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The 2012-2013 Football Thread
- Thread starter Jaffa Cake
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Mexico - USA late tonight at the Azteca. Ugh, this has two to three goal defeat written all over it. 
Man, I wish USA were playing Montenegro today...sounds like a nice cushy fixture for a must-win game.
Well, the move allows the club suits and the new manager to scapegoat McDermott when they go down.
Well, the move allows the club suits and the new manager to scapegoat McDermott when they go down.
Man, I wish USA were playing Montenegro today...sounds like a nice cushy fixture for a must-win game.
i hope that is ironic
.. pretty much all former yugoslavian countries have excellent playersnot that other must wins are cushy either .. my austrians will have to win away against the irish today .. one can only hope they underestimate us because of our miserable standing in the fifa rankings
i hope that is ironic
Very true, they are no pushovers, but I'd still take them over Mexico. Vucinic is probably even better than Chicharito, but I doubt that Montenegro's stadium is as intimidating as Azteca.
The Irish don't exatcly have a sparkling record, but at their best they appear to be difficult to break down. They will be missing Robbie Keane, so at least you won't have to watch one of the silliest goal celebrations ever devised.
a stadium alone doesn't make a team sadly ...
The Irish don't exatcly have a sparkling record, but at their best they appear to be difficult to break down. They will be missing Robbie Keane, so at least you won't have to watch one of the silliest goal celebrations ever devised.
actually i'm hoping that our "Number 9" on paper (Marc Janko) get's an injury during warm up again, because his alternative Hosiner has managed to score 27 goals in the last 26 league games
(and 2 on on the national team on his first game in the starting line up)
And it's a good thing too, because USA don't have a national stadium! I don't mind though, because the country is so big and this way it guarantees that the team plays all over the country.
Know I'm a bit if a homer here, but I think the US has a good chance tonight. Mexico's been down of late and the US seems to be coming together. If we can score a quick one and turn the crowd against them, we got a real shot.
And maybe, just maybe Altidore might score. Yeah, prolly not.
And maybe, just maybe Altidore might score. Yeah, prolly not.
A good workmanlike win against Romania last night, van der Vaart and RVP looked good. The Young defense did everything that was asked of them, and more importantly after the fiasco of 2010, they looked like a team with SPIRIT.
Hard earned point for the US. D was huge. A little help from the ref on the no call in the box. I'd like to see a little more offense to relieve the D. We had one quality chance. That's not gonna cut it when we need 3pts. Take what we can get, I guess.
And then they get worse.
When the draw was made we looked and thought, wow this is the mediocre group. No big names, England, Spain, Italy. And then we've conspired to get the wooden spoon.
Time to stop this charade. Our clubs are going bankrupt. We're good at curling, cycling and tennis. Football is no longer our national sport.
I was pleased to see Brad Guzan step up last night and deliver a very solid performance in Tim Howard's absence. Time and time again Howard has saved our bacon, but Guzan has proven to be a worthy replacement.
It was bigger than huge, it was almost as good as a win. We went to Azteca with 3 MLS defenders and one old midfielder playing out of position making up our back four. And somehow we got out of there with a clean sheet. That is simply amazing.
Yes, it would have been nice if we scored but I never thought we would...you're never going to get more than a couple good chances at Azteca most of the time, so I'm not going to criticize the attacking players too much - though I do expect our boys to score at least two in the return fixture.
After the disappointment of Honduras the last two results have gotten us back on track, and put a lot of pressure on Mexico who are now fifth in the table. Whatever you might say against Klinsmann, you can't deny he's willing to take risks and his record against Mexico is sparkling so far.
As an aside, last night marked the 25th time in 25 games that Klinsmann has gone with a new lineup. We have never played the same squad twice under out current manager...
It was bigger than huge, it was almost as good as a win. We went to Azteca with 3 MLS defenders and one old midfielder playing out of position making up our back four. And somehow we got out of there with a clean sheet. That is simply amazing.
