ULSAN, South Korea, 22 June — A Scottish referee and a Bavarian colossus stood between the United States and another astonishing World Cup upset in Ulsan yesterday. The Motherwell official, Hugh Dallas, failed to spot a German hand prevent what would have been an equalizer, yet the man that did most to take Rudi Voeller’s team into the last four, not withstanding Michael Ballack’s goal, was Oliver Kahn.
The Bayern Munich goalkeeper repeatedly denied the Americans the goals their superiority merited. Kahn was this week hailed by Franz Beckenbauer as “Germany’s only world-class player”, although Ballack, who joins Beckenbauer and Kahn at the Olympic Stadium following the finals, is fast maturing into a performer worthy of the epithet.
Whether or not the former captain and coach’s pessimism is justified — and on this evidence Voeller’s men will struggle to beat Spain or South Korea in the semifinals — Germany have now advanced further than since they last won the trophy in 1990. But how easily the US might have emulated Bulgaria and Croatia in ousting the three-time world champions at this stage.
Kahn’s opposite number, Blackburn’s Brad Friedel, reflected the balance of a surprisingly open contest with his verdict. “We had our chances but the man of the match was their keeper, who had a fantastic game,” he said. “We’re disappointed because we believe we should have won. That’s why Germany are so good. Even when they’re not the better team, they can still win.” Voeller acknowledged candidly that the success could not disguise a display that oozed endeavor but was largely bereft of the qualities needed to re-establish Germany’s global pre-eminence. “From the beginning we didn’t really play like I wanted us to,” he said. “We withdrew far too much into our own half and America put us under a lot of pressure.” There is, however, a resilience about Germany which few thought possible after Michael Owen’s benefit night in Munich 10 months ago. “Before the finals, people didn’t really think we had a chance of doing anything,” said Voeller. “Some even felt we wouldn’t survive the group stages. We’ve proved them wrong but I know we must play better to reach the final.” The US, incredibly, could have been talking in those terms today. If that had happened, even a nation where gridiron is next to godliness would have had to take notice of Bruce Arena’s team. An urbane Brooklynite who grew up watching baseball, Arena once coached lacrosse at a New York university but proved himself here to be a shrewd football man.
Having beaten Mexico with a counterattacking style, he boldly revamped his lineup and went for Germany’s jugular. Landon Donovan, one of nine US players with a Bundesliga background, was switched from midfield to the front line, with Sunderland’s Claudio Reyna re-locating from a wide role to the center. Both were outstanding.
Kahn’s catalogue of saves included a flying, one-handed effort early on to tip Donovan’s drive behind; a narrowing of the angle to stop the precocious 20-year-old beating him on his near post; and two fine blocks from the Fulham reserve midfielder Eddie Lewis.
The breakthrough arrived against the run of play late in the first half. From a right-wing free-kick, expertly whipped in by Christian Ziege’s left foot, Ballack soared between two defenders to head sharply past Friedel from six yards.
Germany almost doubled their lead four minutes later when Miroslav Klose sent Oliver Neuville’s cross against a post with his sixth headed goal of the finals beckoning.
Yet the US continued to look sharper and fitter, and should have had a 50th-minute penalty. Gregg Berhalter, unwanted at Crystal Palace, saw his lunge from Reyna’s corner-kick brilliantly parried by Kahn; the ball was set to cross the line when Torsten Frings, unseen by Mr Dallas, palmed it out.
Reyna came close to scoring one of the World Cup’s great goals with an audacious volley from fully 55 yards that just veered off-target, while Tony Sanneh’s header ruffled the side-netting when it appeared easier to score. But Germany held out to reach their 10th semifinals, leaving the US with the consolation of knowing they have finally earned their Stars and Stripes. (The Independent)
Germany celebrates luck
rather than skill
Germans made a conscious effort to ignore their national soccer team’s unconvincing performance against the United States yesterday as they celebrated their passage into their tenth World Cup semifinal.
Fans took to the streets in Berlin, setting off fireworks, holding up traffic with giant German flags, and chanting from atop moving cars, but for many the euphoria of the 1-0 victory was tempered by relief they had not faced a more dangerous opponent.
“The main thing is we won,” said a German television commentator, summing up the mood of the nation after a match that saw Germany pushed all the way by the underdogs.
“We’re in the semifinals. We don’t know how we got there but we got there,” German striker Miroslav Klose said as he came off the pitch.
About a thousand fans brought traffic on western Berlin’s main shopping avenue, the Kurfuerstendamm, to a standstill, waving flags, climbing lamp posts, and chanting “There’s only one Rudi Voeller,” referring to the German coach.
