Lets deviate a little from the Sourav Ganguly issue...

now its football frenzy all over the world, in India, more so Calcutta,
because this is considered the temple of Indian football which actually
eats, drinks and breathes football as much as it does for cricket.

As one caught in the World Cup fever, like many other Calcuttans, I have
always supported Argentina in the World Cup. The day of the
Argentina-Germany match, I was really tensed... the match was being
touted as a potential semifinal, as the team winning it is eventually
expected to win the Cup.

I sat to watch the match with the never-dying hope that my team will
finally make it to the top four. What followed next was 120 mins of
riveting action on the field, in which Argentina had been ahead in all
quarters, be it ball possession, skill and the few other nittie-gritties
that I dont even understand. Eventually, after playing well for most
part, leading the scoreline for 80 mins was not enough as once Germany
found a way to their goal, Argentina failed to return the favour once
again... and the match went to extra time and to penalty.
By then a few hazards had taken place in the Argentina team...
substituting Riqlame, Crespo, NOT PLAYING MESSI and the goalie getting
injured... were disasters and spelt doom for Argentina before and during
the penalty. On the other hand, the German goalie did a marvellous job
by making two saves.

So, thats it... the dream of one more Argentine World Cup remained
elusive. The absence of Argentine football messiah Diego Maradona from
the stands also startled me... though later I came to know the reason
for his absence has nothing to do with sports.

Now that the quarter finals are over, the road to a German World Cup
victory looks to paved. With Brazil gone, not able to play upto
expectation, and France improving in every match, lets see what the next
few days have in store for us.