Yes, it would have been nice if we scored but I never thought we would...you're never going to get more than a couple good chances at Azteca most of the time, so I'm not going to criticize the attacking players too much - though I do expect our boys to score at least two in the return fixture.
After the disappointment of Honduras the last two results have gotten us back on track, and put a lot of pressure on Mexico who are now fifth in the table. Whatever you might say against Klinsmann, you can't deny he's willing to take risks and his record against Mexico is sparkling so far.
As an aside, last night marked the 25th time in 25 games that Klinsmann has gone with a new lineup. We have never played the same squad twice under out current manager...
I wouldn't place too much stock in Jan Mølby's opinions, apart from where pie fillings and Northern Irish wingers are concerned.
Did someone see the two qualification matches Germany vs Kazakhstan? Maybe takao or twietiee?
Not that these matches are of interest, but I felt somewhat unsatisfied (while the second was a small bit more interesting, though). I don't like the German team trying to imitate Spain (or what are they doing?).
At some point (few minutes after the second half) I was more sort of "cheering" for Kazakhstan for every little step they did against Germany and the very few times they made it to get in front of the goal, I was hoping they strike.
Maybe I am a philistine or stupid spurner to not see the "art" in their play, but I have to say I was just bugged. Well, I admit that it can be called artful being able to play this endless passing, but it is a nerve wrecking "time consumption" as well.
Not that these matches are of interest, but I felt somewhat unsatisfied (while the second was a small bit more interesting, though). I don't like the German team trying to imitate Spain (or what are they doing?).
At some point (few minutes after the second half) I was more sort of "cheering" for Kazakhstan for every little step they did against Germany and the very few times they made it to get in front of the goal, I was hoping they strike.
Maybe I am a philistine or stupid spurner to not see the "art" in their play, but I have to say I was just bugged. Well, I admit that it can be called artful being able to play this endless passing, but it is a nerve wrecking "time consumption" as well.
Not exactly sure what you mean, CoxOrange. Götze playing upfront?
A small preface, though: I started watching/playing soccer about '94-95. So I dunno about the '90s team, which is supposed to be very good as well.Eversince I can remember, two easy wins against defensive teams is something Germany couldn't do. These Grottenkicks disappeared (kind of). And I'm really thankful for that! We're now favorite in almost every single game and against those 1-2 countries we aren't, they at least have to have a really good day themselves to beat us. That's almost all I'm asking for...
Some more things, I don't see Ger copying Barca/Spain. NED for exampke played 433 like forever and it's different, too.
We have a pool of extraoedinary attacking mids, it's just unbelievable. There all on form, too. But strikers, we have good ol' Klose, more injured and without any perspective. Gomez. I don't like him at all, so that is that. And then we have Kießling..a solid back-up at most. I think from 18 goals or so 14-15 were shot by attacking mids..
So that's where I agree with Löw. Only thing I'd like to see him copy from Barca is sticking to his system. Löw is too arrogant and thinks himself too clever that he changes our whole system/tactics when faceing a 'real' opponent in a crucial match. Happend three times in a row and it drives me completely nuts. Stick to your friggin' plan, man!!
How's that for a short answer? You asked for it!
But mind, I for one am not tired of watching Barca, never!
A small preface, though: I started watching/playing soccer about '94-95. So I dunno about the '90s team, which is supposed to be very good as well.Eversince I can remember, two easy wins against defensive teams is something Germany couldn't do. These Grottenkicks disappeared (kind of). And I'm really thankful for that! We're now favorite in almost every single game and against those 1-2 countries we aren't, they at least have to have a really good day themselves to beat us. That's almost all I'm asking for...
Some more things, I don't see Ger copying Barca/Spain. NED for exampke played 433 like forever and it's different, too.
We have a pool of extraoedinary attacking mids, it's just unbelievable. There all on form, too. But strikers, we have good ol' Klose, more injured and without any perspective. Gomez. I don't like him at all, so that is that. And then we have Kießling..a solid back-up at most. I think from 18 goals or so 14-15 were shot by attacking mids..
