Klinsmann, who aspired to pair the great Franz Beckenbauer by obtaining championships as player and coach, had a reality check.
His championship as a player was due to an inexistant penalty kick and all the refferees' help that hsi team received to reach the semis was not enough to earn a ticket to Berlin.
 

Germany were worth the semi-finals on balance -- Klinsmann has done something no German coach has done that I remember and that is to make them play open, attacking football. But this was still an overachieving team and without Frings it was always going to be an uphill struggle; and that became all too clear within minutes of the kick-off.

Penalties in this game would have been an injustice with the inevitable German win seeing as how Italy are the only nation culturally less equipped than England to deal with a shoot-out.

Finally a word for the referee -- this guy is outstanding. Makes Pierluigi Collina look ordinary. He totally let the players play and resisted the temptation to project his ego.

So hopefully we look forward to an Italy-France final and may the best team win.
 

> Italy are the only nation culturally
> less equipped than England to deal
> with a shoot-out.

How prophetic. I guess the end of Italy-France must have forced you to rethink your views ... by the way, if you had watched Euro2000, you would remeber that Italy won against - of all teams! - the host country at penalties.

England are out. On penalties, again. There would be ample space for teasing, but there's no point: the team has played without the usual urgency and speed, and it has not replaced those with ball control and clever plans. Hiring a foreign coach was not a mistake in itself: hiring Eriksson was, as two World Cups and one European Cup have proved. Wenger would have been a better choice. Lippi, Capello or one of the Travelling Dutchmen would do. But it's time for an English coach now, good luck to McLaren.