I accidentally watched this game at an Oirish Pub nearby. I'd only gone there because I fancied some British beer. What a thriller it was. This is a quarter final match in the UEFA Cup. Nobody (except people in Spain and DubaiBilly) has ever heard of Getafe, but they are Madrid's number three team, based in an industrial suburb south of Madrid.
The game got off to an ignominious start, with Getafe's Ruben de la Red being sent off in the sixth minute - for the life of me, I don't know why. The first half was scrappy, but Getafe managed a goooooooooooooooooooooool in the 44th minute (Cosmin Contra). The second half was also a bit messy, but a few of the Getafe players were taking dives over the slightest breath of a tackle, whereas the Germans just got on with playing football. I really, really hate the theatrics of Latino players, especially these days when video replays can show what really happened. So I was not remotely impressed when one of the Getafe players managed to produce a nosebleed after rolling around the pitch for a bit. Neither was the referee. But apparently UEFA has not yet introduced an automatic send-off rule for such shenanigans.
The game went on, both teams pretty evenly matched. In the 88th minute, Bayern equalized (Franck Ribery). Gol, said the commentator, without any bias whatsoever. And so the game went to extra time. Getafe scored in the second minute. And then again in the third minute. So, 3-1, you'd think it was settled, wouldn't you.
But Bayern never gave up, and I absolutely couldn't believe it when they scored five minutes before the end, and then again right on the final whistle. Incredible! And then I expected it to go to penalties, but after watching adverts on the telly for ten more minutes I went home. There's nothing on the internet to say what happens next: surely not a replay for a quarter final?
UPDATE: I've just seen on Reuters that Bayern won on the 'away goals rule': meaning they scored more goals in their away from home game than Getafe did. So, that's kind of OK. 'Cos I'm really pissed off by the acting from some of the Getafe players: no need for it whatsoever; it's disgraceful and dishonourable. So nerr.
Spanish Floods
4 days ago
5 comments:
I actually got up this morning at 4am to watch this match and I'm so pleased that I did - it was brilliant. I have a love-hate thing with Bayern - love Klose, Podolski and Lamm, hate Khan!
Agree with the drama queen Spanish comments.
I still can't believe that they're showing UEFA live in Oz - usually they don't show sports where no Australians are playing!
The Uefa Cup never reached Dubai, Showtime show the European Champions League, but the Uefa Cup doesn't have the quality. Even less since Sporting Club de Lisboa knocked Bolton out. And they certainly won't be in it next year. Won't even be in the premier league the way things are going!
But I digress.
I also deplore the histrionics of latino players - African players can fall over very easily too! I think Fifa should look to find a way of sorting out the diving problem - referees have the power to caution a player for diving but seem to do so only very rarely. Perhaps Fifa should insist they use this power more often!
I knew some interesting match was going on last night as I reckon about 20 of the apartments in my building were watching it - I could hear everything lol
Great game - I haven't felt so much tension in years over a game involving teams that I don't follow. It's sad that a goalkeeping error let Bayern back into it, I was thinking that Getafe could become Spain's most successful team in Europe for this season. As for the play acting, tour man Toni, who grabbed the winning goal, did as much blatant diving in search of a penalty as anyone.
¡Qué patidazo! I think that what I liked most was seeing el rey in his palco (I just learned this word today so I had to use it or lose it) for the entire game. VIPs in America will attend a sporting event but leave after a few minutes. I would have loved to seen Juan Carlos rampaging through the streets with the other hooligans lighting cars on fire after Getafe´s heartbreaking defeat. Getafe really had no business beating a team like Munich and they played beautifully.
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