So that's where I agree with Löw. Only thing I'd like to see him copy from Barca is sticking to his system. Löw is too arrogant and thinks himself too clever that he changes our whole system/tactics when faceing a 'real' opponent in a crucial match. Happend three times in a row and it drives me completely nuts. Stick to your friggin' plan, man!!
How's that for a short answer? You asked for it!
But mind, I for one am not tired of watching Barca, never!
The hexagonal is still quite tight so it's important that we try and keep the momentum going. That way the pressure stays on Mexico and Honduras rather than us. I know Panama is topping the group right now but with all due respect I expect that to change. It will be interesting to see if Omar Gonzalez and Besler start together again in the defense. Gonzalez has surely earned another start.
Not exactly sure what you mean, CoxOrange. Götze playing upfront?
A small preface, though: I started watching/playing soccer about '94-95. So I dunno about the '90s team, which is supposed to be very good as well.Eversince I can remember, two easy wins against defensive teams is something Germany couldn't do. These Grottenkicks disappeared (kind of). And I'm really thankful for that! We're now favorite in almost every single game and against those 1-2 countries we aren't, they at least have to have a really good day themselves to beat us. That's almost all I'm asking for...
i think nobody wants to see the german football from ~1994 to 2004 ever again... Rumpelfußball forever be gone please
Austria Sticked with it for a few years more and because of that is only improving now to a more technical side
IMHO the decision to revamp the teaching in the coaching sector fro mthe DFB is now really paying off .. who were the great, creative german offensive midfielders 10 years ago ? you can finish that list rather quickly...
today they could fill up 2 starting line ups
On strikers: i think it's a good decision to use a false 9 with götze or reus , it makes their set up less predictable and more flexible in those clear favorite games
the problem with Gomez is this: his talent simply collides with set up of the german national squad. Germany is going into 95% of all games as the favorite, while the opposition sits back and waits for the counter attack.
Gomez's talents are better used when striking from a counter or using the free space:
He is very fast but not as explosive as others (Klose isn't particulary)
Good technique and shot with both feet, but not a agile dribbler in little space situations
quite good in 1on1 against a keeper situations
against deep sitting, tight defenses he can hardly use his talents and is reduced to his better than average headers and excellent physical properties
I agree wit Takao. Gomez can make the difference, but imho, the whole squad has to play to comfort him and that means the whole system is dependent on one player (and his moods and his form etc.pp). Also making it much more predictable. I totally understand the 'modern' approach to eliminate or minimize this and appreciate the benefits. Gomez was awesome at Stuttgart (where he was the one and only go-to guy and could use his speed cause the played much more often counter attacks).
But 'logic' aside, I can understand CoxOrange somehow although I have no problem with it. And I also think that these longwinded posts won't convince him, either, nor tell him anything he didn't know alteady.
I'd be interested since when you follow German football. Because I'm quite sure Rumpelfußball even made it into the Duden...
But 'logic' aside, I can understand CoxOrange somehow although I have no problem with it. And I also think that these longwinded posts won't convince him, either, nor tell him anything he didn't know alteady.
I'd be interested since when you follow German football. Because I'm quite sure Rumpelfußball even made it into the Duden...
I have been watching football since 1954.
For those of us who are old enough, the deep point of both Austria and as it was then West Germany.
1982 World Cup
The day in 1982 when the world wept for Algeria
In the 1982 World Cup in Spain Algeria shone – before being sent home by one of the most cynical ploys ever to disfigure the competition
The reigning European champions had stomped imperiously into the finals, winning all eight qualifiers with a goals for-against record of 33-3. They had a constellation of stars in their squad – Paul Breitner, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Stielike and so on – and were so certain of victory over Algeria that they entertained themselves in the pre-match press conferences by ridiculing their opponents. "We will dedicate our seventh goal to our wives, and the eighth to our dogs," quipped one player, while the manager, Jupp Derwall, promised that if his team contrived to lose he would "jump on the first train back to Munich".
