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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 MAY 2014 49 WORLD CUP SPECIAL Sport Italy 1990: 'Argentina's fault' that the final was poor - Voeller The final was the same four years later, and those who had lost the first time around wanted to take revenge: Germany and Argentina were again head to head in a World Cup final, this time on July 8, 1990, in Rome's Stadio Olimpico. ESTEBAN BAYER FOUR years earlier, in Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, Argentina, with their superstar Diego Mara- dona at his best, had claimed their second World Cup title by win- ning a vibrant final 3-2. Germany, coached at the time by the legen- dary Franz Beckenbauer, had gone home empty-handed. In Rome, everything was set for a sort of re-match: Maradona against Lothar Matthaeus, Oscar Ruggeri against Rudi Voeller, Beckenbauer against Carlos Bilardo, the coaches of both teams. Four years later, the story turned out quite different. This time around Germany won, and the match had none of the suspense and the quality of its predecessor. It was a boring, plain game that was settled with a dubious penalty shot just five minutes before the fi- nal whistle. Rudi Voeller, who played both finals, admits that the 1990 match "was not spectacular," and that it did not meet expectations. "It was not a very good final, but to be honest it was not our fault. The Argentines got to the final a little bit by surprise, they played very small-minded football, as they had done throughout the tourna- ment. They were trying to get by anyway they could, played for a draw, tried to reach the penalty shootout," Voeller recalled in an interview with dpa. For the striker – whose record of 47 goals in 90 matches with Ger- many is second only to "Bomber" Gerd Mueller's – the two clashes against Argentina are unforgetta- ble. "I prefer the second final, because although the first one was better and I scored a goal, in Rome we were better, and besides, we won the title," he admits. "In the 1986 World Cup, I admit that the Argentines were by far the best team in the tournament. They deserved the title. They had Mara- dona, who was their most outstand- ing player though not the only one: they had many other good players, and they also had a very good de- fence, much better than the one they had in 1990," he added. Voeller, who as coach led Germa- ny to the final of the South Korea- Japan 2002 World Cup, thinks that his country's third world cham- pionship title, which they won in Italy 1990, was "fair and well-de- served." The reason is simple, in his opin- ion. "We were the best. And not just in the final. Also throughout the tournament, with a very solid, very confident team. Beckenbauer's experience and skill were apparent there," he says. However, he acknowledged that it was not all down to quality. "We were lucky. For example, every- thing could have vanished in the round-of-16," he says of the match against the Netherlands. That game, which kept both teams on edge, was a troubling one for the Germany striker, who was active as a player in Germany, Italy and France and won the Champi- ons League with Olympique Mar- seille. "The one that scored the first goal would win the match, and for- tunately the Dutch did not manage that despite all the chances they had. It was us, but that match was the toughest in the tournament, and instead of being world champi- ons we could have returned home with the frustration of having been eliminated in the round-of-16." That match saw Voeller get a lot of undeserved attention, as the vic- tim of what he continues to regard as "a great injustice." Until that day, he was convinced that it was going to be "his" World Cup. He had scored three goals and he was the tournament's top scorer, along with his team-mate Matthaeus and Italy's Toto Schillaci. However, he got frustrated against the Netherlands. Dutch- man Frank Rijkaard spit in his face several times, and after the subse- quent clash between them Argen- tine referee Juan Carlos Loustau sent them both off 22 minutes into the match. "A great injustice, imposing the same punishment on the perpetra- tor and the victim," Voeller says. The referee's decision - "I thought he was destroying my World Cup" – greatly upset Voeller, because he was suspended for a game and could only play again in the semi- finals. DPA Rudi Voeller admits that the 1990 match "was not spectacular," and that it did not meet expectations. Photo by Frank Kleefeldt - dpa