Semi-Finals: Germany vs. Spain: Paul the Octopus was right

Should have had octopus sashimi for dinner. A cephalopod's prediction came true. Paul the Octopus picked Spain to be the winner in an aquarium with one box painted with the German flag and the other, the Spanish flag. It was right.

Playing a defensive game as I've witnessed can cost you. It's a small margin for error when you need to hold fort for 90 minutes. If a goal is scored in the 2nd half, the whole ball game (no pun intended) turns around and you'd be fighting for your life. That's what happened with the Germans who rallied with the Spanish up until the 2/3 of the 2nd half. Neuer was close to saving it but not close enough.

In the 73rd minute, a corner shot gave Puyol a opening to score. The game was tight with Germany playing defense most of the time. Possession was mostly in the Spanish boys' favour, especially A.Iniesta and David Silva. Their show of skills I must admit, is admirable. The control and seamless passing is like no other I've seen. If not for that watershed corner kick, the Germans would have had a chance as their defense was back up to the brim. Podolski got a close one in from the side-line with Toni Kroos deflecting into the Spanish goal. An equalizer at so close of the match would likely to have been a crucial point for both teams.

Mueller sat out in this match by reason of the previous match offense. Would he have made a difference? Well, I think so. He hasn't missed a game until now.

I guess Joachim Loew's future as the team's coach has now taken the turn for the worse, incidentally his coaching contract has run its course. I think he has done an excellent job and it would be Germany's peril not to renew it.

Needless to say, this marks the end of the Panzer's dream to reach the World Cup 2010 finals, much to the disappointment of a multitude.