"One player even said that he would play against us with a cigar in his mouth," recalls Algeria's full-back Chaabane Merzekane, who, as it transpired, was made man of the match. "Some of us wondered if this was just a psychological ploy, whether they were only saying these things to lull us into thinking that they weren't going to take us seriously – after all, who has ever heard of a German team that doesn't do its homework?"
The thing was, this German team really had not done their homework. Derwall confessed after the match that he had been provided with a video of Algeria in action but did not order the players to watch it because they would have laughed at him. Chances are that if they had bothered to view the tape, they would not have spent the build-up cracking jokes. Because they would have been forewarned about a team that had qualified by winning home and away against Nigeria, and prepared for the finals with impressive friendly wins over the Republic of Ireland, Real Madrid and Benfica. The Germans might also have noticed that, apart from their skill and speed, Algeria played with formidable fluency and a rare dynamism, the fruit both of the players' familiarity with each other – all had been playing together for years and most were based at home, Algerian law at the time prohibiting players from leaving the country before the age of 28 – and of an energising sense of historical duty.
These players, after all, were the heirs of those who in 1958 had given up professional careers in France to participate in Algeria's war of independence. The football team created by Algeria's resistance movement, the Front de Libération Nationale, travelled the world, showcasing Algerian spirit and skill and serving as a powerful propaganda tool in the fight for freedom. When the country finally attained independence in 1962 the FLN team composed the core of the new national side.
"Because of this history, the bond between the Algerian national team and our people is uniquely strong and we took the comments by the Germans before the game as a slur on our population," the striker Lakhdar Belloumi says, pointing out that several former FLN players were part of the coaching staff in 1982, including Abdelhamid Zouba and the co-manager Rachid Mekloufi.
"We had our parents at home, but we players also considered that we had our parents with us at pitch-side," Belloumi explains. "Those guys from the FLN were like our second fathers – in their day they abandoned fame and fortune to fight for their country and we were carrying on that fight. We were already a tight-knit group, but we were given extra motivation by the Germans, especially as we were very conscious that 1982 was the 20th anniversary of our independence. We were determined to uphold the dignity of our people."
Germany were about to be jolted. "We went out to attack them, to play with our style: Algerian vivacity," Merzekane says, who personified this style more than anyone, forcing Breitner on to the back foot with barnstorming breaks from deep. "We knew he liked to attack, that he was the best in the world at it, so we set out to exploit that – that was part of our tactical triumph. But we also dominated them technically and physically." Dominated is an exaggeration, but certainly Algeria were the better team in the first half and deserved their opening goal when it came in the 54th minute, Rabah Madjer finishing off a sweeping break.
Rummenigge equalised in the 67th minute, but if the Germans thought order had been restored, they were wrong. From the restart a nine-pass Algeria move ended with Belloumi arriving unmarked to slam the ball in from close range. "That was the finest moment of my career," says Belloumi, who after the tournament would receive permission from the Algerian government to accept a transfer to Italy, only for the move to fall through.
"It was the perfect goal, one of the best moves of the whole tournament," says Merzekane. "And after that we didn't hang on, we continued to attack and we could have won by three or four." It finished 2-1.
Merzekane's swashbuckling performance left ITV's commentator Hugh Johns almost breathless with admiration. "He's one of the discoveries of the World Cup!" gushed Johns, offering an accurate assessment even if it was only the third day of the tournament, and the full-back could have added a goal himself, when in the 88th minute he slalomed from his own box into the German area before being foiled by the goalkeeper Harald Schumacher. "It was a lung-bursting run and more proof that we were fitter and stronger than the European champions," says Merzekane. "But that wasn't a surprise to us – in those days there were no visa issues so as teens many of us had travelled and played against Europeans. We knew they were not better than us."
