Spain 1-0 vs Germany: Why Germany failed to make it to the FIFA World Cup 2010 Final
Germany and Spain battled each other in the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup, and the better side won the match; the one that played with their minds, and not with their hearts. The Spaniards were by far the better side in that match, but the Germans were far better in their league matches. Yet they lost the match, the moment the players lost the plot.
Patience is a virtue, and the Germans failed to hold on to it, something they did so well during the matches preceding the semifinal. Add the senseless absence of Thomas Mueller and you get a side as good as 10 players. Mueller was the main attraction for the Germans during the event, and besides Miroslav Klose, he was the one person who was well versed in the art of netting the ball. He got to miss the match due to his second yellow card of the tournament, and that yellow card in the quarterfinal match against Argentina (which they won 4-0) spelled doom for the Germans; only they didn’t know it then.
Without Mueller, Germany had to adapt to a new technique. But skipper Philipp Lahm was busy in making arrangements that the temporary captaincy be his for good, without knowing that most of the players were playing well because they wanted to prove to their regular captain Michael Ballack that they are doing so for him. Lahm disturbed the tempo by saying he will not hand over the reins even if the injured Ballack returns, and the drama made most of the players get entangled into the ‘who to support’ dilemma: the captain who is responsible for making them such a great team, or the one who is reaping the fruits of his predecessor’s good work. The result of this entire unnecessary episode ended in the team's loss. The ones who defeated Argentina convincingly didn’t look convincing at all against Spain. No one knows what will happen to Lahm and his captaincy claims, but they ruined the World Cup for his team, his fans and himself.
The match was Spain’s for the 90 minutes, as they played better in front of the 60,960 spectators and kept the ball more, a fact that helped them strike whenever they wished. Although the Germans marked David Villa, it was Puyol who jumped to the occasion and netted the ball to strike for the first and only time in the game. His thundering header in the 73rd minute was enough to demoralize the Germans. He ran from deep to gain advantage and struck the ball with his head, defeating all of Germany in the process.
The Spaniards also had the services of Xavi, Iniesta, Alonso, Pedro and the out-of-form Torres in the dying moments of the game, which shows they don’t depend on merely one player or two. On the other hand, the Germans depended on Klose and Mueller, and with one unable to play, the other didn’t look as dangerous as expected. The experienced Lahm and Schweinsteiger also failed to live up to the expectations, the latter playing rough, without looking tough. Yet it was the Spaniards who played the game fairly and strolled away, leaving the Germans heartbroken.
The final on Sunday is going to be a European affair, like the last World Cup where France clashed with Italy, and lost. But unlike the last time, one of the teams from Europe are the Euro Champions and if they manage to win, Spain will become only the second team in the history, after West Germany in 1974, to hold the World Cup as well as the Euro simultaneously. However, they have a technically correct Dutch side that also wants to be third time lucky and go back home as winners. So the stage is set for the 11th of July, where glory awaits the new champions. The better team will win; the one that will display more patience than the other!
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