Guardian and Observer Editorial
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Saturday | 01.07.06 | guardian.co.uk/sport Ruthless Murray ready for Roddick page 13 ≥ Russell Brand: England, bring me sunshine What’s bugging Frank Lampard? page 7 ≥ page 20 ≥ Gerrard warns: raise our game or we’re on the plane home Richard Williams Gelsenkirchen This is turning into a World Cup of promises. “We’re doing our best to improve,” Thierry Henry said this week on behalf of France. “We’ve got to raise our level,” Mario Zagallo, Brazil’s veteran assistant coach, remarked. “What’s most important for a team that wants to win the title,” he added, “is to know how to give more at the key moment.” For no team is this need to make performance match potential more urgent than for England, and no one sees it more clearly than Steven Gerrard, in words that reflect his uncompromising directness. When he was asked, on the eve of today’s quarter-final against Portugal, whether England could win the tournament if they carried on playing the way they have played in their first four matches, he avoided the verbal formulations used by most of the squad, including the head coach, to deflect the unwelcome thought. “I don’t think so,” he said, missing a beat. “Do you? I don’t.” Which means not that he believes Germany’s coach Jürgen Klinsmann, in shirt-sleeves, tries to keep the peace as a brawl disfigures the end of Germany’s triumphant quarter-final Thomas Bohlen/Reuters England are incapable of winning the World Cup but simply that he refuses to deny the need for a transformation. “When you go this far in the competi- tion,” he continued, “you’re up against Argentina crash out in mass brawl sides who won’t let you beat them by play- ing like that. This is the time, the last eight, when we’ve got to raise our perfor- of Germany’s four penalty-takers walked hoff, and Frings and the Argentina captain “I saw Per Mertesacker lying on the mance or we could be on the plane home. Fighting erupts on pitch to the box they were abused by Juan Pablo Sorin. floor but I did not see what happened and I’m desperate not to go home. I want to after penalty shoot-out Argentina’s players waiting on the half- Punches were thrown, though it is I haven’t seen any images on TV at all. So stay for the whole duration.” way line. believed that Germany’s centre-half Per I don’t know what Fifa will investigate. At 26 Gerrard is not one of the genera- Coach Pekerman quits as “The first provocation came from Mertesacker was felled by a kick from the But I’d like to remind people that there are tion of England players who are preparing Argentina,” said Ballack. “They were Argentinian squad member Leandro so many emotions running when you go their World Cup curtain call. He is, hosts surge into semi-final shouting at our players as they were going Cufré, who was shown a red card after the all the way down to a penalty shoot-out. however, the equal of his seniors in to the penalty spot. They shouted some- melee. Bierhoff said he intervened when “It’s easy to lose control for a second the sheer force of his presence on and off Michael Walker Berlin thing in Spanish and we didn’t understand he saw Mertesacker go down. “It’s regret- and maybe some words that were not the the field and his quietly forceful nature what they were saying. But they were def- table what happened after that. It seems nicest were said. Things happen in foot- makes him more willing than most to con- initely trying to influence our strikers. that supporters have learned how to ball because it is so emotional but we have front the reasons why the standard of The World Cup erupted at the Olympia- “After Tim Borowski scored [to make it behave at these big games but maybe the to forget about that. For us it is no prob- England’s play has fallen short of their stadion here last night in scenes that 4-2] he put his finger to his lips to tell them sportsmen haven’t” lem, no big deal at all.” hopes and, in particular, why the redis- mixed violence and delirium. As Germany to shut up. They were a bit mad at that. The aim of both Klinsmann and Peker- Pekerman tried to dismiss it as “a covery of his partnership with Frank Lam- began celebrating the 4–2 penalty shoot- After that I didn’t see much but I saw one man was to play it all down, with Klins- flaring of emotion in the moment. Some- pard is one of the keys to realising the out victory over Argentina which takes or two lying on the ground. I didn’t see mann aware that it could overshadow his times you get these spontaneous situa- squad’s ambitions. And on the occasions them into the semi-finals, a mass brawl what happened.” team’s progress and may yet have impli- tions, things happen when there’s a lot of that he chooses to trot out a familiar broke out among the players in the centre Germany’s coach Jürgen Klinsmann cations for any Germany players Fifa tension.” excuse, it tends to acquire more weight. circle. The drama continued afterwards also tried to say he did not see anything deems guilty. However, like Ballack, Klins- When Fifa reviews the video evidence “We’ve got to pass the ball better and when the Argentina coach Jose Pekerman despite being in the middle of it all. Klins- mann was also prepared to attribute the it is unlikely it will consider the events keep the ball better,” he said. “We’re try- said that he would be standing down from mann had been seen trying to separate first blow to Argentina. unremarkable but Pekerman was perhaps ing to force the play too much. We need his position. Torsten Frings and Argentina’s Fabricio “The emotional pop came from the concentrating on his own career. “A cycle to play at a higher tempo but it’s been dif- But it is the fighting that is set to be Coloccini as they squared up. Maxi Argentina side,” Klinsmann said. “We can has come to an end,” he said. “I certainly ficult because most of our matches have investigated by Fifa. There were counter- Rodriguez was seen to catch Bastian understand that with the game going to will not go on but I leave with peace of been in the early afternoon and it’s diffi- accusations about what initiated the Schweinsteiger with a punch to the back extra-time and penalties. I have no idea mind. I believe this team has renewed cult to pass the ball on these pitches trading of punches but Michael Ballack, of the head. There were further con- what really happened but I know that Argentinian football.” because they’re so dry. But some teams the Germany captain, gave the most frontations involving Gabriel Heinze and none of our players started anything, detailed explanation. He said that as each Germany’s general manager Oliver Bier- that’s for sure. Lehmann the German hero, page 10 ≥ Continued on page 2 ≥ WHATEVER YOU DO, TAKE PRIDE..