At the final whistle there were raucous celebrations in Gijón's El Molinón stadium and all over Algeria. West Germany was plunged into mourning. "This feels like the sinking of the Titanic," declared the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Algeria's players resisted the temptation to rub their noses in it. "We respected the German team and we respected their country, we were just delighted that we had also made them respect ours," says Belloumi.
The euphoria lasted for days and left them drained and, to their cost, a trifle complacent for their next game, against Austria. They lost 2-0.
"That's where we showed our inexperience," says Belloumi. "We should have kept a cool head before that game and probably changed a couple of players but, in fairness to the Austrians, they had studied our style and knew we could be vulnerable on the counterattack." In contrast to Derwall's wilful ignorance, Austria's manager, Georg Schmidt, had been monitoring Algeria since the Africa Cup of Nations in Libya earlier that year. Fabio Capello, whose England team take on Algeria in Cape Town on Friday, would never make the same mistake as Derwall.
Algeria recovered their vivacity for the final group game against Chile and quickly swept into a 3-0 lead. In a helter-skelter second half the South Americans struck back twice. "Again we showed our inexperience, we should have seen that match out and preserved our three‑goal lead," Belloumi says. Merzekane disagrees. "Some say we should have stopped attacking but we had come to the World Cup to show the Algerian style and we weren't about to start playing defensively."
The 3-2 victory still meant Algeria would become the first African team to reach the second round unless the group's final game, to be played the following day, ended in a one- or two-goal win for West Germany over Austria, in which case both the European teams would progress at Algeria's expense. In the 10th minute of that match Horst Hrubesch put the Germans in front. Then … nothing happened. Realising the scoreline suited both of them, Germany and Austria effectively stopped playing. In the ensuing 80 minutes there were no shots, and barely any tackles, crosses or sprints. The game was no longer a contest, it was a conspiracy. The teams' cynicism provoked universal scorn.
A smattering of Algerian fans in the Gijón crowd burned peseta notes to show their suspicions of corruption, while most of the Spaniards in attendance waved hankies throughout the second half in a traditional display of disdain. The next day newspapers in Spain denounced "El Anschluss" and there was outrage in Wst Germany and Austria too. Eberhard Stanjek, commentating for the German channel ARD, almost sobbed during the match as he lamented: "What is happening here is disgraceful and has nothing to do with football. You can say what you like, but not every end justifies the means." The Austrian commentator, meanwhile, told viewers to turn off their sets and refused to speak for the last half-hour. Former West German international Willi Schulz branded the German players "gangsters".
The gangsters, however, were unapologetic. When German fans gathered at the team hotel to protest, the players responded by throwing water bombs at them from their balconies.
Even less bothered was the head of the Austrian delegation, Hans Tschak, who made these extraordinary comments: "Naturally today's game was played tactically. But if 10,000 'sons of the desert' here in the stadium want to trigger a scandal because of this it just goes to show that they have too few schools. Some sheikh comes out of an oasis, is allowed to get a sniff of World Cup air after 300 years and thinks he's entitled to open his gob."
Did the Algerian players take offence? Not at all, Merzekane says. "We weren't angry, we were cool," he says. "To see two big powers debasing themselves in order to eliminate us was a tribute to Algeria. They progressed with dishonour, we went out with our heads held high."
From all over the world came calls for Fifa to punish the Europeans or stage a replay, but in the end all the world's governing body did was rule that henceforth the last pair of games in every group must be played simultaneously. "Our performances forced Fifa to make that change, and that was even better than a victory," Belloumi says. "It meant that Algeria left an indelible mark on football history."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germany_1–0_Austria_(1982_FIFA_World_Cup)
Until it gets this bad again you have nothing to worry about.
For those of us who are old enough, the deep point of both Austria and as it was then West Germany.
