Sport category: Soccer Miroslav Klose encounters of the fifth kind
Date: 01-07-2006 10:12
THE ROAD TO GOLD: Germany striker Miroslav Klose enjoyed a day to remember on Friday.
The in-form Klose arrived in the nick of time to notch his side's equaliser against Argentina and help them on their way to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup™. In doing so, not only did the Werder Breman forward revive the flagging legions of Germany fans, he also tightened his grip on the adidas Golden Shoe award.
The highest climber of the day was Italy’s Luca Toni , who struck twice to see off a valiant Ukraine side in Hamburg. Two contenders who enjoyed less good fortune on an action-packed day, however, were Hernan Crespo and Andriy Shevchenko, both of whom bow out of the race.
One step closer
The Berlin showdown had all the makings of a classic encounter as Germany and Argentina faced off for a semi-final place. The subplot was no less interesting either, with two of the leading candidates for the Golden Shoe, Klose and Crespo, going head to head. It was the Germany forward who took the honours. With Argentina a goal in front, Klose's angled header ten minutes from time brought immense relief to an increasingly desperate 72,000 crowd packed into Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
“It was an amazing game and we needed a little luck to win. It’s always nice to score but the most important thing is to get the victory,” said the striker, who took his tournament tally to five goals, a lead of two over Brazil’s Ronaldo, now his nearest challenger.
The German’s joy spelt dejection for Argentina’s Crespo, who bows out of the race with three goals to his name and a profound sense of sadness. “For me, we’ve had a disappointing tournament because we’ve been knocked out,” said the Chelsea striker as he left the stadium.
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