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| Jose (left) and Miguel flaunt a Spanish jersey the morning after reaching the Euro finals. (Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya) |
Jose M Terriza and Miguel Angel Hernaez returned “really tired” on Wednesday afternoon to Calcutta from Raipur, where they were overseeing solar plant projects on behalf of their company. But nothing could keep the two soccer fanatics from the semi-final between Spain and Portugal. The morning after, the Spaniards took Metro through the game that kept them on the edge of their seats till 3am.
THE MATCH VENUE
Jose: We were really tired but we can do anything for football, especially a Spain match.
Miguel: We watched the match at an Indian friend’s house where we had Spanish dinner and waited for kick-off, debating what would happen, who were the best players on either side and of course whether Cristiano Ronaldo would score a goal or not. We were pretty nervous.
THE SPANISH STRATEGY
Jose: I wouldn’t say I was surprised that there was no (Cesc) Fabregas or (Fernando) Torres in the line-up. See, the whole point is about keeping possession of the ball, that is what is important for Spain.
Miguel: I am very confident about (Vicente del) Bosque. As coach he knows his team very well and also what he needs to do for every match, strategically.
Jose: People are complaining about the slow football Spain is playing but they control the game at various levels, especially in the midfield.
EDGE-OF-THE-SOFA MOMENTS
Jose: The (Andres) Iniesta shot at goal towards the end had us jumping off the sofa.... The ball was mostly in possession of Spain but not as much as it was against France (in the quarter-finals)…
Miguel: I remember during extra time, Spain was attacking all the time but did not have any luck… that had me hanging on the edge of the seat. I in fact could not sit on the sofa, I kept pacing up and down! All the while our Indian friend kept saying ‘no problem, it will be okay, sit down. Spain will win and on Sunday it will be Spain versus Germany’. But I was so nervous.
THE RONALDO MOMENTS
Miguel: There was this one time when Spain committed a foul and Ronaldo took a free-kick from outside the box and then there was another foul and he took a free kick again, this time just from 26 metres. I was confident about (Iker) Casillas stopping the shot but it was so close, my heart stopped.
See, Spain and Portugal are very talented teams with good players on both sides, so we were not overconfident. We knew that if Portugal got a chance and they scored, we might lose.
People only talk about Ronaldo but there are many good players in Portugal like Pepe and (Fabio) Coentrao, even the goalkeeper (Rui Patricio) is good, but Ronaldo is like the reference point for Portugal.
That is the difference — in Spain the reference point is always the team but in Portugal it is one man, Ronaldo.
THE PENALTY SHOOTOUT
Miguel: I know a penalty shootout is like a lottery, and it is not a good way to decide a match, but that’s how it is.
When Xabi Alonso could not score, we were like ‘what?!’
The first shot of Spain reminded me of the UEFA Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Then when Casillas saved, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Jose: The most tense moment for me at the penalties was Sergio Ramos, because in that Champions League match Miguel is referring to, Ramos had kicked the ball over the post.
Miguel: Here, he actually had the confidence to do the ‘Panenka’ chip. Wow! We were so relieved. [The Panenka chip is named after Antonin Panenka, whose nonchalant chipped penalty in the 1976 European Championship final gave the Czech Republic victory over defending champions West Germany.]
Jose: Once Portugal missed (Bruno Alves hit the bar) and Fabregas stepped up, we were confident. Fabregas wouldn’t miss.
THE WINNING MOMENT
Miguel: After Fabregas scored, I think our reaction was similar to his and Casillas’s! We were hugging each other and jumping and shouting.
THE FINAL
Miguel: I think we’ll be playing Germany. It will be a real challenge.
Jose: Yeah, but I would prefer Italy, because they play the long ball and if we keep the ball then we will dominate the match. Also, Italy is like Portugal, the reference point is one player — (Andrea) Pirlo — but Germany plays like a team.
