Was Philipp Lahm responsible for Germany's loss in Euro 2008?
Rajesh S
July 28, 2008 In a closely contested affair, which was a fantastic spectacle for a neutral spectator, Spain held out Germany with a single goal. The man of the moment was the towering forward of Spain, Fernandes Torres who was at the ball like a magician weaving through the German defence. The 33rd minute beauty left the Germans shocked at the sheer brillance shown by the Liverpool forward. The goal was no doubt a beauty but it brought into question the role of the German defence.
The Spanish magic was evident in the exquisite passing of the ball which brought about the goal. A beautiful pass meant for Torres was packed in, with Lahm covering him. But a slight hesitation from Lahm allowed Torres to go across him and reach out for the ball. An advancing Jens Lehmann went to the ground in order to collect the ball at the same time, but was clearly late, when Torres flicked the ball over the sprawled goalkeeper neatly slotting the ball into the far corner. An anguished Lahm could do nothing but watch in agony as the ball completed its leisurely travel to the far post to be caught in the net.
Spain very clearly ecstatic over the goal, but it left some questions in the minds of the critics. Was Philipp Lahm just too casual in letting Torres pass across him and onto the ball's possession or was the German goalkeeper, Lehmann's untimely charge for the ball the cause for Lahm's hesitation to challenge Torres? Whatever be the answer it truly was a miscommunication between the goalkeeper and defender, which brought about the goal. Not to take anything away from Torres, though, he still had to provide the final deft flick which brought glory to Spain.
The German coach, Low's, displeasure with Lahm was clearly evident when he was substituted right at half-time. The incident has many people having diverging views on who was more responsible for the goal, Lehman or Lahm, or still further was it the brillance of Torres alone? Whatever be the answer, Spain had all guns blazing in the encouter and could have scored atleast 3 more goals. Gemany too had at one point in second half, looked closed to scoring, but it was simply not their day. The Spanish have lifted the cup after nearly 44 years and the party will surely go long into the night on their most famous and much-awaited glory.
The role of Philipp Lahm in the conceding of goal is surely open to debate, but you can't point fingers at any individual in such an important and nerve-wracking finale of European glory. The question still looms large over Germany but mistakes do happen from even the greatest of footballers in the high-energy finals where even the greatest footballers have accepted that it is very difficult for you to hold your nerves. Then to play the entire match, and be criticised for a mistake which one doesn't deliberately commit, is like adding salt to injury. Without saying much, I conclude that it was a sporting incident in which there was part of hard-work, good-luck and bad-luck for the respective peoply and in totality any one person could surely not be held responsible for the final outcome.
Tags: Philip Lahm , Jens Lehmann , Euro 2008 , Soccer , Scores , Update , Germany , Spain , Fernando Torres , Low
