The FIFA 2014 World cup is just about 3 months to go. The
ticket sales for 60 matches will go live from today.
In the meantime, I just wanted to rewind back to the 2010 World Cup. There was one match which was really memorable to me. The game between England vs Germany - Round of 16. I remember I had watched this match at the Tonic pub of New York's Times Square. If you may be aware, Tonic happens to be a multi-level pub. So, the ground floor was fully occupied by the English fans while the German fans occupied the entire first level. This game was like a war.
This was the game in which Germany defeated England by a massive 4-1 lead.
The Germans were chanting their national anthems, the English were singing patriotic songs. The whole atmosphere was so charged up. Fully charged up without Duracells or Energizers :) Some folks were waving their flags. Some were dressed in flag-colored costumes. The whole build-up before the game began was intense. I chose to side with the Germans on the first level. Me basically being a huge fan of the German national team. A fine mix of experienced players like Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski and new-generation stars like Thomas Mueller, Mesut Ozil. The line up was able and strong. The English' on the other hand boasted about Wayne Rooney and Lampard.
People were cooling off with the chilled beers as well. Especially the Germans. In fact, beer was flowing like water on that day. I hardly noticed anyone drinking scotch or vodkas or rum. Majority of them were having beers.
Let me recapture some great important moments of this terrific match including the goals.
Formation : Look at the initial starting formation of the two teams. The Germans had formed a 4-2-4 formation. The English had something like a 2-4-3-1. This is when the match starts.
Passions run high at the very 4th minute when Germany's Ozil almost nearly scored a goal. The English goalkeeper David James was lucky to defend it as the ball hit his knee and went up.
Goal 1 :
Germany : After some great tackling and changing of possessions, Germany scored it's first goal on the 21st minute. And it was the experienced Miroslav Klosé. German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer took a long run to hit the ball which crossed almost the 2/3rd of the ground distance. Later the ball was finely pushed into England's nets by Klosé. Klosé touched the ball just lightly enough, without raising it and smartly angled it to the net's right cornor. Take a look at this.
Goal 2 :
Germany : Going forward, James almost denied a goal on the 31st minute. Just a few seconds later, the ball moved to the other side and Defoe hit a header which hit the upper bar of the nets. Immediately later, there was amazing passing by Germany from Ozil - Klosé - Mueller - Podolski. Yes Podolski scored the 2nd goal for Germany on the 32nd minute. He smartly grounded the ball with his left leg, waited for 2 seconds and hit the ball straight into the nets past England's James. Boom. England was in deep trouble. They were down 2-0. Check this out.
Goal 3 :
England : England knew by now, that it was in a big mess. Their defenses were falling apart. The Germans were taking charge and leading with aggression. Just around the 36th minute, Germany gets a cornor and Klosé misses the oportunity. It results into another cornor by Ozil, but was saved by James. The very next minute i.e at 37th minute, England gets a cornor and Upson converts it into a lifesaver goal by a header. It seemed like England was back in the game. Look at this.
Goal 4 : Germany : After the previous goal, in the next 30 seconds, Lampard hits another smasher. Unfortunately the ball hit the upper bar of net and Neuer took a hold of the ball before it crossed the goal line. This was a controversial call by the referee. I guess many readers would relate with that. The game after this, went on at a regular pace. Both sides battling each others. No new goals till the half time. Not even after the 59th minute. Germany's Neuer saved a strong hit near the 60th minute. England's James Milner gets substituted by Joe Cole on 64th minute. Around 65th minute, Rooney gets blocked and Lampard gets a free kick. But it doesn't get past the German wall. Soon after, the ball rapidly moves toward's English nets. Some really fast running here by Podolski. Podolski passes ball to Mueller and GOAALL again. Mueller scores the 3rd goal for Germany. 67th minute. Check this out.
Goal 5 : Germany : Post the 3rd goal, Germany seemed destined to enter the quarter finals. Just a couple of minutes later around the 70th minute, Ozil speeds up the ball towards the nets and intelligently passes it to Mueller. GOALLLL again. Mueller does it again! The 4th goal for Germany. This goal highlights the raw speed power of the youth (back then, Ozil & Mueller were just in their early 20's). The English were too slow to catch up. See this.
By this time, the Tonic bar had turned into a battleground. The German occupied first level went absolutely crazy. Their happiness knew no bounds and they were in the seventh heaven. They reached the quarter-finals where they were to face the mighty Argentina. Nonetheless, they had crossed the crucial English barrier. On the other hand, the English occupied ground level was totally quiet and pensive. The sadness on their faces was too visible. The English hopes had come crashing down. They were out.
I will never forget this match. It was like the 21st century World War II - Hitler vs Churchill :) where history was re-written.
