WTF! What is going on? Really? Have you ever heard of three consecutive comebacks (with two goals behind)! This is beyond any imagination, beyond expectations, beyond my wildest dreams, beyond any articulations, beyond any thoughts! I am truly numb! Germany wins gold in the penalty shootout.
This was a fight between the flags with the same colors, only one was vertical and one horizontal. This was a fight between experience (Belgium had 11 players with more than 200 international caps) versus youth (Germany had one player with more than 200 caps). This was a fight between the traditional war horse (Germany with four Olympics gold, two world cups and 18 European championships) and the new kid on the block (Belgium won one Olympics gold, one world cup and one European championship, all in the last three years). Tradition, legacy and youth is a weird combination to win the tournament.
So, what really happened? Same old, same old! Belgium worked methodically and scored two beautiful field goals. This time, Germany woke up much earlier than in previous matches and secured a penalty stroke. This is the second consecutive match where they missed the freaking penalty stroke. This is totally unheard off! But Germans were determined to entertain this sold-out stadium! Germans were not rattled. Wellen and Peillat (Do you remember from my previous blog that he migrated recently from Argentina?) scored on the penalty corners even before the start of the fourth quarter. In my mind, I started scripting the blog ending in a penalty shootout. But wait, drama continued. Germany scored again and took the lead 3-2. Like all other teams, even Belgium went helter-skelter after conceding three consecutive goals. But they came back when just three minutes were left in the game and scored the equalizer. Then, and only then, there was a penalty shootout and boom, Germany is the winner!
The team work, penetrating passes and even individual dribbling skills were absolutely top class. But I cannot figure out the x-factor. Is it fire in the belly, is it Peillat who scored on penalty corners at the right time, is it methodology, training, grass root culture? I do not know, and I cannot analyze. I am speechless.
In another third-place game, Netherlands exploited Australia’s porous defense and won 3-1.
After watching 24 matches in the stadium and about 16 matches on TV, I should have been hockeyed out. Instead, I am writing this blog at midnight, totally hyped by this crazy tournament. This were my first live hockey matches, first hockey world cup and first news report style blogging. The experience was beyond my wildest dreams. I tried my best not to make it a drab, boring news report, added some spice, some emotions and shared my feelings of an exciting game of hockey. Hopefully you liked it.
Stay tuned for my new adventures! Really really from bottom of my heart, all the best to the USA (which will qualify as the host nation in 2026 Olympics) and India for bright future in hockey! Au Revoir, Tschuss, see you soon!
