What Goes Around Comes Around (England vs Argentina)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	England vs Argentina
Date:	08/06/02 (189 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Performance

Disadvantages: None

Well I’d never really planned to write a footie op with all of these World Cup postings but I simply have to after today. The thing is you see I’ve been a fanatical footie person since I was a small boy. I always remember going to watch my first live games at the age of 7 and have been a devotee ever since.

I was only 1 year old when England won the World Cup in 1966. The constant re-runs pass that particular sporting occasion into myth and legend. It really does feel like 30 years of hurt since with the national team seemingly heroic losers ever more. Again, too young to recall the 1970 debacle against West Germany, the most painful of defeats to blood me was the 1986 loss to Argentina. The "hand of God" and all that with scenes of devastation and riots after losing 2-1 to the most dubious of goals and the most wondrous too.

1998 in St Etienne in France saw a re-run with a 2-2 draw with Argentina followed by a defeat on penalties and the infamous taunts from the Argentina team bus as it pulled alongside the England coach.

I have a saying that "What goes around comes around" with the national teams fortunes starting to take a turn for the better in 1996. The European Championships held in England saw one of THE great nights as England played like Brazil to defeat Holland emphatically 4-1. That night I was in Birmingham on a course staying overnight in a hotel. I always remember going to a City centre pub, taking in the wonderful cosmopolitan atmosphere with both Portuguese and Scottish fans adding a colour and humour to the night as they prepared for their respective games. This is what football should be about rather than the fierce tribalism that it often ends up.

Last year’s night in Munich was undoubtedly very special. A night of shame for the Germans, I watched on in awe as we took them apart to win 5-1 with a sense of redemption very much at hand. You couldn’t help but feel that th
e ghosts of the past were being laid to rest and that maybe that wasn’t the end of the story.

This World Cup is a strange affair. With a flood of injuries prior to the tournament and such a young average age how could we possibly contemplate doing well? The opening fixture against Sweden was always going to be tough as I tipped us for a 1-1 draw. Opening games are notoriously difficult with them not coming much harder than the pragmatic Swedes.

So to the Argentina game. As I said to one of my friends, what goes around comes around and luck has a way of evening things up. I said we’d win 1-0 but when it came to kick-off time my confidence got a little shakier. As ever, I got together with my drinking buddies although the tension wasn’t a great as some games we’ve sat through. It didn’t feel as though it compared to 1998 but that was knockout and this was just a group game. Can it ever be a just anything game against Argentina?

So the game kicks off and England start brightly. Owen and Heskey up front backed up by a Manchester United midfield of Beckham, Butt and Scholes. Hargreaves is in too, the fresh-faced kid from Bayern Munich. It’s terrier like stuff as the midfielders get stuck in. Nicky Butt is a revelation as he and Scholes do the donkeywork allowing Beckham to ease his way through the game. The man with the revered feet doesn’t have to charge all over the pitch a la Greece as the 4-4-2 formation shows that Sven-Goran Eriksson has got his act together after the disastrous showing in the second half against Sweden.

The match is competitive with the usual edge afforded between such great rivals. Batistuta is booked; maybe he’s hyped up after being turned down for a transfer to Fulham? He’s too old apparently. The half passes with a deal of tension; Hargreaves being replaced by Trevor Sinclair who’d impressed against Cameroon in a friendly after coming on. Owen hits t
he post, Batistuta heads straight at Seaman. With just minutes to go before the break Michael Owen goes down under the faintest of touches. The whole of England watches and waits as the moment of destiny arrives. David Beckham after being sent off in the corresponding game 4 years ago has the world at his feet. What goes around comes around? He looks tense but takes his run up, the seconds slow down to a moment in eternity. No placing here, he blasts in down the middle and it shoots into the bottom of the net. 1-0 and England hold on until half time.

The second half seems to go on forever although the substitutions are all so much more astute this time around. Teddy Sheringham makes an appearance and is on the end of a 17-pass move to volley the ball goal bound with what would have been the goal of this and any tournament. The goalkeeper saves as England carve out more chances throughout the half. Amazingly, it turns out that England only had around 34% of the possession as Argentina lay siege in the final 15 minutes. I watch the clock run down hoping and praying the score stays the same.

As the final whistle blows you could be forgiven for thinking that one more ghost has just left the country. Things are on the up and up as a Nation sighs a collective one of relief. For me it meant another trip down the local with the lads and another footie hangover today. I mean, why stay in bed when I could be recounting another great day? It seems in the ongoing search for sound bites the Press are calling it the "penalty from God" adding a sense of irony to the occasion. Maybe they’re right but you wonder just how much influence a deity can have over a football match.

The whole thing ranks with the night in Munich although to beat Germany 5-1 in their own backyard will always take some beating. 30 years of hurt the song went but who knows? Jimmy Hill says that the average age of the team is too young but I seem to remember a certai
n Alan Hansen making a similar comment after my beloved Aston Villa had beaten Manchester United 3-1 at Villa Park. "You can’t win anything with kids." He drawled in his Scottish brogue. Who knows Alan, maybe you can?

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Argentina: Pablo Cavallero, Mauricio Pochettino, Walter Samuel, Diego Placente, Javier Zanetti, Diego Simeone, Juan Sebastian Veron (Pablo Aimar 45), Juan Pablo Sorin, Ariel Ortega, Gabriel Batistuta (Hernan Crespo 60), Kily Gonzalez (Claudio Lopez 64)
Subs Not Used: Matias Almeyda, Roberto Ayala, Roberto Bonano, German Burgos, Claudio Caniggia, Jose Chamot, Marcelo Gallardo, Claudio Husain, Gustavo Lopez
Booked: Batistuta

England: David Seaman, Danny Mills, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Owen Hargreaves (Trevor Sinclair 19), Michael Owen (Wayne Bridge 80), Emile Heskey (Teddy Sheringham 56)
Subs Not Used: Wes Brown, Joe Cole, Kieron Dyer, Robbie Fowler, David James, Martin Keown, Nigel Martyn, Gareth Southgate, Darius Vassell.
Booked: Ashley Cole, Heskey

Attendance: 35,927


Thanks for reading.

Marandina

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