It was a classic, the first in this World Cup.
Until now there were many good games, surprises, dramas, stories, but there was no classic.
Because a classic is something else.
It's a game that contains everything;
One that comes with background and depth and into it pours quality football, story, drama, emotion, tension and a script that surpasses all imagination.
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A classic of the World Cup is a meeting that is expected of him and of him, and he meets all expectations.
The quarter-final between Argentina and the Netherlands at the Losail Stadium was just such a game - Qatar's first classic of 2022.
He was like that because of history.
The 1978 final, the 1998 quarter-final, the 2014 semi-final. Mario Camps in extra time, Dennis Bergkamp against Roberto Azala, Maxi Rodrigues deciding a penalty shootout - all these memories were drained into the current meeting yesterday (Friday) evening and gave it a classic starting point.
And just as the past was full of events, so is the present.
On the green grass in Qatar, the two teams went up in identical formations of 3:5:2.
In the stands an absolute Argentinian majority, but in the game itself the 35 minutes were incredibly balanced.
It was clear that this game needed a "moment", and then it arrived.
Leo Messi, on whose shoulders rests the 36-year-old hope of a soccer-sick nation, broke free from his personal guard and unleashed a pass that defies the laws of logic, the direction of movement, the human mind.
Nahuel Molina scored, and the stadium shook.
When Messi scored from the penalty spot in the second half, it seemed that the title of the game had already been written.
Number 10, with 10 goals in the World Cup, sent Argentina to the semi-finals.
on intelligence and sensitivity
But it was a classic.
Louis van Gaal, in his last tournament as an active coach, was determined to leave his mark on this World Cup.
He dreamed of taking the Netherlands to places no other coach had succeeded, and the substitutions he made shifted the game in a new direction.
Vot and Horst, thrown in on 78 minutes to save the homeland with high balls, did bring it back into the game five minutes later.
The Argentinian fans gave a home atmosphere, photo: AP
The tension rose, Argentina shut down, and then the official Classic was sealed.
Holland's free kick exercise in the 100th minute, which ended with an equalizer for Voechhorst, is a goal that goes directly into the list of future great moments.
The audacity, the performance, the status, the timing - a goal that will be talked about in years to come.
In the 30 minutes of overtime, the classic was given the necessary roughness.
The atmosphere became murky and belligerent, the historical rivalry mixed with the current one, and every Argentinian-Dutch meeting ignited tempers.
The stadium resembled an arena, the players brawled with each other until they were sent to the penalty spot.
There, two saves by Emiliano Martínez set the stage for Lautro Martínez's winning penalty.
When his ball hit the net it became clear that what was there for 120 minutes was much more than football.
On the grass and in the tunnel the Dutch and Argentinian players exchanged words, looks, bites and insults.
The Argentinian crowd stayed to cheer their players in the stands even an hour and a half after the final whistle, and when the security guards and cleaners already wanted to leave.
Although it is "only" a quarter-final and the giant killer Croatia awaits in the semi - but for Argentina and Leo Messi it was much more than a victory.
It was a classic win.
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