Tearful Martino pulls himself together
Reuters - Tuesday 29 June 2010, 19:02
PRETORIA - Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino
was in floods of tears after his side reached the World Cup
quarter-finals for the first time although he was soon trying to
play down the waterworks.
A win on penalties over Japan after a dreadful 0-0 draw in
the last 16 tie on Tuesday was initially too much for the
Argentine.
"There's a lot of fear and tension during a match and it's
difficult to go through a match like that," he told a news
conference.
"Everybody knows that it's unfair to have it decided by
penalties. We didn't play too well but we were looking to be
decisive. So many things go through your mind so there is a
reason for tears."
But, as if to reassert his authority and set a new target
for his players among the emotion, Martino said the achievement
meant nothing compared to other personal moments even if it was
an almighty success for the small South American nation.
"We may not give the achievement its necessary importance
now. We may well give it the necessary importance afterwards,"
he said.
"I understand this is a success but when it comes to
personal success it comes down to things that are more
important. We certainly know we are among the eight best teams
in the world but to say this was one of my top achievements, I
couldn't say that."
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