Roger Cohen salutes Argentina

Editor's note: Here Roger Cohen, political columnist for International Herald Tribune salutes the Argentine team. He points to the terrible mistakes committed by coach Jose Pekerman.
By Roger Cohen /IHT blog
What a titanic struggle in the Olympic Stadium between two fine teams!
The game was Argentina's to win after Roberto Ayala put the side ahead early in the second half. But Jose Pekerman, theArgentine coach who has now quit, chose to signal to Germany that he intended to cling to the lead rather than go for the killer punch.
With drawing the heart ofthe team, the elegant Juan Roman Riquelme, in the 71st minute was a terrible mistake. If there's one side in the world that you should never sit back against, it's Germany. The Germans never give up. Never, ever.
Anyone who saw Germany come back from a two-goal deficit to beat France on penalties in the semi-final of the 1982 World Cup knows that. The Germans have won more games against better sides than any other in World Cup competitions. Why?
Because of their inexhaustiable will to win.
Argentina was the better team. It had 58 percent of the possession, and was able to dictate the flow of the game for long periods. But it was psychologically weaker.
For ten minutes after Ayala's goal,the game was Argentina's to claim. Maxi Rodriguez almost did so with a blistering shot just wide of the right post. Then Pekerman chose to sit back. He could have brought on the brilliant Lionel Messi. He didn't. That was the beginning of the Argentine unraveling that began with Miroslav Klose's well-taken 80th minute equalizer and culminated in ugly scenes after Germany won on penalties.
The Argentines lost it. They do sometimes. Gabriel Heinze of Manchester United went nuts; he should be ashamed of himself. Along with their brilliance, there's an ugliness in the Argentines' footballing culture about which I wrote an earlier post.
Their high road is beautiful; their low road is low indeed.
Once the game went to penalties, Germany was going to win. Jens Lehmann, the German goalkeeper, is a proven saver of spot kicks. Argentina had their number two goalkeeper, Leo Franco, on as a substitute for the injured Roberto Abbondanzieri.
The noise from the crowd was deafening. Jurgen Klinsmann, the German coach, has devoted days to penalty training (a wise move given thereal possibility that games will be decided in this way.)
Sure enough, Argentina cracked. The shots from Ayala and Esteban Cambiasso (brought on for Riquelme) were weak. Germany sewed up the game 4-2 on penalties. If the Argentine culture of football was revealed in its bright and dark sides, so, too, was a German footballing culture that is all about effort, cohesion, will, determination, self-belief and relentlessness.
There are only one-and-a-half world class players on this German side: Michael Ballack and Philipp Lahm. But that culture carries them, aided by a very shrewd coach who has made the whole more than the sum of its parts.
Speaking of culture, watch Italy. I've said this before. But I'll say it again.
That defense built around Fabio Cannavaro and the peerless GianLuigi Buffon in goal (what a game he had in the 3-0 victory over Ukraine!) is a pure Italian creation. So too are the quick, lethal strikes that brought those three goals. Two of them were scored by Luca Toni.
An Italian striker coming right late in the tournament is familiar. That's what Paolo Rossi did when the Italians triumped in 1982.
Then, too, a soccer scandal in Italy preceded the tournament. You don't have to love the Azzurri as much as I do to believe these are possible signs of an Italian triumph here. Cultures run deep, on the football field as anywhere else.
They were revealed in the German and Italian march to what will be a classic semi-final clash. The Germans will attack in waves; Italy will try to deliver the knock-out blow Argentina could not find in counter-attacks of devastating, smooth speed. Even with Buffon in goal, Italy will want to avoid another penalty-shoot out before a partisan crowd.
A great encounter is in store.