Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, chapter 512
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
KOLKATA Mourns as ARGENTINA Follows Brazil in Defeat. Sorry, MARADONA!
"We really turned in an incredible showing," said Loew, whose side will now either face Spain or Paraguay. "Scoring four goals against Argentina you have to say that that was class." more by Joachim Loew - 1 hour ago - BBC Sport (30 occurrences) |
I have been supporting Africa and Asia as the Negroids are HATED by the Global Order of White Zionists. I had been supporting Brazil despite my Love for Magical MARADONA. But I wanted from my Bottom of heart that the Geography of Football should be rather different this time. I also did like the Total Football invented by Holland and would look forward whether Holland could break the Monopoly of Giant Teams. Spain is also playing fine. It would be great to see Holland versus Spain in absence of Brazil and Argentina this time. The FIGHT of the African Lions and Asian Samuries inflamed many hearts worldwide. Last night, the missing penalty within 50 seconds of Extra Time deprived Africa the rare Historical moment. But I must say that Messi never seemed a Mardona incarnated and Club Football Icons contributed very little. I do not mourn for losing Brazil or Argentina like majority Bengalies as the Two Latin American teams deviated sharply from their legacy and roots replicating Europe. They deserved most the elimination. Rather I would welcome the Modified Total football from young fluent attacking Germans who departed from Mathematics opting for Football Aesthetics which we expected fro all Latin American teams! It is very sad to find little hope for Latin American SMBA Dream celebrating life despite URUGUE making it to semifinals. Four Latin American teams in the quarters disappointed most.
Germany have firmly established themselves as serious World Cup football title contenders after the latest big win, 4-0 over Argentina in the quarter-finals Saturday.
'World champions in waiting?' asked the website of British paper Daily Telegraph after the latest awesome display of Joachim Loew's team in South Africa.
The BBC agreed in its live commentary: 'They stride into the semi- finals looking every bit like potential winners after probably the best attacking display at this World Cup yet.'
'We might just be watching the emergence of one of the great teams,' said the BBC.
Meanwhile,South Africa — Africa mourned Ghana's World Cup loss on Saturday, as socialite Paris Hilton's marijuana arrest gave a celebrity drama twist to the quarter-finals.
Hilton's court drama competed for press attention after Ghana's Black Stars ended Africa's World Cup dreams by crashing out in a thrilling penalty shoot-out with Uruguay.
The American party girl meanwhile was arrested for alleged possession of marijuana at a World Cup match Friday in Port Elizabeth but a judge tossed out the charges against her after her friend, former Playboy Playmate Jennifer Rovero, pleaded guilty.
The pair were arrested at the Brazil-Netherlands quarter-final in Port Elizabeth, after police smelt marijuana. Police approached when a joint was thrown to the ground and the women apparently were ushered inside by bodyguards.
"Police seized the evidence and approached the women inside the stadium. The women were taken into custody after a bodyguard handed a second cannabis cigarette over to the police," said police spokeswoman Sally De Beer.
"Charges were withdrawn against Miss Paris Hilton as her co-accused acknowledged being in possession of the cannabis and pleaded guilty."
Her arrest knocked Ghana off the front page of Afrikaans daily Die Burger and fuelled media reports other Saturday newspapers. In a Twitter post, she played down the incident and said she still loved South Africa.
"Hey guys, there's a lot of crazy rumors going around. Just want you all to know the truth. Everything is completely fine," she said.
"I was not charged or arrested, cause I didn't do anything. I was assisting the police with the investigation and answering their questions.
"Everyone was super nice and friendly to me. I love South Africa! Such an amazing place, especially during The World Cup! Hope that clears everything up. Love you guys, thanks for your concern. Xoxo P."
But De Beer said the heiress had been arrested and charged.
"She was arrested and then the charges were formally withdrawn in court," she said.
"Maybe what's she's trying to say is that she was cooperative, which apparently she was, very sweet and co-operative."
Hilton, with her blonde hair in two ponytails and appearing relaxed, replied "Thank you, your honour," when the charges were dropped and left the court, after the three-minute hearing shortly after midnight on Saturday.
The state dropped charges against her after 31-year-old Rovero admitted guilt and was ordered to either spend 30 days in jail or pay a 1,000 rand (128 dollar, 100 euro) fine. She paid the fine.
A darling of the tabloids, Hilton, the great-granddaughter of the Hilton hotel chain's founder, shot to fame in 2003 when her boyfriend leaked a video of their sexual escapades on the Internet.
Hilton's court drama came as Africa bemoaned Ghana's World Cup exit which ended in a dramatic shoot-out after a penalty by striker Asamoah Gyan hit the bar in the dying minutes of extra time.
