Not minutes removed from his side's thorough outclassing at the hands of Ireland and Shane Long's legendary post-match interview, Germany manager Jogi Löw spat one of the most bilious post-match remarks in recent memory.
Having finally seen their defence unlocked by a laser-like, weighted through ball by Darren Randolph which was blasted home by Shane Long, an obviously seething Löw told reporters,
We avoided 99 of those long balls, but the 100th long ball was just one too many.
We're not going to lie - coming from a man who took a solitary point from six available against Ireland in this Euro qualifying group, it really doesn't hold much weight.
For one thing, it's bollocks. Where was Jogi when Wes Hoolahan dominated the bloody game in midfield with his twirls for freedom, or when Jon Walters went ridin' solo down the right wing on a personal tiki-taka mission as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes?
A triumphant Martin O'Neill was quick to brush his adversary's remarks under the rug, and in fairness to the usually fiery Derry native, he responded with some class, saying:
He's entitled to his opinion, he's won the World Cup. And we were brilliant.
