In the stands, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood with a half-smile on her lips. Perhaps because in his line of business spontaneity still scores, coach Joachim Loew leapt, hands in the air. And less than 10 meters away, Diego Maradona sat down morose. One goal: many emotions.

Even as angry football fans were still coming to terms with being let down by Brazil, Diego Maradona’s Argentina broke hearts around the globe all over again on Saturday.

In a World Cup that was supposed to be about the megastars (Messi, Tevez), Germany’s unassuming young players showed that it is blazing hot talent that actually wins matches. Thomas Mueller (21), who opened Germany’s scorecard on Saturday, is having a dream tournament with a blitzkrieg of goals and assists. He did pick up a second yellow card, which means he will miss Wednesday’s semi-final, but by then he’d already done a lot of damage.

When Mueller freed Lukas Podolski for Miroslav Klose to score in his 100th match, Merkel was more boisterous in her celebration. And when Arne Friedrich sucker-punched Argentina, Maradona leaned on his son-in-law and striker Sergio Aguero in despair.

One day after the Black Stars went home, a new star shone. The Green Point Stadium had filled up anticipating a Messi-Maradona show. It ended up applauding the other Ms — Mueller and Miroslav.