THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN: Friday, July 18, 2014

With the World Cup finishing with a classic 1-0 win in extra time by Germany over Argentina at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the goal scored by midfielder "Super Mario" Gotze in the 113th minute, I could not help but reminisce a bit on why my favorite soccer team in the World Cup - besides the United States, of course - is Argentina.

The date was July 8, 1990. I was 12 years old, sitting on a bed inside a cottage-style hotel in Brisbane, Australia, where my parents and I were vacationing. Visiting my uncle, who at the time was a professor teaching at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, feeding koala bears, wandering along the Gold Coast near Sydney, visiting Australian Boy Scouts - I am an Eagle Scout, so that was cool - it was beyond memorable.

We were watching West Germany take on Argentina in the World Cup final in Rome, Italy. Back in Redlands, Calif., located 65 miles east of Los Angeles, I never played organized soccer and never would. But I enjoyed the game played during recess against my friends who were youth soccer players in American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), and for the most part, I played goalie, because I had pretty quick reflexes. I developed a 'like' for the game, not necessarily a love for it. But I followed the World Cup during that year.

Being a bit of an aggressive boy, I enjoyed Argentina's style of play, its flair, skill, quick, accurate passing and scoring, speed and aggression, plus hustle on defense and solid goalkeeping. I loved the fact Argentina was somewhat of an underdog to Brazil, having 'only' won two titles in five appearances to Brazil's five titles. Think Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees, except in South American soccer.

Players in those days gave each other a little shove if they didn't exactly enjoy an opponent fouling their teammate fairly hard, and star goal scorer Diego Maradona, who four years earlier scored the game-winning goal as Argentina won the 1986 World Cup final 3-2 over West Germany, and his teammates were no different.

Another great side note was the United States, which made its first appearance in the World Cup since 1950. Alas, the U.S. suffered three straight losses, including a 5-1 rout by Czechoslovakia. I believe I watched them once, a 1-0 close loss to host nation Italy, which was a three-time World Cup champion and won its fourth in 2006 - that gave me a lot of pride in our country.

SOME MEMORIES of the 1990 World Cup final are a bit vague, like at first I thought the fact I thought the game went to the penalty kick round. It did not, but Andreas Brehme DID score on a penalty kick - hence the confusion in my memory - in the 85th minute (also known as roughly five minutes left in the game) to seal a 1-0 win. Brehme tapped a boot to his left past a diving goalie Sergio Goycochea for the big goal.

I also remember Goycochea having the game of his life, making a bevy of saves to keep his team in the game. Think of goalie Tim Howard making 16 saves, the most in a single match in the past 50 years, to keep the U.S. in its game against Belgium, although we lost in the Round of 16, 1-0, and you get the idea.

Other things I didn't even know at the time, as I've not that big of a soccer fan, just a casual follower, was the fact that four players were suspended from the final.

Some are vivid, like the fact that I remember two Argentinians were kicked out of the game, the first time in the history of the World Cup final that happened. The first was Pedro Monzon, who was shown a straight red card for a hard tackle on former West German player and current United States head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Gustavo Dezotti was also sent off from the game, for another hard tackle.

And by the way, Germany had 16 scoring chances and 23 shots versus Argentina's ... one! Talk about survival! On paper, Argentina should have been blown out, so it was nice to see them hang in there.

BACK TO Sunday's game. Before the match began, I thought of it as an individual matchup of Argentina's Lionel Messi versus Germany's Miroslav Klose, two of some of the top players in the world. Which star would step up at the right time?

The magical opportunity for Argentina was a shot at winning its third World Cup on its rival's home turf in Brazil. Let me put it to you this way, for those of you who aren't the most passionate soccer fans out there. It'd be like the Seattle Seahawks winning their second Super Bowl in franchise history on the San Francisco 49ers' turf. By the way, in 2016, Seattle will have that opportunity, as Super Bowl L will be at the 49ers' new stadium in Santa Clara. So that's something to aim for, Seahawks.

But alas, it was not to be for Argentina, although the team really should have won, 2-0. A golden opportunity was missed by striker Gonzalo Higuain in the 21st minute. A poor header by Germany's Toni Kroos allowed Higuain a one-hop opportunity at the goal, with no defender guarding him. Higuain missed horridly, nearly 5 yards wide of the net.

In the 47th minute, Messi made a great run from the left flank, but he booted a curving ball that missed about three feet wide, pretty heartbreaking stuff.

And perhaps the most frustrating miss - and yes, I yelled at my television when it happened - came in the 98th minute during extra time, when striker Rodrigo Palacio attempted to lob a ball over German goalie Manuel Neuer, instead of striking it low past him. I understood the move at the time, because Neuer charged at Palacio and I guess Palacio didn't feel he could simply tap it past him. But it was still maddeningly close, but yet so far.

Then the backbreaker, where Argentina's defense, which had played so tough and so well during the entire tournament, completely collapsed. Germany's Andre Schurrle sped down the left-hand sideline, forcing three Argentinians to guard him. But a fourth defender left his man, which was Gotze, and that allowed Gotze to collect the ball and put it into the net.

So my Argentinians came close, but thanks for the memories to Messi's men.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, or via email at bbourquin@cdapress.com Follow him on Twitter @bourq25