Argentina 0 Germany 4 (Quarter Finals)It was a clinical and ruthless execution,
A crime against the World Cup constitution,
But we had to give the Germans absolution,
For clearly they were in a state of grace.
We hoped we might see skill and boy, we saw some,
Especially from their attacking foursome.
In modern youthful parlance, it was awesome –
Football with a smile upon its face.
Not defeat – this was annihilation,
The ultimate, supreme humiliation
Of a manager and his proud football nation,
Delivered with precision and with pace.
Small boys in the crowd all craned their necks to see
This unexpected show of football ecstasy.
Poor Maradonna seemed a little vexed to see
The rampant Germans pouring through the space.
Some managers surround themselves with yes-men,
While Joachim Loew moves players round like chess-men.
‘Twas evident to all, even the press men,
When old man Klose upped and bagged a brace.
The manner of this ruthless demolition
Is bound to lead to anger and attrition
Against the legendary non-tactician
Who now must face his country in disgrace.
But there was no way he could have corrected it.
No-one watching awestruck had expected it.
At least the Argentinian players respected it
As they sank beneath the onslaught without trace.
Paraguay 0 Spain 1 (Quarter Finals)
A riproaring struggle ‘twixt workrate and skill,
Who’d be the first to get in for the kill.
The Paraguay players just never stood still,
Though their energy levels were waning.
A titanic battle of mind versus will
And nobody there was complaining.
A penalty kick, this was Paraguay’s chance,
Cardozo stepped up with a confident stance.
The red and blue flags were all waiting to dance
But Casillas amazingly caught it.
Cardozo glanced up to the heavens askance –
Who could have possibly thought it?
A peno for Spain, the defensive line broached,
Alonso despatched it but players encroached.
Second one saved but nobody reproached,
The tigerish Spanish playmaker.
Clearing her throat, a fat lady approached
As we looked for a stalemate breaker.
In-form Iniesta slid through like a ghost,
Squared it to Pedro who scored it, almost.
We gasped as the football smashed back off the post
Straight into the path of D. Villa.
One post, then the other, as the crowd watched, engrossed
And Spain just snuck through in a thriller.
A riproaring struggle ‘twixt workrate and skill,
Who’d be the first to get in for the kill.
The Paraguay players just never stood still,
Though their energy levels were waning.
A titanic battle of mind versus will
And nobody there was complaining.
A penalty kick, this was Paraguay’s chance,
Cardozo stepped up with a confident stance.
The red and blue flags were all waiting to dance
But Casillas amazingly caught it.
Cardozo glanced up to the heavens askance –
Who could have possibly thought it?
A peno for Spain, the defensive line broached,
Alonso despatched it but players encroached.
Second one saved but nobody reproached,
The tigerish Spanish playmaker.
Clearing her throat, a fat lady approached
As we looked for a stalemate breaker.
In-form Iniesta slid through like a ghost,
Squared it to Pedro who scored it, almost.
We gasped as the football smashed back off the post
Straight into the path of D. Villa.
One post, then the other, as the crowd watched, engrossed
And Spain just snuck through in a thriller.
Second half Par v Sp was the best of the tournament for excitement and drama.Can't believe Arg lost so heavily.
ReplyDeleteGreat poems.Sad thing is it's getting good but it's also drawing to a close (the end getting Klose?)
But I stll feel angry that useless fughin beachball has if not ruined ,then certainly marred, the whole spectacle.