WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FIRST ROUND : Germans Avoid an Opening Slip : Soccer: Tournament begins with a whimper, not a bang, as Bolivia falls, 1-0, on goal by Klinsmann.
In bringing the World Cup to the United States, the lords of soccer hope that their sport will prove irresistible to a country that so far has not been overwhelmed by its charm. They could not be particularly optimistic after Friday’s opening game, which produced as many spills as thrills.
If videotapes of the game are replayed repeatedly in the future, it most likely will be at seminars for referees and linesmen as they study new interpretations of the rules that are supposed to make the sport more attractive. If they are not successful, it will not be because referee Arturo Brizio Carter of Mexico was lax in his responsibilities.
He was almost as relentless as the defending champion Germans, who survived the heat--87 degrees on the beach at nearby Lake Michigan but no doubt higher on the grass at Soldier Field--and a game Bolivian team for a 1-0 victory.
In the end, neither team was satisfied, the Germans because they did not perform with the efficiency to which they have become accustomed and the Bolivians because they came so close to a tie that would have gone down in history as a stunning upset.
It would not have been deserved, because the Germans were clearly superior, but the Bolivians still would have considered it vindication. They have spent recent months defending themselves against criticism that they advanced from their South American qualifying group only because of their home-mountain advantage, playing games at two-mile high La Paz.
That might or might not be true, but, when Germany’s goal brought them crashing back down to sea level, it had almost nothing to do with poor play and almost everything to do with poor luck.
If they had been among the crowd of 63,117, or the estimated 750 million television viewers, they might have been able to see it coming during the colorful opening ceremony. Almost no sooner had it begun than the hostess, Oprah Winfrey, was being helped off the stage after falling. Although she soon returned, it was a portent because players from both teams were slipping and sliding on the grass once the game began. No one had good things to say about the condition of the turf, particularly after it was watered at halftime.
Its most prominent victim was Bolivian goalkeeper Carlos Trucco, who appeared to be living up to his nickname, El Loco, when he strayed from his line and seemed to dive at the feet of Germany’s onrushing midfielder, Thomas Haessler. In reality, Trucco, realizing he was alone after Haessler got past Bolivia’s defenders, tried to cut down the angle on a potential shot and slipped.
All Haessler had to do at that point was tap the ball to wide-open striker Juergen Klinsmann, who sent the ball into an empty net.
“Once I got the ball, there was almost nothing I could do wrong,” said Klinsmann, whose goal came in the 61st minute.
Bolivia’s coach, Xavier Azkargorta, complained that Haessler was offside when he received the original pass from sweeper Lothar Matthaeus. It did appear close, but, according to one of the new interpretations of the rules, the linesmen is supposed to give the benefit of the doubt to the attacking team.
A decision that probably will be discussed longer came with about seven minutes remaining. In a desperation attempt to pick up his offense, Azkargorta sent his most explosive player, Marco Etcheverry, onto the field in the 79th minute as a forward. Etcheverry suffered a severe knee injury in November and had not played since, but he figured he had at least 10 good minutes in him.
He will never know. After becoming entangled with Matthaeus, Etcheverry did live up to his nickname, El Diablo, and aimed a kick at the German captain’s backside. Four minutes after entering the game, he was back on the bench, the recipient of a red card.
Etcheverry apologized profusely to the Bolivian people, specifically his parents, for embarrassing them, then said the mistake was Carter’s for being so quick on the draw.
But Carter already had proved himself a no-nonsense referee, dispensing five yellow cards in response to a directive from FIFA to make room for offensive players to operate. He set the tone early, giving German defender Juergen Kohler a yellow card only seven minutes into the game.
As expected, Germany pressed early in an attempt to take control before the heat became a factor. But the Bolivian defenders proved surprisingly adept at turning away the attacks, and, with about 15 minutes remaining in the first half, they began creating space for themselves offensively.
Midfielder Erwin Sanchez was particularly effective at finding the seams in the German defense, and, in the 34th minute, blasted a shot toward the net that forced goalkeeper Bodo Illgner to dive in order to make the save. That resulted in Bolivia’s only corner kick of the first half.
Tired of chasing Sanchez, Germany sent him a message early in the second half with a hard tackle by Thomas Berthold. Sanchez left the field on a stretcher, and although he was back two minutes later, he displayed the same verve only in flashes.
As Sanchez went, so went the Bolivians.
The Germans dominated the second half, although it was not evident on the scoreboard. If they are going to become the first team to repeat as champion since Brazil in 1962, their usually efficient engine will have to be tuned.
