I was six when West Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in the 1990 World Cup final. It was an appalling game, a terrible advert for the pinnacle of international football.
If you remember (or if you don’t), Argentina had two players sent off having spent most of the game kicking lumps out of their opponents. Having got to the final by winning penalty shootouts in the quarter and semi-final, this came as little surprise but it still made for unedifying viewing.
They were also missing players through suspension and injury so perhaps it was an even bigger surprise that it took Germany so long to score – through a penalty, naturally – the goal to end Argentina’s anti-football.
All I want from tonight’s World Cup final between Argentina and Germany is a better game – and a better showpiece – than what we witnessed in 1990.
Now, I know that we shouldn’t expect a thrill-a-minute open final. We haven’t had one of those in my living memory. 1994 was a turgid 0-0 draw, 1998 a one-sided affair, 2002 wasn’t bad but no thriller, 2006 had its moments but was generally tight before a penalty shootout and during the 2010 final, I accused the Netherlands of reviving Argentina’s ‘anti-football’ tactics before Spain prevailed:
5 yellow cards, 16 fouls – this is anti-football akin to Argentina’s tactics in 1990 from the Dutch. #worldcup
— John Pennington (@jspennington) July 11, 2010
Spain could do with introducing Andoni Goikoetxea to deal with this Dutch assault. #worldcup #footballloses — John Pennington (@jspennington) July 11, 2010
Well done Spain. Iniesta does what Brehme did in 1990. #worldcup
— John Pennington (@jspennington) July 11, 2010
While on the subject of the Netherlands, they finished off Brazil in clinical style last night, winning third place with a 3-0 success.
For me, given that they were runners-up in 1974 and 1978, runners-up in 2010 and third in 2014, they have to now be considered ahead of Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Sweden as the best team never to have won the World Cup.
Anyway, moving on, because unfortunately few will remember the runners-up, let alone the team that finished third, and Brazil were dreadful once again, let’s turn our attention to the final.
The bookmakers make Germany the favourites, and I completely agree. They have had an extra day to recover from the semi-final, exerted considerably less mental and physical energy in their match, and actually played better football.
At the risk of repeating myself, I think if Germany score first, and particularly if they score early, then I can’t see them being beaten.
The longer Argentina can keep the game at 0-0, the more chance they will have, as that would keep the door open for a piece of magic from Lionel Messi or one of his team-mates to change the course of the game.
Messi hasn’t had a great World Cup, but he has produced a few moments that have made the difference. Making the winning goal in the closing moments against Switzerland and scoring the winner against Iran are his highlights but it goes to show that although he hasn’t necessarily had an outstanding performance, his team have still been strong enough to win through.
In fact, somebody like Javier Mascherano might be more important for Argentina tonight. Finding a way of breaking up Germany’s attacks will be Argentina’s first challenge.
Then they need to think about causing a solid German defence problems, and then finding a way past the outstanding Manuel Neuer in goal. I don’t think they’ve quite got enough in their locker to do it.