OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (or, porca miseria)

Friends!

My mother has just informed me that Argentina plays Germany this Friday! WHAT! This is horrible. My two favorite teams. I guess I was just so tired from watching the trial that it didn't register. This is very, very, very bad. Here's the analysis:

The Germans are technically superior and simply a more consistently beautiful soccer playing team. I'm a fan of Klinsmann too, who has done good things with the team despite a lot of opposition from the old stodgies (i.e., traditionalists). He's got a lot riding on victory. The Germans are pretty solid, through and through. That, and they play in BERLIN. The Argentines, on the other hand, have tons of heart and can play truly inspiring soccer, but they're hit and miss. They waste a lot of energy and they're young players, not all of them really used to playing together well. Messi for example, has speed and grace, but hogs the ball and hasn't been striking well. Tevez, not beautiful to look at, is strong and can be brilliant. The Argentine goalie, Pato Abbondanzieri, is one of my favorites all round. Excellent and I think he will be key against the Germans. The Germans can get the ball up the field in about three kicks, the Argentines are better up close to goal, but can take an awfully long time getting there and can lack precision. The Germans are formidable. The Argentines can be and that's what I'm worried about. It's really going to be a battle, a showdown of epic proportions (or so I hope). People are going to be in absolute agony and Berlin and Buenos Aires are going to be rockin' -- until one of them loses the game.

I think the Germans have the advantage and are going to come out strong and try to unsettle the Argentines by scoring early, but it's just that sort of pressure that may make the Argentines play their best.

Arrrrrrrgh. It's going to be a great game!!!! Or, so I hope.

B.