Argentina reels from World Cup defeat
Graceful in defeat? Try disappointed. Bitter. Depressed.
Argentina’s drubbing by Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals Saturday — a day after Brazil was unceremoniously shown the door by the Dutch squad — was a crushing blow to the collective pride in a region where soccer is religion and where expectations of a championship ran high.
After watching the national team go down, 4-0, to far superior Germany, fans wept openly at the downtown Buenos Aires obelisk where thousands had gathered to view the game on enormous TV screens.
Argentina and Brazil weren’t the only countries in mourning. Six South American teams made it into the tournament’s second round; only Uruguay will play in the semifinals, on Tuesday against Holland.
But in Argentina, a country obsessed with the sport and with team coach Diego Maradona, the loss hit especially hard.
“I’m bitter and depressed,” said 26-year-old secretary Natalia Perazzelli.
“I can’t even talk. The World Cup no longer interests me,” said Pablo McCormack, 43, a pharmacist. “I feel a huge disappointment.”
It’s been a controversial World Cup. Officials have blown crucial calls but eschewed instant replay. The French team mutinied against its coach and didn’t make it to the second round. Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, formed a special commission to reorganize soccer after the national team failed to win a single game.
Many Argentine fans took it as an article of faith that their team — led by Maradona, who as a player led the squad to its 1986 World Cup victory but who had no experience as the national coach — would advance to the finals, possibly taking home the coveted trophy.
But as sportswriter Sergio Danishewsky wrote on the Clarin newspaper’s website, Germany was so dominant that it stripped the Argentina squad “naked,” exposing its “technical disorder…. The Cup is just a memory of what must be learned.”
On Friday, Argentina’s neighbor, soccer rival and tournament favorite Brazil, was beaten, 2-1, by the Netherlands, provoking a similar round of soul-searching and second-guessing among soccer-mad fans.
In Brazil’s earlier games, Sao Paulo buzzed with the sound of vuvuzelas, the plastic trumpets that fans in South Africa are tooting throughout the matches. The horns fell silent Friday.
Unlike earlier games, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva did not upload match pictures to his website. He departed Saturday on a state visit to Africa, which he had previously scheduled so he could attend the World Cup final July 11.
So far, the losses by Argentina and Brazil have not prompted national politicians to become involved. But the disarray of teams in other countries have become affairs of state.
In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy called an emergency meeting of soccer officials to discuss the team’s meltdown and failure to advance to the second round. Nigeria’s President Jonathan withdrew all national teams from international competition.
The international soccer federation, known by the initials FIFA, opposes state intervention in the sport and said it was investigating actions taken by Nigeria and France with an eye toward possible sanctions.
“This isn’t just about football, it’s about France,” French lawmaker Jacques Remiller said. “It’s our honor that’s at stake.”
Special correspondents D’Alessandro reported from Buenos Aires and Kraul from Bogota, Colombia.
Special correspondent Marcelo Soares in Sao Paulo contributed to this report and Times wire services were used in compiling it.
