SInstead of the World Cup it was “world disgrace” for Portugal on Sunday evening. At least that’s how the Record newspaper felt the 2-1 home defeat against Serbia, which meant second place in the group and the play-offs for the 2016 European champions. Because there are only three places left out of twelve applicants, thrills are guaranteed. And Cristiano Ronaldo has already tried to give this story the right spin. “Football,” wrote the star striker on social networks, “occasionally shows that the most winding roads lead us to the greatest goals.”
Which brings us, via a little detour, to the German national team. Experience has shown that in football, sometimes even the straightest path does not lead to the greatest goal, but rather to the greatest possible embarrassment. Just a reminder: Joachim Löw’s team qualified for the 2018 World Cup with a sparkling clean record of ten wins from ten games and 43: 4 goals – and that in a group in which there were opponents with the Czech Republic, Norway and Northern Ireland. that could be considered to be more important than those in the current campaign. The shameful end is known, World Cup out in the preliminary round against South Korea. Which just goes to show that football doesn’t really care how the path is mapped out, what matters is how you approach it, and what happens when obstacles arise.
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