1982 World Cup
The day in 1982 when the world wept for Algeria
In the 1982 World Cup in Spain Algeria shone – before being sent home by one of the most cynical ploys ever to disfigure the competition
The reigning European champions had stomped imperiously into the finals, winning all eight qualifiers with a goals for-against record of 33-3. They had a constellation of stars in their squad – Paul Breitner, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Stielike and so on – and were so certain of victory over Algeria that they entertained themselves in the pre-match press conferences by ridiculing their opponents. "We will dedicate our seventh goal to our wives, and the eighth to our dogs," quipped one player, while the manager, Jupp Derwall, promised that if his team contrived to lose he would "jump on the first train back to Munich".
"One player even said that he would play against us with a cigar in his mouth," recalls Algeria's full-back Chaabane Merzekane, who, as it transpired, was made man of the match. "Some of us wondered if this was just a psychological ploy, whether they were only saying these things to lull us into thinking that they weren't going to take us seriously – after all, who has ever heard of a German team that doesn't do its homework?"
The thing was, this German team really had not done their homework. Derwall confessed after the match that he had been provided with a video of Algeria in action but did not order the players to watch it because they would have laughed at him. Chances are that if they had bothered to view the tape, they would not have spent the build-up cracking jokes. Because they would have been forewarned about a team that had qualified by winning home and away against Nigeria, and prepared for the finals with impressive friendly wins over the Republic of Ireland, Real Madrid and Benfica. The Germans might also have noticed that, apart from their skill and speed, Algeria played with formidable fluency and a rare dynamism, the fruit both of the players' familiarity with each other – all had been playing together for years and most were based at home, Algerian law at the time prohibiting players from leaving the country before the age of 28 – and of an energising sense of historical duty.
These players, after all, were the heirs of those who in 1958 had given up professional careers in France to participate in Algeria's war of independence. The football team created by Algeria's resistance movement, the Front de Libération Nationale, travelled the world, showcasing Algerian spirit and skill and serving as a powerful propaganda tool in the fight for freedom. When the country finally attained independence in 1962 the FLN team composed the core of the new national side.
"Because of this history, the bond between the Algerian national team and our people is uniquely strong and we took the comments by the Germans before the game as a slur on our population," the striker Lakhdar Belloumi says, pointing out that several former FLN players were part of the coaching staff in 1982, including Abdelhamid Zouba and the co-manager Rachid Mekloufi.
"We had our parents at home, but we players also considered that we had our parents with us at pitch-side," Belloumi explains. "Those guys from the FLN were like our second fathers – in their day they abandoned fame and fortune to fight for their country and we were carrying on that fight. We were already a tight-knit group, but we were given extra motivation by the Germans, especially as we were very conscious that 1982 was the 20th anniversary of our independence. We were determined to uphold the dignity of our people."
Germany were about to be jolted. "We went out to attack them, to play with our style: Algerian vivacity," Merzekane says, who personified this style more than anyone, forcing Breitner on to the back foot with barnstorming breaks from deep. "We knew he liked to attack, that he was the best in the world at it, so we set out to exploit that – that was part of our tactical triumph. But we also dominated them technically and physically." Dominated is an exaggeration, but certainly Algeria were the better team in the first half and deserved their opening goal when it came in the 54th minute, Rabah Madjer finishing off a sweeping break.
Rummenigge equalised in the 67th minute, but if the Germans thought order had been restored, they were wrong. From the restart a nine-pass Algeria move ended with Belloumi arriving unmarked to slam the ball in from close range. "That was the finest moment of my career," says Belloumi, who after the tournament would receive permission from the Algerian government to accept a transfer to Italy, only for the move to fall through.
"It was the perfect goal, one of the best moves of the whole tournament," says Merzekane. "And after that we didn't hang on, we continued to attack and we could have won by three or four." It finished 2-1.
Merzekane's swashbuckling performance left ITV's commentator Hugh Johns almost breathless with admiration. "He's one of the discoveries of the World Cup!" gushed Johns, offering an accurate assessment even if it was only the third day of the tournament, and the full-back could have added a goal himself, when in the 88th minute he slalomed from his own box into the German area before being foiled by the goalkeeper Harald Schumacher. "It was a lung-bursting run and more proof that we were fitter and stronger than the European champions," says Merzekane. "But that wasn't a surprise to us – in those days there were no visa issues so as teens many of us had travelled and played against Europeans. We knew they were not better than us."