The Cape Town-based Weekend Argus headline said "Africa was robbed" in its front page article. "That was the overwhelming feeling after Uruguay beat Ghana, Africa's last World Cup hope."
"Africa's dream shattered," bemoaned The Herald in Zimbabwe.
"It was a cruel end to the game," the newspaper said. "This was Africa's finest chance to make the last four and the Black Stars -- who fought with the right spirit for the entire match -- came close, yet ended very far from making it.
"Sadly Gyan missed and as he cried last night, Africa cried with him."
The last quarter-finals are Saturday with Germany taking on Argentina in Cape Town, followed by Paraguay and Spain in Johannesburg.
In the Netherlands, the Algemeen Dagblad said on its website that 'Counter-attacking Germany waltzed over Argentina' and French sports daily L'Equipe said that Diego Maradona's Argentina stood no chance against the likes of Thomas Mueller and Miroslav Klose.
'The Albiceleste never recovered from the determination of Mueller, the revelation of this World Cup. (Lionel) Messi and other Argentine stars did not existed against an unstoppable Klose,' said L'Equipe.
Germany have now scored four goals in three of their five games, the others 4-0 against Australia in the group stage and a 4-1 over England in the Round of 16.
The German public has rallied behind the youngsters even more than at the home World Cup and rarely has there been so much international recognition for German football which in the past lacked flair despite vast success highlighted by three World Cup titles.
The Daily Telegraph spoke of a 'jaw-dropping master-class in incisive counter-attacking football with which Argentina could not compete.'
BBC pundit Alan Shearer, the former England striker, said: 'That Germany performance smacks to me of a team that has spent hours and hours and hours on the training ground, and everyone knows exactly what they have to do and where they fit in.'
The Guardian said: 'This was a slaughter to leave El Diego numbed and close to tears on the touchline. His dream has died.'
There was probably some kind of schadenfreude in Brazil the day after many Argentinians rejoiced on the exit of their bitter South American rivals, 2-1 against the Dutch.
The Guardian also noted that 'after this victory, Germany will be undaunted at the prospect of playing neither Paraguay nor even Spain (who beat Germany for the Euro 2008 title) in the semi-finals' Wednesday.
'The momentum and conviction is all theirs,' said The Guardian in praise of the Germans.
For Indian fans from West Bengal to Kerala, the zing seems to have gone out of the World Cup football as their eternal favourites Brazil were shocked by the Netherlands Friday.
A pin-drop silence descended from Tullah in north Kolkata to Tollygunj in the south as the Netherlands broke into celebration at Port Elizabeth.
Soccer enthusiasts were left dumbstruck at the bylanes of Kolkata, adorned with big-size posters of Brazilian stars, Kaka, Robinho and others.
The streets wore a deserted look during the match. Shopping malls, markets, and other hot spots were virtually empty as people sat glued to their television sets hoping another spell-binding performance from Samba magician.
'I had never bargained for this. I left the hospital early as I wanted to watch the match with my kid. He has been crying ever since the Dutch equalised and took the lead,' said general physician P.S.Roy.
Kolkata, the football-mad city of cricket crazy India, are now searching for new heroes to keep their flagging interest in the world cup alive.
'I understood from the way Brazil were playing in the tournament that all is not well with the team. If you leave behind the traditional style and try to copy others, you are bound to fail,' said Alok Mukherjee, a former India player.
The scene was no different at Thiruvananthapuram as many Brazil fans were left in tears with the result.
Former India captain C.V.Pappachen said that not many in Kerala would have thought of this tragic exit of Brazil.
'Leading one-up after the half time, it has come as a shock. They were improving by every match but see what happened today,' said Pappachen.
In Malappuram, known for its football culture, an entire village near here was named Brazil nagar and the scene was heart-breaking after Holland came back in the match with two goals to take the lead.
Asif Zaheeer, who has donned Indian colours, said Brazilian coach Carlos Dunga's style was totally different.
'See, after scoring the first goal, it went into a defensive game and that turned out to be their downfall,' said Zaheer.
Viva Kerala coach Sreedharan said being a goal up does not mean anything in football. 'Certain flaws of the Brazilian team were quite evident soon after they scored the first goal,' he said.
In Panaji, Portugal's exit in the pre-quarterfinal round may have knocked the stuffing out of the average Goan football supporter, but Brazil's defeat also rubbed salt into their wounds.
According to Goa Football Association (GFA) secretary Savio Messias, Brazil's defensive approach sealed the fate of the samba nation's team.
'I am a Brazil supporter. The defeat was heart-breaking. Brazil were the favourites. But they didn't play in true Brazilian style. They were defensive in their approach,' said Messias, saddened by the loss of the five time football world champions.
Former skipper of the Indian football team Bruno Coutinho Bruno said that from the pre-quarter finals, every opponent is strong and every match is a do-or-die match.
