Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
- Aug 8, 2006
- 45,300
- 9,465
I find it helpful to carry out a process of elimination.
Argentina 1986. If you say Maradona won the tournament on his own, all you're doing is admitting you didn't watch the final, where a legitimate case can be made that he was Argentina's fourth most important contributor. This was, for me, a 'last man standing' story of the type cup football inevitably throws up from time to time - they navigated the easier half of the draw. The victory against England is so famously controversial it needs to be emphasised that overall the spectacle was rotten - both teams played in mortal fear of leaving space. In that game, it is valid to say Argentina pretty much left it to Maradona to win it on his own, yet his mere presence spooked Bobby Robson into silly levels of caution that wasted Glenn Hoddle and Beardsley, as well as starving Lineker of service for above 70 minutes, by which time the match was as good as lost.
That's pared us down to:
Mind, it's a pity that Argentinian politics denied us sight of a team that could have included Di Stefano and Omar Sivori. Instead, Di Stefano was playing for a Spain that failed to qualify past Scotland, despite his having Kubala, Luis Suarez and Gento for a supporting cast. Still, none of that was Brazil's fault. I've listed my nominees (taking account of the competition they faced) in reverse order, with Brazil 58 at the zenith.
In the final he was closely marked but his mere presence disturbed the German pattern of play. And of course he provided the assist for the third with a perfect through ball with a little backspin. Teams had to adjust for him including Bobby Robson because he knew if left unchecked he could run riot. Fenwick had already been booked and therefore did not bring him down for the free kick. Watching the game again recently Argentina had the better of the play for most of the match before easing off at 2-0 up.
Yeah, 2014 Germany wasnt even the best team in the final...not deserving based on their performance in that game alone. Just saying.
My memory of the final is a that it was pretty even, and that I always felt Germany the likelier winners. (I can't remember whether our post histories still go back that far, allowing me to test whether I've rewritten my past thoughts). Admittedly, aside from Gotze's goal I recall Argentina's chances more clearly than Germany's.
Perhaps I'll have to add it to my dangerously expanding list of games to review.
It was a tight game with a lot of caution on both sides, but Argentina weren’t the better team. They had some chances but none better than Höwedes’ open header that hit the post.
Howedes who should've been sent early in the first half... and From a corner. Argentina had 6/7 chances with the obvious one going to Pipita. There was also Palacios, Messi's among others.
No one said they were sitters. With the exception of Higuain's chance they is a goal 99/100 from a German give away the rest were created by Argentina.It was a perfectly executed corner with an open header going exactly where it was meant to go. 9/10 times that's in the back of the net, that time it hit the post. The Argentinian chances weren't sitters, they required the application of technical skills in snap situations which is never a sure thing. They were also not the result of superior team play either.
Agreed on all counts, I was going for Italia that year but they were a defensive club first and foremost. Honestly the most amazing aspect in that series was the corner goal and Zidane's headbutt.Italy 06 was hardly exciting.
And Brazil 70 is the greatest brazilian side.
I voted 1990 West Germany, 1970 Brasil, and one of the random Argentina squads. LOL at the people voting for 2010 Spain, nahhhhhhhhhh.