One player celebrated the Germany-Argentina World Cup quarterfinal with a somersault of sheer joy and another cried his eyes out. Few would have predicted which was which before the tournament.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi went into the tournament as FIFA World Player of the year and at the height of his powers, while Germany veteran Miroslav Klose seemed all washed up - a striker ready for retirement who had lost his touch for good.
But Klose’s simple finishes did more for Germany than Messi’s deep runs and intricate passing did for Argentina, helping his team to a 4-0 rout.
Klose celebrated his career total 14th World Cup goal with an athletic tumble, while Messi stared totally defeated at the grass, his left hand on his hip, before departing in tears.
The 32-year-old Klose is now equal second on the all-time World Cup scoring list, just one behind Brazil’s Ronaldo.
“It’s a huge compliment and thanks to the team I’ve had a lot of goal opportunities,” Klose said. “I’d be happier to be a world champion than to pass one person or another.”
Still, few would think that Klose could match Germany great Gerd Mueller, who also scored 14 World Cup goals.
Mueller racked up his tally over two tournaments instead of Klose’s three, but Klose does still have two games of this tournament remaining - Wednesday’s semifinal against Spain and either the final or third-place playoff.
“Hopefully we reach the final. I’ll get some opportunities, and we’ll see what happens,” Klose said.
The return of his trademark somersault marked a great turnaround for Klose, who had been miserable all season, mostly warming the bench at Bayern Munich before his surprise call-up for the World Cup.
After scoring in the opening 4-0 win over Australia, the goal that gave him the biggest kick was the first in a 4-1 second round victory over England. He used his body and balance to hold off a charging defender, latch onto a long goal kick and shoot the ball into the net with his first touch.
It vindicated coach Joachim Loew for sticking with a striker who had only scored three goals this season for Bayern in the Bundesliga.
“He has excellent qualities. I never had any doubts in him. He is always up to the task. There are not many players with such a ratio of goals and games, one or two, and that’s historic,” Loew said.
Compare that to Messi, who did not score this time around and now has one goal from nine World Cup games.
Messi has led Barcelona to multiple trophies. But despite his love for the Argentina jersey, he has never enjoyed as much success in it.
If his status as one of Barcelona’s greats is beyond doubt, Messi said he needed a World Cup victory to become a true legend of the game. Together with England’s Wayne Rooney and Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo, he was tipped to become the star of South Africa this month. Together with them, he also departed before the semifinals.
While he was largely a substitute four years ago, the 23-year-old Messi was the icon of this year’s team in the image of coach and former great Diego Maradona.
And even though Messi inspired the team early on, goals never came. And against Germany, he faced a whole team intent on clamping him down.
“Messi never got into the game. It was perfect teamwork,” Loew said.
Even though Maradona tinkered with position during halftime, Messi had no impact, as Germany ran up the score. He had been suffering from a cold and fever two days ahead of the game and it might have taken a little off the edge.
Maradona stuck by him till the end.
“He played a great World Cup,” Maradona said. “And I tell you, to see Messi cry in the dressing room, whoever says that he doesn’t feel pride for his shirt is stupid.”
