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“You only laugh because you’re nervous. Come on, I’ll eat you raw! ”- Argentina’s goalkeeper Dibu Martínez saved three penalties against Colombia
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Brazil met Peru in the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in the Engenho de Dentro district, surrounded by favelas. Botafogo FR plays its home games there – currently only in Série B. What is striking about this Copa is that the opponents of Brazil are severely disadvantaged by the referees before they meet Brazil. In the quarter-final match against Paraguay, the Peruvians lost their best, André Carrillo, who had previously mixed up the defensive lines of all opponents, to double yellow. Nobody could understand. The same thing happened in Paraguay, where defense chief Gustavo Gómez was sent off, and it could also have been that the Guaraníes would have progressed. VAR? What for?
Deprived of his most important player, Peru’s coach Ricardo “El Tigre” Gareca initially had his boys line up with a real five-a-side chain in order not to let the Brasucas get stupid. But if they didn’t itch, they began their monologue. Less than twenty minutes played, and Peru’s goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, who kicks for Orlando City in the MLS, had shown four world-class parades after defusing two long-range blasts from Casemiro and a double chance from Neymar and Richarlison from a distance of smoke. Then it was Neymar Jr., who, after a dream pass from Richarlison, dispatched from the center line, danced out Christian Ramos and Alexander Callens with a genius on the left in the penalty area and played back via a constructive tunnel to Lucas Paquetá, who pounded from sanction point height for the only goal of the game. In the first half, the Chilean referee Roberto Tobar failed to give a clear hand penalty when Thiago Silva extended his arm to block a shot by Sergio Peña. The ball jumped from his elbow into the goal. Tobar, who had excellent vision, didn’t whistle a penal or a corner, but a kick. VAR? What for? Serious is spelled differently.
Change of scene. Second semi-final: Argentina versus Colombia. When the Colombian Yerry Mina (Everton) sneaked back from his missed penalty against Argentina to the center circle, a released Lionel Messi croaked at him: “Then dance!” Before taking his penalty kick in the semi-finals of the Copa America in Brazil, here: in Mané Garrincha stadium in Brasilia, Argentina goalkeeper Dibu Martínez (Aston Villa), who was generally very polite in this instance, had already let the central defender foresee the impending disaster: “You only laugh because you’re nervous. Come on, I’ll eat you raw! ”Echoed around the stadium.
The Corona times also have their good side, finally we have soccer literature in the raw stage, live via the transmitter, fresh from the butcher, pure and without editing. In South America, where health takes precedence over commerce, there is no audience, and so we hear every word, even if we don’t understand everything.
Martínez kept his word and blocked the shot. What was it all about? World Cup hero Mina had celebrated his converted penalty in the penalty shootout of the quarter-finals against Uruguay with a “bailecito” (little dance) in the face of Uru goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Believe it or not, there are codes in football. That’s one of them. Mina had crossed a threshold, now he was punished for it by the Messi & Compañía truth mafia. Martínez had already fended off the penal (which also means “jail” in Argentina) from Davinson Sánchez (Tottenham) and then from Edwin Cardona (Boca Juniors) with a vehemence and determination that warmed the heart. A goalkeeper had never saved three penalty kicks in a knockout game in Argentina.
The internationals that Lionel Messi is currently playing at the Copa America are the best of his career. The team is young, full of illusions, there is no meter price. On Saturday in the Maracanã, the Argentines will write football history against Brazil and win the first authentic Maracanaço.
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