World Cup 2014: Algeria ready to end 32 years of hurt against Germany

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It might seem strange to talk of revenge for an event 32 years ago, of which none of the key protagonists will again be involved, but the year 1982 has been a constant motivation throughout this World Cup for Algeria.

Until their historic draw against Russia on Thursday – which prompted scenes of national celebration in Algiers and delirium amongst the players, fans, coaching staff and even journalists in Curitiba – Algeria had never previously qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup.

The one time they should have, indeed the previous time they even scored at a World Cup, was when they went home following the ‘Disgrace of Gijón’ in 1982.

Algeria had defeated both West Germany and Chile in Spain but, when Austria and West Germany deliberately played out the 1-0 scoreline that would see them eliminated, their demise was quite scandalously ensured. The irony of Germany now being the last 16 opponents has not been lost on anyone from Algeria.

“We have not forgotten: everyone is talking about Algeria-Germany from 1982, when Algeria won 2-1,” coach Vahid Halilhodzic said. “Thirty-two years is a long time and I am very proud. We are the small, small team of Algeria against a big team from Germany.”

Halilhodzic’s skilled and emotional management of the narrative that surrounds Algeria has helped his team acquire considerable support among the neutrals.

That was very evident in Curitiba on Thursday, when the local Brazilian fans added to their already raucous Algerian fan base. Before what Halilhodzic described as the biggest match both in his career and Algeria’s history, he had also gathered the players.

“I told them we are the representatives of the Arab world and the players are extremely proud of that,” he said.

“This is a new image and a new reputation that we have built and we have to be proud of that. It’s not only the Arab world, either. We also have fans in Bosnia, Croatia, all over the former Yugoslavia.”

As well as their status as plucky underdogs and the still lingering sympathy for what happened in 1982, Algeria’s popularity is underpinned by the way in which they have approached the tournament.

They have certainly progressed far more rapidly than England since the two countries played out a turgid goalless draw in the 2010 World Cup.

Under Halilhodzic, they are also tactically flexible and have shown that they can be genuinely threatening both on the counter-attack or even if they have to take the initiative.

In their first match, against Belgium, they generally sat back and actually led for most of the match after striking with a well aimed counter-punch.

Their subsequent defeat led to an accusation of “tactical bankruptcy” in the Algeria media, a criticism that Halilhodzic rather dramatically denounced as an attack on his “family, pride and honour”.

He was, however, still scathing of the physical and mental condition of his players.

“We should have run a little bit more, we should have dared more,” he said. “I have a number of young players who are young or not very experienced. Each Algerian player must improve his condition by 30 per cent or 50 per cent. I would have liked some tougher players.

“Sometimes when you have a small team that wants to achieve something, they don’t dare to go further. In one or two years this team will be totally different.”

In the event, the transformation was rather quicker than that.

Five days later they thrashed South Korea 4-2 with one of the best attacking team performances of the entire World Cup.

With Tottenham’s Nabil Bentaleb anchoring the team with great diligence at the base of midfield, the free-running talents of Sofiane Feghouli, Yacine Brahimi, Abdelmoumene Djabou and Islam Slimani have been encouraged to express themselves.

Algeria were similarly impressive when they needed a goal and had to take the initiative against Russia.

Aside from his complaints about the refereeing and laser pen incident for Algeria’s equaliser, Fabio Capello did also make a point after Thursday’s game of praising the improvement in Algerian football.

Capello was also adamant that he had never seen a World Cup with more overall quality and that Germany’s path to the quarter-final is no foregone conclusion.

While Capello’s entire Russia squad play their club football locally, Algeria seem to have benefited from their varied experiences.

Of the starting team that drew 1-1 with Russia, two play their football in England, two in Spain, two in France, two in Portugal, one in Italy and one in Bulgaria. Only Djabou is still playing in North Africa and that is with the Tunisian-based Club Africain.

Halilhodzic described his team’s achievement as “heroic” and there is also now a major – and as yet unanswered question – over whether the players will observe Ramadan, which began on Saturdaynight, ahead of Monday’s Germany match.

Fasting and forgoing any liquids from dawn until dusk would not automatically appear to be compatible with optimum athletic performance although a study has been undertaken between Fifa and the Algerian FA.

“We made an important study with the doctor of the Algerian Football Federation, and it was very positive,” Dr Michel D’Hooghe, the chairman of Fifa’s medical committee, said.

“If you do it intelligently, then you can adapt perfectly. Before the sun comes up, they have enough hydration to go on through the whole day.

“If I was responsible for these players, I would make use of the possibility of an exemption. I have the greatest respect for everyone’s religious convictions, of course, but from a purely medical point of view, it is better to have regular hydration.”

Several Algerian players have also been visiting the one mosque in Rio de Janeiro and can count on considerable local support tomorrow.

“There is a lot of love for this team, even in Brazil,” Halilhodzic said. “People here love our sincerity and our strength. There are better teams than us but we have earned a lot of affection in the world.

“I don’t know if the Brazilians will be on our side. I know the Brazilian fans like good football, they like the game to be spectacular, and we can do that. Why not?”

• The so-called ’Anschluss’ between Austria and West Germany at Spain ’82 remains one of the darkest moments in World Cup history.

• With a 1-0 win for the Germans enough to see both teams qualify, they duly played out that result, with the teams barely bothering to mount an attack after Horst Hrubesch’s opener. Algerian fans in the crowd burned peseta notes, while others waved hankies. “What is happening here is disgraceful and has nothing to do with football,” sobbed German commentator Eberhard Stanjek.

• Most remarkable of all were the comments from the head of the Austrian delegation, Hans Tschak: “If 10,000 ’sons of the desert’ want to trigger a scandal because of this it just shows they have too few schools. Some sheikh comes out of an oasis, gets a sniff of World Cup air after 300 years and thinks he’s entitled to open his gob.”