Berlin, July 1 :

Nearly everyone among the 72,000 fans at the Olympiastadion watching Germany’s quarter-final against Argentina must have seen the symbolic gesture of Oliver Kahn encouraging his promoted rival Jens Lehmann before the decisive penalty shootout.

Most people missed something that had much more to do with the outcome. As the Germans prepared for the penalty series, their coaching staff slipped a piece of paper into Lehmann’s gloved hand. On it were the names of Argentina penalty takers and the direction in which they usually shoot.

Lehmann stopped shots from Roberto Ayala and Esteban Cambiasso, correctly guessing on both saves, and nearly saved the other two shots as well that Argentina took.

That meant Germany won Friday’s shootout 4-2 after a 1-1 tie in extra time and went to the semi-finals, while Argentina went home to ponder how its fancied team failed against the hosts.

Lehmann discreetly consulted the list between the penalties, keeping it in his right sock. “We didn’t know the order they would shoot in, so he had to look,” Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff said.

“We have a very detailed scouting programme,” Bierhoff said Saturday. “Our

goalkeeper got very detailed information. He was told who usually takes penalties on the Argentine team, he was shown videos of all the penalties they shot in the past two years, who shot them, whether they shot left or right. It’s very important for the team,” Bierhoff said.

Most of the scouting is done by Urs Siegenthaler, a Swiss hired by head coach Juergen Klinsmann, another decision that raised eyebrows in Germany. Siegenthaler’s gift of analysing Germany’s rivals precisely is paying off.

“We give our players individual information that they need. We talk to single players and we show them how their opponents run, which direction, what they normally do in some situations,” Bierhoff said. “We work a lot individually and the players appreciate this. They often come to us to ask questions,” he said. Lehmann quickly left the stadium after the game and did not mention the piece of paper he got.

The Arsenal goalkeeper got the starting job in April, when Klinsmann promoted him over Oliver Kahn, the longtime No 1. The two have had a tense relationship that often turned openly hostile in the past.

Before the shootout, Kahn came over to Lehmann, clasped his hand, spoke a few words and patted him on the back. When it was over, the two briefly embraced.

The gesture probably should not be interpreted as the start of a wonderful friendship, but illustrates the sense of unity gripping the German team.

“If you are the Germany goalkeeper, you are expected to save penalties in a shootout,” Lehmann said. Germany has never lost in four World Cup penalty shootouts.