Arindam: - Good evening, viewers. In this episode of ‘Fantastic Football Fever’ program in your favorite ‘Royal Bengal Tiger (RBT)’ TV Channel, we have invited Mr. Ariel Ortega, the famous Argentine footballer. Welcome to our show, Mr. Ortega. First of all, I want to ask you that which is your favorite team in this World Cup other than Argentina?
Ortega: - Hmm…well, Brazil is looking good, but, personally, I don’t want them to win this world cup as they have already won for 5 times. Germany, Spain, Portugal, Uruguay as well as Netherlands look quite good. Before the world cup, England and France were also there in my favorite teams list, but, somehow, I am not at all impressed about France and England team.
Arindam: - Ok, we will continue our discussion on it, but before that let us hear what Mr. ARINAN has to say about the match between France and South Africa.
Mr. ARINAN:- The ‘humming bee’ tone of Vuvuzela blow-pipes of the Bafana Bafana team were more than enough to take the advantage of French revolution that ruined the practice sessions of France football team. The countrymen of Napoleon played pathetic football against the countrymen of Nelson Mandela. Not for a single moment, any of the French footballer looked like fighting against the South Africans. They were just playing the football as if they have been forcefully told to go and play this particular match. South Africa played well to defeat France by 2-1 but was not enough for them to qualify in the Round of 16.
Arindam: - French revolution! Hmm…indeed it is quite true that the ‘Anelka’ controversy spoiled the show for the French team. Mr. Ortega, what is your opinion about the France team in this tournament?
Ortega: - They shouldn’t have forgot that they came here to play for their motherland, not for a particular club. I don’t know why there were some ego clashes and even if that existed also, then it is not a right thing to stop the practice sessions. When you are skipping practice sessions, it means that you are compromising with football. As a net result, they lost against a weak team like South Africa also. I am not under-estimating South African football team, but at least, for a big team like France, the team of South Africa is a weak team. But, alas, France is out of this tournament after getting defeated by the host country.
Arindam: - Zinedine Zidane will be very disappointed about this result, because neither Algeria nor France has been able to perform in this World Cup. Ok, let us find out from Mr. ARINAN that actually which two teams have qualified from Group A.
Mr. ARINAN: - It was a good competitive battle between Uruguay and Mexico. The Red Indians tried their level best but the Uruguay footballers played better football. Uruguay defeated Mexico by 1-0. But the Red Indians still have something to cheer as they have qualified for the next round to clash against Argentina. The efforts of South African were not enough for them to qualify in the next round, but their consolation prize will be that they have defeated a big team like France.
Arindam: - So, Mexico will clash against Argentina. Hmm…Mr. Ortega, for Argentina, is Mexico a tough side or a weak side?
Ortega: - Well, there is no point in under-estimating Mexico. They also have some good strikers. Santos is already playing good football. And you should not forget Mr. Blanco of Mexico. Blanco is the experienced striker in that team, who is a very smart footballer. He can create opportunities from any position at anytime.
Arindam: - Hey, Mr. ARINAN, can you please tell us, what actually happened in the match between Argentina and Greece?
Mr. ARINAN: - The match between Argentina and Greece was a meaningless match for Argentina. That’s why; Diego Maradona rested 7 senior players and played all the junior players by making Messi as the captain. The Argentine team was struggling to get the rhythm in the 1st half as the Greeks were busy in spoiling the game unnecessarily to get the match drawn. In the half-time break, when the Greece team heard the result that South Korea is leading Nigeria by 1 goal, then the think-tank of Greece changed. In the 2nd half, the Greeks started playing attacking football, with Samaras almost getting two sure-shot scoring chances. The Argentine footballer were smart to understand that this is the time to counter-attack Greece, because unlike the 1st half, now, only 3 defenders are there in the penalty area. The counter-attack strategy of Argentina worked well. They got 2 goals within the last 27 minutes of the match. Argentina won by 2-0 against Greece.
Arindam: - Mr. Ortega, don’t you think that this time, Diego Maradona has many weapons in his hand. Even the 2nd level team of Argentina is as strong as 1st level team. Demicheles, Parmer and Diego Milito are also good players. Then, Rodrigues is also a player, who acts like a submarine.
Ortega: - Yeah, this Argentina team is full of talented resources but the tough task will be to get the right combination to beat the opponents. That is where Diego Maradona has to play a key role as a coach.
Arindam: - after the retirement of Diego Maradona, you used to play for Argentina team with that Jersey No. 10. You used to play well, but, there is a black spot in your career that you used to foul the opponent players unnecessarily. There was a lack of discipline in you. Is it true?
Ortega: - Ha ha ha…in any football match, these things happen. Everyone pushes or tackles the other. Football is a second version of rugby only but it has been modified in a very sophisticated manner.
Arindam: - Then you are saying that if a player is fouling the other players, then he will not be shown the Red or Yellow Card. In this World Cup only, there are many matches, where a player was shown the Red Card and his team played with 10 men. Due to the shortage of 1 player, the team lost to their opponent team. You want to say that discipline is not at all a factor in football.
Ortega: - of course, discipline should be there. Nowadays, FIFA has become very strict in its rules, which is good for football only. In our days, you cannot imagine, what kind of foul used to take place. Go and ask Diego Maradona. He will tell you, how he was fouled brutally in many matches of the World Cup? In my opinion, Argentine players should maintain discipline in this World Cup rather than following the footsteps of Zidane and Kaka.
Arindam: - Thanks a lot, Mr. Ortega, for coming to our show and sharing your views. Viewers, we will end our show here, but before that Mr. ARINAN will tell you something about the match between Nigeria and South Korea. So, just stay tuned.
Mr. ARINAN: - Nigeria started off well to get a lead by 1 goal, but the South Koreans came back in the match by scoring 2 valuable goals. Mr. Park parked the ball inside the Nigerian goalpost. In the 2nd half, Nigerian footballers gave their heart out to get an equalizer. Yakubu got a babysitter, but, alas, he failed to score. He should get an award for missing that opportunity to score goal. But, God gave him another chance and this time it was in the form of a penalty. He scored the goal to make it 2-2. As the game progressed, Nigerian footballers got the information that Greece is trailing against Argentina by 2 goals. So, there is still hope for Nigeria to qualify if they can beat South Korea. They tried their level best. Martinis was unable to give an effective final touch. The Nigerian footballer missed their chances like the school level football team. As a net result, South Korea qualified for the next round to play against Uruguay.
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