There was once when I felt I had been robbed. I was really angry and hurt. I wanted to protest but then if I do, who knows what may happen. If there's a reason why I was really emotional in my recap of the final Group C action (just look at the opening paragraphs), it first brought me back to my secondary school days. Yes, there's also a personal reason for my 'outburst' yesterday.
Long before I felt I was robbed when studying Accountancy (that was when my temper really flared in front of the class), it goes back to the time when the class was doing a mock Chemistry test. So the relief teacher was telling us that if we want to refer to our textbooks, we can do so like minutes into the test (I forgot the duration). All our bags had to be placed either in front or behind the classroom. I sat near to the front and so my school bag was in front. I admitted ahead of the test, I didn't revised much (I didn't know there's going to be a mock test). So I purposely waited for a while before getting my textbook before the teacher stopped me. It was him who set the rules! I never violated it. I was furious in my head. One of the guys in the class was secretly happy I was being treated this way. I was really angry. To think of it, I could had given him a piece of my mind or even...slap him.
I used to make a secret resolution ahead of my final year in secondary school that I had enough of being the nice girl. If I have to show my temper, I will have to do it before I graduate. I want my classmates to know I am not someone to be messed with if I am pissed! I had tolerated enough. Yes, I do have a short fuse if someone provoked me (but not doing it in front of my elders) and I achieved it in Secondary Four (my final year in secondary school). They were shocked. Back to the Chemistry mock test. Till now, I had always believed I never did anything wrong. I didn't get my textbook immediately after the mock test began. From then on, anyone mentioning the teacher's name, my blood will boil.
So imagine my horror yesterday that Germany coach Joachim Loew is punished for something he didn't do. Remember what happened just minutes before the first-half of the Austria-Germany match in Vienna? I had replayed the events in my head umpteen times and I don't understand why UEFA said that Loew is not allowed to be with the players before, during and after the Portugal match. Austria coach Josef Hickersberger is also affected as well (he is not happy with the verdict), but it will come into place when Austria begin their 2010 World Cup qualifying (that is if Hickersberger is still in charge because if not, it will apply to the next team he is in charge). The two coaches were just doing their job on the touchline. What is wrong? Don't tell me it's a crime to stand within your own technical area telling your players on the pitch what to do? It didn't helped (to think I almost cried reading what Bierhoff said) when Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff when speaking to the press the day before, Loew took it very hard and for all the 14 years he has been a coach (for your information, Loew is 48 this year), this is the first time he has been suspended. And may I add - For something he didn't do.
"He can't rely on his gut instinct during the game now, this is an important match and he is disappointed not to be able to influence it."
That really made me want to burst into tears. Usually I don't like to talk about the football governing bodies, but, I could really get a little nasty this time. What Oliver Bierhoff said (plus the italics) also brought me back to another personal incident of mine. All along in secondary school, I had always been proud of the fact that I never received any detention at all (that and many more are the reasons for my 'Miss-Goody-Two-Shoes' tag back in Secondary Four). There was once I almost received it...for something others are doing. It didn't happened in the end. Imagine if it had happened, my pride has been dented. I have my pride too! Now you know why I was really emotional and angry and pissed at UEFA's verdict yesterday. Other than it hit a raw nerve on me as it's the national team I support, personal experiences also come into play as well. I was once in Jogi's shoes, you know. I know the feeling totally.
When initially I came up with the title, it was in view of the fact that the two national teams will meet again after the 2006 World Cup third/fourth play-off. And two years on, the roles have been reversed when it comes to who is the favourites this time round. Portugal got an extra-day off and so it's facing weary Germany this time (the Germans played the day after Portugal have finished their group match against Switzerland). And as they always say in football - 'Never write off the Germans'. But after in view of Germany's performance against Austria (1-0 with captain Michael Ballack's free-kick), even Germany football great Franz Beckbenbauer is not optimistic (and according to him, the Germans will have to raise their game against Portugal if they want to advance to the semis).
So, Portugal versus Germany. I know Cristiano Ronaldo plays for my club Manchester United and at international level, he plays for Portugal. I have to abandon club loyalties for this match. But on the topic of the Portugese winger, there has been three articles from the German camp about him. Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann knows from his time playing for Arsenal in England on how Ronaldo can be and he has a secret recipe to contain Ronaldo ('Mad Jens' never said anything, but he said that he has told his teammate on the national team defender Arne Friedrich on how to contain the man). For team manager Oliver Bierhoff, he hopes that their plan to stop Ronaldo does not backfire. Back then two years ago in the World Cup, Bastien Schweinsteiger got the better over Ronaldo and since 'Schweini' has returned from his suspension (he got a red card in the match against Croatia), he can't wait to upstage Cristiano Ronaldo again.
Over in the Portugal camp, Armando Petit said that with an inspired Cristiano Ronaldo, their team can beat Germany. As for coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, at least he got his wish of facing the Germans given the German national team has been on his mind since Portugal qualified for the quarter-finals with a match to go. He had always believed the Germans will bounce back from a setback (he was saying something like that ahead of Germany's match against Austria) and when it comes to the news of his counterpart got 'suspended' for this match, he wants UEFA to reverse the ban. While for his own team he is counting on Cristiano Ronaldo and co., the newly-laid Basel pitch is alright for him (but not for Nuno Gomes during training).
On the team news front now. It's a case of touch-and-go for Torsten Frings while Lukas Podolski may be able to play as the calf injury which he picked up in the match against Austria, appears to be healing rapidly. Or so as according to Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff. Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will revert to the line-up that beat Turkey and the Czech Republic in their first two matches.
Sometimes the world can be a little unfair. But then given the UEFA verdict on Germany coach Joachim Loew is final, the only way to response to the ruling is by 'settling' it on the pitch in Basel. Speaking to the press the day before, Clemens Fritz had said that they want to beat Portugal in protest of their coach being 'banished' to the stands. The players were not at all happy with the ruling, according to Fritz.
Me too!
