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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.

The two sides have
also met twice in a World Cup final, with Argentina winning their
second trophy in 1986 and Germany coming out on top in 1990 for their
third World Cup victory.

“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.” “It is time we beat a top team. Our young team has
to show that it can beat a top team like Argentina in 90 minutes,” Lahm
said.

Disrespectful

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.

Team manager Oliver Bierhoff, playing the role of a good cop, urged German players to forget the 2006 World Cup brawl.

“We should leave it
behind and keep a cool head and just concentrate on what we do best,”
he told reporters, sitting next to Lahm.

“I do not think it
will be a fiery game,” he said adding Germany were not overestimating
their abilities despite having played a good tournament so far.

“That is exactly the strength of the team. That they have a healthy
self-esteem. This enthusiasm around them will not carry them away
thinking they have reached their target.”