'Overall it depends on the performance of the team on that particular day. Brazil scored once within 10 minutes, after which they thought they were winning. But Holland played brilliantly in the second half and clawed their way back,' said the former ace striker, who tips Spain to win the World Cup.
Sean Faia, a football enthusiast, in a way swam against the tide by supporting the stylish Holland versus mighty Brazil.
'I am happy that Holland won. I always knew that they would. Sometime or the other they would beat Brazil. I am sure they will reach the finals,' Sean said.
Power stays put day after |
| KINSUK BASU |
| The only bright spot on a dark night for Brazil fans was that there was no blackout. Fears of a rerun of Thursday's serial transmission trip across Calcutta kept the power authorities on tenterhooks through Friday evening even as soccer and samba went Dutch in a shocking reversal of World Cup calculations. Both CESC and the state-owned West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd had issued notices putting men and machine on maximum alert, asking them to treat the business end of the Cup as an "emergency" and even cancel leave if necessary. "Unless it's unavoidable, our officials have been asked not to go on leave. We are definitely treating this phase (till July 11) as an emergency," said Moloy Dey, the chairman of the state power distribution company. At CESC, officials overseeing the three command stations were asked to bolster their quick-response teams. "We have already reinforced the breakdown team and the group dealing with low-tension faults," announced Aniruddha Bose, the company's vice-president (commercial). The communiqués to different units followed a "freak fault" being confirmed as the reason for the power trip that had plunged much of Calcutta, including hospitals and the police headquarters, into darkness on Thursday. The blackout had ranged from 45 minutes to four hours in different areas. In a post-mortem on Friday morning, the CESC top brass concluded that the blackout was the fallout of a series of trips that started in Budge Budge probably after the "metal thread" of a kite fell on an overhead tower line. "As a result, transmission lines carrying around 500MW of power from three units in Budge Budge to the nearby Chakmir substation tripped immediately," an official explained. The Chakmir substation supplies power to parts of central and north Calcutta. Another line from Budge Budge, carrying around 250MW of power to the substation in Kasba, tripped because of a power surge that was triggered by the Chakmir line crashing even as generation was on. "The domino effect continued with one of the units in Budge Budge going down as well. With demand rising, the generating stations at Titagarh on the northern fringes of the city and New Cossipore also collapsed," the official said. The CESC top brass apparently spent most of Friday trying to put in place a back-up system for the rest of the World Cup. The state power utility also instructed its managers and divisional engineers to immediately take steps to reduce turnaround time. Would the power utilities have shown similar urgency had the Cup not been underway? "You can't afford to be slack when Calcutta is watching soccer," admitted Krishna Gupta, the managing director of the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd. |
Kicks in life
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Germany dumps Diego Maradona and Argentina
If it had indeed been the will of God that Argentina should claim this World Cup, then Diego Maradona must feel utterly abandoned now. Germany's staggering and irresistible progress through this tournament has propelled them yet again beyond fancied opposition. This was a slaughter to leave El Diego numbed and close to tears on the touchline. His dream has died.
He may concede this to have been another jaw-dropping master-class in incisive counter-attacking football with which Argentina could not compete. Joachim Löw's team may have lacked the star names of their South American rivals, but they were always the more dangerous side here with the scoreline, even at 4-0, anything but flattering. Youthful zest combines with purring ability and tactical discipline in their approach. After this victory, Germany will be undaunted at the prospect of playing neither Paraguay nor even Spain in the semi-finals. The momentum and conviction is all theirs.
In Bastian Schweinsteiger they boasted this contest's most dominant force, his personal display summed up by his contribution to Germany's third goal as he bustled beyond Angel di Maria, Javier Pastore and Gonzalo Higuain's half-hearted challenges before pulling back for Arne Friedrich to bundle home. Michael Ballack, the absent Germany captain, leapt in celebration in the stands. In the veteran's absence, this side is out-maneovuring all-comers. They appear unstoppable.
The Germans had picked up where they left off against England, their slick exchanges sweeping downfield as Argentinian players gasped in their vapour trails. Philipp Lahm was a blur of energy down the right, a permanent outlet for team-mates to spread the play. Lukas Podolski was just as energetic down the opposite flank and, even if Mesut Ozil flitted in and out of the contest in his free role, Schweinsteiger set the side's rhythm and dominated central midfield.
The Bayern Munich midfielder was authoritative where Javier Mascherano could only appear flustered. It was Schweinsteiger's early free-kick, conceded after Nicolas Otamendi's late lunge on Podolski, that was flicked in by Müller who had slipped away from the right-back to glance a header through Sergio Romero. Maradona was all animated frustration though, at the interval, he might have been relieved. The Germans should have added a second while Argentina dawdled, Miroslav Klose skying over a shot from an unchallenged position near the centre-spot after Gabriel Heinze's error and Müller's pull-back.
