Mariano Ryan
07/31/2021 11:48 PM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 07/31/2021 11:48 PM
It took the Germans five years to remove that thorn that had penetrated them very deeply in Rio de Janeiro.
That 5-2 win against them in the semifinals had been felt in body and soul
by the then two-time Olympic champions.
But now they took revenge.
In the quarterfinals of the Tokyo 2020 Games. It was a triumph by 3 to 1. And it was the elimination of the Lions, who said goodbye to their
giant illusion of winning a new medal
.
The first 10 minutes were of an absolute study by the two of them.
Neither seemed
convinced to risk
.
Between Argentina, who, when they had the ball in their possession, tried to take care of it without haste, and Germany, who came out determined to block with just two forwards waiting in the middle of the court, began to put together a close, tough and very tactical game.
The idea of one and the other was absolutely clear:
protect themselves
in the defensive sector and prevent the adversary from reaching the circle.
They both knew that there each one had
their best virtues
to hurt.
Until Vila found Mazzilli at 11 minutes and the team had
his best chance in the first half.
It was afterwards that the forward-steering wheel settled her with the back of the stick and took the shot that went just over the crossbar.
Argentina seemed to cheer up with that action and immediately it was
Keenan
who managed to get rid of a triple mark and, after taking a half turn, look for the center:
Bugallo
managed to deflect but goalkeeper
Stadler
responded correctly, jamming him.
Lucas Vila before Linus Muller.
Germany was effective and is a semifinalist.
Photo CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
Until then, he hadn't hurt Germany, which
even seemed more comfortable in its conservative stance.
But it was enough that Wellen accelerated into the circle, Rey touched the stick and that was the first penalty corner.
The Argentine defense was firm
in that first attempt but the new infraction motivated the new fixed and there
Lukas Windfeder was
right.
With a very strong shot, low and to the right of Vivaldi, he overcame the goalkeeper's resistance and made it 1-0.
They were 19 minutes.
The goal
emotionally shook the game.
And the Argentines felt it more, undoubtedly.
They gave up possession -they would end the first half with a greater amount of income to the circle anyway: six against four- and, to top it off,
Rey had to be injured
in his right arm (later he re-entered but had been touched) when Wellen threw him all his humanity on top.
Germany was left with one man less for the yellow card but Argentina lost
its midfield player and a fundamental figure
in its structure
by a long passage
.
The Germans celebrate Lukas Windfeder's goal.
Photo EFE / José Méndez
At the start of the complement, the Argentines sought to stand a couple of meters later on the court;
Faced with this attitude, the response was
a good defensive system
, with his men closing diagonally against the opponent's advance and with all of Germany convinced that, without the ball, no one could be in front of their line.
So it was all more uphill.
And the situation was worse when at 10 minutes the difference was increased in another fixed, confirming that in modern field hockey
(almost) everything is defined by that play.
What the Germans, in the third short, was
a delight
, a real swerving.
They combined it between three players at the base and at the right moment Captain
Hauke
looked for the detour.
There were two men face to face with Vivaldi and it was
Timm Herzbruch
, finally, who converted.
The Argentine team began to
fall into despair
, with excessive protests and offensive oversights like that for which the third goal almost came after a long run from
Staib
.
Between the stick and Vivaldi, Argentina remained alive.
But not
for much longer
.
Because at 17 minutes, in the short quarter, the winner went 3-0.
Again Windfeder was relentless in the drag.
There was still a long way to go but the game already seemed to be something judged.
The pain of Pedro Ibarra, who minutes after the defeat announced his retirement from the team.
AP Photo / John Minchillo
It is that he
did not reach the recovery
on the scoreboard and in the spirit that the discount meant.
It was when Argentina, at last, found the short.
He was stopped for an infraction against Casella on two occasions.
And in the third, at 22 minutes, he was finally able to violate Stadler.
There was still plenty of time ahead.
Eight minutes.
So there were
three more shorts.
Two went to Casella and one to Captain Ibarra.
However, the defense of the outgoing thwarted the new goal.
Nothing else was left to do.
And the Tokyo dream ended that way, at noon and under the relentless sun.
Thus, too,
the incredible reality of being an Olympic champion for five years
ended
.
To be above all.
Nobody will take that poster away from Argentine men's hockey.
And it will be a pride forever.
Look also
Tokyo 2020: all the pain of Belén Casetta, who could not improve her time this year and was eliminated
Tokyo 2020: another feat of the enormous Caeleb Dressel, who took the gold and broke the Olympic record in the 50m