Argentina mendidih

Jason89 · Post time 3-7-2010 08:21 PM

CAPE TOWN: Ketua pasukan Jerman, Philipp Lahm, semalam mengundang masalah baru apabila mengusik Diego Maradona dengan berkata: “Kami mahu melihat macam mana reaksi anda selepas Argentina kalah kepada kami esok (hari ini).”

Kedua-dua pasukan akan berentap pada saingan suku akhir dalam perlawanan yang ramai menganggap seharusnya perlawanan akhir bagi edisi kali ini.
Pemain pertahanan Bayern Munich itu yakin Jerman akan muncul pemenang di sini dan Argentina akan pulang menggigit jari. Lahm, 26, berkata: “Kami tahu pasukan dari Amerika Selatan ini mudah panas baran dan kami harus lebih tenang menandingi mereka.

“Kami tidak sabar mahu melihat bagaimana wajah mereka apabila menanggung satu lagi kekalahan nanti.”

Empat tahu lalu, di halaman sendiri, Jerman menewaskan Argentina 4-2 menerusi sepakan penalti dalam saingan peringkat sama.

Pada 30 Jun 2006 di Stadium Olympiastadion di Berlin yang disaksikan 72,000 penonton kedua-dua pasukan bergaduh sebaik wisel penamat dibunyikan oleh pengadil, Lubos Michel dari Slovakia dan Lahm mendakwa Argentina sebagai punca tercetus insiden berkenaan.
Sebelum ini, pemain tengah, Bastian Schweinsteiger memulakan ‘perang psikologi’ apabila menyuarakan Argentina pasukan yang tidak mengenali erti hormat.

Pengurus pasukan, Oliver Bierhoff pula berkata: “Di luar gelanggang Argentina berkelakuan baik tapi apabila berada dalam padang mereka pandai membuat provokasi dan bertindak agresif.” – Agensi

Jason89 · Post time 3-7-2010 08:24 PM

This game sure so excited

St.Yeepi · Post time 3-7-2010 08:29 PM

Kaiser to El Diego's defence
[size=0.9em]The Maradona debate: Pele vs Beckenbauer

BERLIN

Saturday, July 3, 2010

GERMAN football legend Franz Beckenbauer expressed his amazement yesterday at the criticism of Argentinian coach Diego Maradona which has emanated mainly from Brazil's three-time World Cup winner Pele.

Beckenbauer whom Maradona is attempting to emulate in winning the World Cup both as a player and as a coach said that he disagreed with Pele's claim on Thursday that Maradona's previously troubled private life would affect his squad who take on Germany in the World Cup quarter-final today in Cape Town.

"Above all one must not underestimate him (Maradona)," said Beckenbauer, who won the 1974 World Cup as a player and the 1990 one against a Maradona-captained Argentina as coach.

"He was an exceptional player (he captained Argentina to victory over the Beckenbauer-coached West Germans in the 1986 final) and nobody is entitled to give him lessons on football. What's more, his players are ready to march through fire for him," 'Der Kaiser' told Bild from South Africa.

Beckenbauer, who also 'won' a third World Cup as he was largely responsible for Germany winning the right to host the 2006 edition and headed up the highly successful hosting of it, said that he was also not impressed by midfielder Bastia Schweinsteiger's goading of the Argentinians.

Schweinsteiger, who at 26 is amazingly one of the veterans of the German side, had accused the Argentinians of being provocative something he got first hand in 2006 as the South Americans reacted angrily to losing to the Germans on penalties.

"They were maybe not very intelligent remarks," Beckenbauer said of Schweinsteiger's comments.

Beckenbauer, a well-groomed and youthful looking 64, said that the key to Germany repeating their victory of 2006 was to muzzle the individual talents of playmaker Lionel Messi, as Inter Milan had done so effectively in the Champions League semi-final.

"It is imperative that we muzzle him (Messi) ... Inter Milan showed how to do this in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, isolating him and stopping him from passing the ball so freely, this will be the job of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira," said Beckenbauer.

Der Kaiser conceded that this clash would be the toughest yet for the Germans, who have won three of their four matches here twice scoring four times and losing one a 1-0 defeat by Serbia, but that if they progressed, then a fourth world title, but first since Germany was unified, would be on the cards.

"This match against Argentina will be by far the toughest that our side have played up till now in the finals," said Beckenbauer, who earlier in the finals apologised for derogatory remarks he made about the England team though he was proved right in the end as the Germans humbled them 4-1 in the Last 16 clash.

"But if we emerge victorious from the match, the dream of a world title will become reality."

The winners of the match will play either European champions Spain or South American outsiders Paraguay in the semi-finals.AFP