The menace had been all German, the South Americans' anxiety prompting a huddle just inside the mouth of the tunnel as they sought urgency with the intrusive television cameras shoved away by Martin Demichelis. That briefly spurred them on, Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez upping their tempo in a bid to undermine the German back-line, though Joachim Löw's side were happy to let their opponents ping their passes at arm's length with little space behind for the tricky forwards to exploit.
The chances that were created were ambitious rather than truly threatening, Manuel Neuer claiming from Higuain, Tevez and Di Maria with the winger battering beyond the far post when he did beat the goalkeeper. Yet, as their desperation grew, so too did Germany's threat on the break. A ramshackle back-line was duly pierced for a second time as the grounded Müller conjured a hooked pass to liberate Podolski, with his centre beyond Nicolas Burdisso tapped into the gaping net by Klose.
Thereafter, this took on the appearance of a rout with Friedrich's third followed in the dying seconds by Klose's 52nd international goal on his 100th appearance. Messi, in contrast, ended this tournament goalless. As Argentina lament, so Germany dare to dream.
© Guardian News and Media 2010
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World Cup 2010: Sad Maradona considers quitting
Diego Maradona has admitted he is considering his future as Argentina coach after his side were brutally dumped out of the World Cup by Germany.
"I may leave tomorrow," he said after their 4-0 quarter-final defeat.
"I'll have to think carefully about it, and talk with my family and the players. There are many issues here."
Maradona, who led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 as a player, said that "whoever comes after me" must follow the team's attacking style.
But that commitment to going forward was easily nullified by Germany as the Europeans defended with complete commitment before breaking forward swiftly and effectively on the counter-attack.
Argentina striker Carlos Tevez admitted as much, and offered no excuses after a disjointed performance in Cape Town in which Fifa's world player of the year Lionel Messi was frequently reduced to collecting the ball from his centre-backs.
"There's nothing we can say about their win," said Tevez after Argentina suffered their worst World Cup defeat in 52 years. "To lose like that is very painful. We played badly and sometimes when you make mistakes you go home."
The Manchester City striker added: "We knew it would be complicated and that they wouldn't let us attack.
"They did what we knew they were capable of doing. We knew they could be dangerous on set-pieces and on the counter-attack."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8785997.stm
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Germans ran onto the streets in joy and congratulated total strangers after watching their team roll over a miserable Argentina 4-0 in the World Cup football here Saturday.
Others formed up motorcades to tour their cities, waving flags from car windows, honking horns and cheering themselves hoarse.
In a park near the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin, where the game was transmitted on a giant open-air TV screen, 300,000 fans, many in skimpy clothing or bare from the waist up, erupted in a shouting frenzy, waving a sea of arms, at each German goal.
'We're hugging everyone we see,' said one fan.
With temperatures hitting 37 degrees Celsius, hundreds of thousands more watched the victory on big public television screens in most other main German towns, but millions more preferred the shade of bars and homes.
Fierce summer thunderstorms erupted over Bonn and a few other western towns soon after the game began, giving the German triumph an apocalyptic flavour.
A few hardy fans stayed outside to the last, drenched by rain and transfixed by joy at their heroes.
With one thunderclap, all power failed in a Cologne suburb, forcing desperate fans to sit in their cars and listen to the match commentary.
Owners of an echoing cave at Balve in the west offered 1,000 fans shelter in the cool from the storms in front of a 24-square-metre TV screen underground. The din as the crowd cheered the goals was terrifying.
Gerold Vogel, an orderly, put in earplugs. 'I love football, but I don't want to go deaf,' he said with a grin.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who watched the game in the stadium in South Africa, joined the live television coverage afterwards, telling Germans at home she was thrilled.
'It was just overwhelming. It's such a young team, but how calm and mature they were when they exploited each chance at goal,' she said. 'The German team has achieved something incredible.'
The heat meant many of the public screenings were less well attended than during Germany's 4-1 win over England six days earlier.
In the eastern German industrial city of Bitterfeld, which was thunderstorm-free, fire crews sprayed water on fans to cool them.
'The trouble is, there's no shade in the viewing areas,' said Katja Raab, organiser of a screening in the eastern city of Halle.
German media praised their team's performance, which sees them reaching the semi-final and a possible encounter with European champions Spain, who were due to meet Parguay later Saturday.
'We're so proud of you,' said the online edition of the mass-circulation newspaper Bild.
Sports magazine Kicker wrote: 'Klose shatters die Albiceleste,' a reference to striker Miroslav Klose's two goals against the blue-and- white shirted Argentine team.
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