“America attacked for 90 straight minutes but Germany came out top in the end,” said Felix Zilling, draped in a German flag.
In some parts of Berlin, fans flooded the pavements, climbing over each other to get a glimpse of TV screens in shop windows and cafes and nervously awaiting the final whistle of the match as the US repeatedly threatened to score.
“Germany played like minimalists,” said Daniel Bahrmann, 26, wrapped up in a German flag, watching the match on a giant television screen with thousands of supporters at Potsdamer Platz in central Berlin.
“The US had three chances, but (didn’t) get a goal. We had one chance, and scored one goal. The semifinal is going to be tough.”
Former German captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer echoed the fans’ cautious celebrations, saying the three-time winners were lucky to beat the United States.
“America were clearly the better team for 90 minutes,” Beckenbauer said, analyzing the match on Germany’s pay-television network. “We’ll have to raise our game considerably after this.”
Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, the head of the DFB German football association, was equally critical: “We only had 15 good minutes and those were the 15 minutes before half-time. We owe the result only to (goalkeeper) Oliver Kahn who thwarted 200 percent chances.”
Thousands of German motor racing fans watching practice ahead of Sunday’s European Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring cheered wildly and set off fireworks after the German victory.
The match was screened on hundreds of public television screens just off the race track near Luxembourg with many of the Formula One teams also keeping a close eye on the match.
“You must be in the wrong place,” said Norbert Haug, head of motorsports at Mercedes-Benz, when an American supporter cheered loudly at one close call.
It was a rollercoaster ride for US fans in Berlin, as their team fired six shots on goal compared to Germany’s two, in an inspired bid to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1930.
But they went out celebrating a giant leap forward for US soccer and eyeing the next World Cup in Germany in 2006.
“American soccer is going to get better. In four years time we’ll be back here in this country, and you’ll see how good the US will be playing by then,” said Dennis Freeman, 20, taunting German fans with a huge American flag.
Tired but happy, US fans say
goodbye to World Cup dream
Red, white and blue clad, flag-waving fans came to Columbus Crew Stadium early and stayed to the bittersweet end yesterday as supporters across the nation saw the US dream run at the World Cup come to an end.
In Columbus, where first hundreds, then thousands turned out at the local Major League Soccer club’s ground to watch the match on giant televisions, the ovation was sincere despite the 1-0 defeat by Germany.
“I’m disappointed now that it’s over,” said 41-year-old Columbus resident James Lewison.
“But if you look at the last time (France, 1998), we were dead last. We would have dealt with the devil to get this far.”
The first fans arrived in the stadium parking lot nearly 19 hours before the 0730 kickoff. By midnight, the area was filled with tailgaters, pick-up soccer games, of course, chants of USA! USA!
By game time, an estimated 7,500 people were on hand. The turnout topped the 4,000 who came at 02:30 Monday to see the US beat Mexico.
“This is just insane,” Crew coach Greg Andrulis said from his spot on the lawn outside the stadium where he watched the second half on a 15 by 17-foot screen.
There were at least 30 people at the ground for every match, no matter the early-morning hour. Crew officials had no idea what to expect when it opened the doors for the World Cup’s first match May 31 between Senegal and France.
They were surprised when 250 showed up. As the crowds grew for the US matches, changes were made. At least six big-screen televisions were added to the Stadium Club and a giant mobile TV was placed outside the club. Also, the overflow could watch on the stadium’s video board. That’s where Matt Neighbor, 29, and his sister-in-law, Marri Andrews watched the game unfold. They drove more than an hour from Lancaster, Ohio, after getting up at 5:00 a.m. to paint the stars and stripes on their faces. “We had to be here,” Neighbor said. “We heard about the great crowd and the great atmosphere.”
For the unexpected quarterfinal, the scene was mirrored in Washington, where RFK Stadium — one of the venues of the 1994 World Cup — was packed with some 4,000 raucous fans.
In Columbus, Crew striker Brian McBride and ex-Crew goalkeeper Brad Friedel drew the loudest cheers, but the crowd fell silent when Germany took a 1-0 lead and let out a collective gasp when a Tony Sanneh header just missed being the equalizer in the 89th minute. “This was an experience I’ll never forget,” said 30-year-old Ryan Dolan. He and his father, Chris Dolan, 57, and friend Nick Lewis, 23, drove 1,200 miles from the Fort Meyers, Florida, area just to share the moment with thousands of soccer fans.
