Argentinians cry shame of their heroes

BUENOS AIRES – At the obelisk where Argentines traditionally gather to celebrate victories, people cried and buried their faces in their hands as they came to terms with the national team’s humiliating 4-0 World Cup quarter-final loss to Germany.Many thought this was Argentina’s year, with football legend Diego Maradona as coach and champion Lionel Messi leading the attack. But Germany utterly dominated yesterday’s game at Cape Town and ended Argentina’s run.A large crowd watched on a huge screen at the obelisk in Buenos Aires.“Pathetic” is how student Christopher Barrezueta described the result.“It’s humiliating. A disaster. Terrible,” Barrezueta said, shaking his head as police cleared the streets. “Bad, bad, bad.”Juan Alberto Urquiza hid his face in an Argentine flag as Germany scored their fourth goal, shocked at how powerless his heroes proved to be in the end.“They were so much better,” he said. “Argentina couldn’t do anything.”But unlike many Argentine fans, Urquiza refused to lay blame on Messi, who failed to score a single goal in the tournament, or on the team’s love-him-or-hate-him coach, Maradona. (AP)