Soccer Slant

The beauty of sport is that it has a knack for providing us fairy-tale story lines in a real life theatre.

The UEFA Cup quarterfinal tie between Getafe C.F. and Bayern Munich was one of those fabled moments. The tie paired off one of the giants of European football, Bayern Munich—winners of 20 German league titles and 4-time champions of Europe—with a tiny Getafe side that has only enjoyed 4 seasons of top-flight football. In the build up to the match, both sides played their part. German football legend Franz Beckenbauer declared that he didn’t know a single player on Getafe’s squad and was even surprised to hear that Michael Laudrup was their manager. Angel Torres, Getafe’s brilliant owner, did not take the remarks lightly: “Maybe after [the match] our players can sign autographs for [Beckenbauer], so he can keep them in his wallet so he can remember [Getafe]”. The stage was set for a classic David versus Goliath match-up.

Getafe’s remarkable success in La Liga during the past few years has captured the imagination of many fans. Not only have the results been tremendous—they managed to reach a Copa del Rey final last season and secure a UEFA cup berth—but they have done it in style. The club has created an identity where skill and grace are placed at a premium. Torres has shown a keen eye for talent, usually looking at cast-offs from the bigger clubs as well as veteran journeymen. More importantly, he has shown that he has a Midas touch when handpicking young, talented managers, starting with Quique Sanchez Flores, followed by Bernd Schuster, and now Michael Laudrup.

Spanish football is by nature very divided, augmented by intense regional and political differences. Sympathy for Getafe has been one of the few things able to unite fans of differing allegiances around the same cause. A telling statistic is that more people in Spain watched Getafe’s first leg match against Bayern than watched Spain’s friendly against World Cup winners Italy.

The first leg ended in an agonizing 1-1 draw, Cosmin Contra leveling the match with a superb chip over keeper Oliver Kahn. It seemed like Getafe had more than a fighting chance against the Germans.

Coming into the second leg, Bayern stepped into the Alfonso Perez Coliseum with a formidable lineup including intimidating names such as Kahn, Lucio, Van Bommel, Lahm, Klose, Ribery, Schweinsteiger, and, above all, Toni. As if the weight of history (and money) wasn’t enough, Getafe were forced to do battle with ten men after Ruben De la Red was given a red card in merely the 5^th minute of play. This sport can be so cruel.

Nevertheless, Getafe, unfazed, soldiered on. When Contra galloped down the right flank, leaving Bayern defenders in his wake and rifling past Kahn, it seemed like poetic justice. The minnow, being dealt an unfair hand, put the shark against the ropes. As the second half rolled along, Bayern put steady pressure but the undermanned Getafe always looked dangerous on the counter. On one such occasion, substitute Braulio managed to dribble past Oliver Kahn, only to slip as he was about to push the ball into the empty net. Again, in storybook fashion, this seemed like a classic case of foreshadowing.

In the last minute of play, Franck Ribery, who had been largely neutralized throughout the match, managed to volley home a loose ball. 1-1 and on to extra time.

Amazingly, it was Getafe who struck first. The exquisite Javi Casquero got free at the edge of the box and thundered the ball off the post and past Kahn. Hardly a minute after, Braulio redeemed himself for his earlier miss and put Getafe ahead 3-1 with almost all of extra time left to be played.

Here is where the Germans showed their true strength. They aren’t the most talented players in the world, but they have a competitive spirit like no other. This is frequently pointed to by Spaniards as the reason why the Germans are so successful in international tournaments while the Spanish national team always disappoints. Despite going down 3-1, they were never rattled. Led by the imposing Luca Toni, they continued to attack Getafe’s tired defense. With five minutes left, the Italian striker took advantage of a calamitous error from Getafe’s keeper, Roberto Abbondanzieri, to pull the Germans within one goal.

Then, in the final second, Jose Ernesto Sosa floated a cross into the back post, and Toni rose above the defenders to head the tying goal that would eliminate Getafe on the unjust away goals rule. Just like that, the dream was over.

At that moment, 11.3 million Spaniards who were watching the match on their television sets let out a collective cry of agony. In that night, everyone was an ‘Azulon’; everyone cried with Getafe. After the match Contra, in his most philosophical version, declared, “It was an injustice, but that is why football is so beautiful.”

Watch below for highlights of the game.

by Fernando Rodriguez-Vila