Why did Argentina win, Brazil lose?
Two times World Champions Argentina cruised into the final of the 20th edition of the World Cup Football underway in Brazil. They played calculative game, covering the whole field and gave no space to the Dutch players to take shots into the Argentine posts freely. They looked confident about their success and even when the referee said ‘No’ to a legitimate goal, the Argentine footballers remained calm and never irritated.
The Dutch team also played a very good game and tried their best. They did not resort to the foul game unlike Brazil against Columbia. Once bearer of artistic football, the Brazilians influenced by coach Scolari fouled 31 times against Colombia. Can a host team do it?
A former Indian coach Constantine said, “A footballer must have three qualities. These are mental and physical fitness, concentration of mind on the pitch and conviction to win.” The Brazilians swept by the Confederations Cup triumph a year ago failed to read the profundity of the World Cup Football.
South Korea beat China in 2002 Asian Games Basketball final. This was the greatest surprise of the games. When asked, a South Korean cager said, “We never thought that we would win. We just played our best.”
Can Brazil take lessons from South Korea because they played their worst football against Germany on Tuesday?
Abdullah Akber
Dhaka
