Germany fans war of words ahead of Argentina clash

Erasmia: Germany captain Philipp Lahm on Thursday fanned a war of words between his side and rivals Argentina ahead of their World Cup quarter-final clash, accusing his opponents of being bad losers.

A day after Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger called the Argentines “disrespectful”, his captain said they did not know how to deal with a defeat. “Bastian said what he said. We know South Americans are impulsive and temperamental and cannot lose,” said the usually soft-spoken Lahm. “We will see on Saturday how they will lose and how they will behave after a defeat,” he said. Germany beat Argentina in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals on penalties before a violent brawl broke out at the end of the match, drawing in most players and coaches from both teams with punches and kicks flying. “We have to concentrate on our football only,” said Lahm. “The South Americans are temperamental. We know that and we will see how they will deal this time with a defeat.” Schweinsteiger had kicked off the unusual war of words on Wednesday saying Argentine players were always trying to influence the referee to gain an unfair advantage. “It starts before the match,” Schweinsteiger said. “If you see how they gesticulate, how they try to influence the referee. That is not part of the game. That is a lack of respect. They just are like that,” said Schweinsteiger. Bureau Report