I know! I'm scared too. For the second time in a week I have got a sporting prediction correct, both of them not necessarily that easy to call. In yesterday's case, we very much had a case of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object: what happens? Argentina came into the final with the best defensive record of any side in the World Cup, while Germany showed it had been the most vicious and probing in attack. You could also look at it the other way round, with Argentina's Messi, arguably the world's best player (though this status is now called into question) in their attack, and Germany having all the skills to neutralise his threat and also that of any other striker they came up against.
Last night's final was the most exciting match I have ever seen which did not feature a goal for nearly 130 minutes, and surely the most satisfying as I had tipped the plucky Teutons to go all the way.
What have we leaned? That Germany can bring on its youthful players to compete at the highest level far more effectively than we can. Time then, for us to study their techniques closely and try to apply them to our benighted country. Otherwise we will continue to be becalmed in the doldrums of world football indefinitely. Somehow this young German team was forged into a cohesive unit that worked almost as one consciousness, and even more importantly oozed confidence from day one. I don't know how to inculcate that into players, but my guess is that it wasn't magic, it was hard work. I feel inclined to believe we just don't like that sort of work- we'd rather trust to luck, and we've seen where that got us...
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