At the final whistle there were raucous celebrations in Gijón's El Molinón stadium and all over Algeria. West Germany was plunged into mourning. "This feels like the sinking of the Titanic," declared the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Algeria's players resisted the temptation to rub their noses in it. "We respected the German team and we respected their country, we were just delighted that we had also made them respect ours," says Belloumi.
The euphoria lasted for days and left them drained and, to their cost, a trifle complacent for their next game, against Austria. They lost 2-0.
"That's where we showed our inexperience," says Belloumi. "We should have kept a cool head before that game and probably changed a couple of players but, in fairness to the Austrians, they had studied our style and knew we could be vulnerable on the counterattack." In contrast to Derwall's wilful ignorance, Austria's manager, Georg Schmidt, had been monitoring Algeria since the Africa Cup of Nations in Libya earlier that year. Fabio Capello, whose England team take on Algeria in Cape Town on Friday, would never make the same mistake as Derwall.
Algeria recovered their vivacity for the final group game against Chile and quickly swept into a 3-0 lead. In a helter-skelter second half the South Americans struck back twice. "Again we showed our inexperience, we should have seen that match out and preserved our three‑goal lead," Belloumi says. Merzekane disagrees. "Some say we should have stopped attacking but we had come to the World Cup to show the Algerian style and we weren't about to start playing defensively."
The 3-2 victory still meant Algeria would become the first African team to reach the second round unless the group's final game, to be played the following day, ended in a one- or two-goal win for West Germany over Austria, in which case both the European teams would progress at Algeria's expense. In the 10th minute of that match Horst Hrubesch put the Germans in front. Then … nothing happened. Realising the scoreline suited both of them, Germany and Austria effectively stopped playing. In the ensuing 80 minutes there were no shots, and barely any tackles, crosses or sprints. The game was no longer a contest, it was a conspiracy. The teams' cynicism provoked universal scorn.
A smattering of Algerian fans in the Gijón crowd burned peseta notes to show their suspicions of corruption, while most of the Spaniards in attendance waved hankies throughout the second half in a traditional display of disdain. The next day newspapers in Spain denounced "El Anschluss" and there was outrage in Wst Germany and Austria too. Eberhard Stanjek, commentating for the German channel ARD, almost sobbed during the match as he lamented: "What is happening here is disgraceful and has nothing to do with football. You can say what you like, but not every end justifies the means." The Austrian commentator, meanwhile, told viewers to turn off their sets and refused to speak for the last half-hour. Former West German international Willi Schulz branded the German players "gangsters".
The gangsters, however, were unapologetic. When German fans gathered at the team hotel to protest, the players responded by throwing water bombs at them from their balconies.
Even less bothered was the head of the Austrian delegation, Hans Tschak, who made these extraordinary comments: "Naturally today's game was played tactically. But if 10,000 'sons of the desert' here in the stadium want to trigger a scandal because of this it just goes to show that they have too few schools. Some sheikh comes out of an oasis, is allowed to get a sniff of World Cup air after 300 years and thinks he's entitled to open his gob."
Did the Algerian players take offence? Not at all, Merzekane says. "We weren't angry, we were cool," he says. "To see two big powers debasing themselves in order to eliminate us was a tribute to Algeria. They progressed with dishonour, we went out with our heads held high."
From all over the world came calls for Fifa to punish the Europeans or stage a replay, but in the end all the world's governing body did was rule that henceforth the last pair of games in every group must be played simultaneously. "Our performances forced Fifa to make that change, and that was even better than a victory," Belloumi says. "It meant that Algeria left an indelible mark on football history."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germany_1–0_Austria_(1982_FIFA_World_Cup)
Until it gets this bad again you have nothing to worry about.
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