tournament very well. You have to take in consideration that they have only played Australia but you can only beat who is in front of you and it was a great performance with a lot of goals. They were convincing and they made a real statement."
Still, Loew, who wasn't letting the hype get the best of him, commenting on Serbia's potential to come on strong: "Since they lost their first match they are even more dangerous in the second game. They are like a boxer who takes a first blow, they are poised to hit back. Their coach (Radomir Antic) has talked about honour, character, that tomorrow's game is the match of the year. I know the Serbian culture, they are strong fighters and are perfectly able to deliver on their promises."
The win is historic for Serbia, who join Germany and Ghana for three points, and blows Group D wide open. Referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco took a lot of flak for the game, Shearer said he "ruined the game for Germany. The red card completely changed the face of the match and Group D is wide open if this score stays the same." Mallenco gave out nine yellow cards, the most any ref has given this tournament, and is known for having a trigger finger, having given 11 red cards in 17 games in La Liga last season.
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