WORLD CUP ’90 : Victory Never in Doubt, Beckenbauer Says
West German Coach Franz Beckenbauer said his team’s victory over Argentina was inevitable.
“There were no doubts whatsoever who was going to win,” Beckenbauer said. “For 90 minutes we attacked Argentina, and there was no feeling of any danger that a goal would be scored against us. As I saw it, we outplayed them from beginning to end.”
If a 1-0 decision by penalty kick is the most unsatisfying of World Cup finals for a fan, it did not dismay Beckenbauer.
The penalty, he said, “was not the key to the game because in any case we would have scored--even if it had taken overtime . . . 1-0 by penalty doesn’t give a fair idea of this game.
“We could have won, 3-0. I don’t remember a single chance Argentina had to score a goal.”
Italy, sulking all week, clearly had not forgotten its heartbreaking semifinal loss to Argentina. All night Sunday, Italians celebrated the hate half of their love-hate relationship with Diego Maradona, who is a saint in Naples blue but a devil in Argentina blue.
The fans, many of them Italians masquerading behind German flags, booed the Argentine anthem with Europe’s trademark derisive whistle, and they booed Maradona every time he touched the ball.
“We knew we were the visiting team and we expected the boos, although as an Argentine I disliked the booing of the anthem,” Argentine Coach Carlos Bilardo said.
As Beckenbauer happily noted, a chapter of German history ended here Sunday. Italia 90 is the last World Cup that will see a West German team. Henceforth, a reunited Germany will compete and, presumably, with the addition of East German athletes, be even stronger.
“I feel sorry for the world,” Beckenbauer quipped.
On Sunday, German Chancellor Helmut Koll joined the post-game celebration on the field as the German team ran a victory lap, the bulky gold World Cup trophy hoisted triumphantly.
The losing Argentines had a pre-dawn flight to Buenos Aires, but the Germans remained in Rome Sunday night, planning a midday return today.
