Well after a month of top quality futbol, the FIFA 2014 World Cup has come to a close with Germany as the champions. Looking back it was perhaps one of the best tournaments ever, full of nonstop drama and surprises. Some achieved glory, some achieved humiliation, and some emerged as new superstars on the world stage. Although the Brazilian national team suffered one of it's worst defeats in World Cup history, the nation as a whole did an extraordinary job hosting and should feel proud of their tournament.
For the past month I have been glued to this tournament and can gladly say it exceeded it's expectations from the first game all the way until the final game. Now that it's over, there will be quite a void to fill, as the next cup won't be until Russia 2018. However I'll turn to something new as I always have and thankfully still have other sporting events to follow (Indy Eleven, NFL, European leagues, Champion leagues, Euro-Cup, Olympics, etc). For now I intend to close out the Brasil 2014 Cup with some highlights of the many memories, stories, teams, coaches, and players that made this cup so remarkable!
The Final Match
It was the third time these two teams, Germany-Argentina, faced off in the final match (1986 and 1990). The game was full of chances on both sides and had us glued to the TV the entire game. Germany was always the favorite to win it and had control the entire game, however Argentina had the more dangerous attacks. Although I was pulling for Argentina to win, (it would have been nice to see Lionel Messi carry the trophy) it was still a very thrilling match to watch, and a well deserved victory for Germany.
As usual the Germans were a force to be reckoned with and were the better team in each game they played. With the coaching of Joachim Low, a powerful roster of vets such as captain Philipp Lahm, Bastian Shweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose, Podolski, Ozil, as well as emerging new stars such as Mario Gotze this team was just fun to watch. They controlled each game they played with near perfect possession, precision, strength, and execution. They have now won their 4th title, and were without question the best team throughout the tournament and the rightful champions.
Official Results:
Awards
Golden Boot: James Rodriguez (Colombia) 6 goals
Golden Ball: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Golden Glove: Manuel Neur (Germany)
Favorite Teams to Watch
Colombia: The World Cup always brings out my Latin side, and this was especially the case for Colombia. Prior to the cup I had sworn allegiance to this team, and bought t-shirts for my self and my family to celebrate our Colombian heritage. There were doubts going into the tournament without our superstar Falcao, however it did not seem to be a hindrance. Colombian was a very exciting team to watch thanks to the emergence of superstar James Rodriguez. Watching them defeat Uruguay at my friend's house was perhaps one of the most exciting games I watched during the cup. They loss a tough match up in the quarterfinals against Brasil due to bad refereeing. I think they can continue to improve through the years and should make another successful run at Russia 2018.
USA: As always I get extremely patriotic for team USA and they did a fairly good job. I watched every one of their games with other people and each time it was a memorable experience. I watch their opening game against Ghana at Chatham Tap with some friends, and it was an incredible environment. I'll never forget that moment when John Brooks scored the go-ahead goal in the 86th minute to win the game. I hosted their second game against Portugal at my place and it was also an exciting memorable game. I left work early to watch the third game against Germany with my German friends which was an experience in itself. I then watched them play in the quarterfinals against Belgium in the pressbox of Victory Field, with the camermen and broadcasters. It was tough to see them eliminated however Tim Howard's heroic performance is something I'll always remember. Jurgen Klinnsmann did a solid job and think he should stay on for another four years as head coach. I only hope they can continue to inspire the growth of soccer in this country.
Argentina: I did well not to miss a single Argentina game due to one of my favorite players Lionel Messi. I had high hopes that he could achieve glory on the greatest stage and finally be considered in the likes of Pele, Maradona, Zidane, and Ronaldo. He went above and beyond and scored four memorable goals as well as an assist to Angel Di Maria that carried his team to the final. He rightfully won the Golden Ball, and it was a shame to see he and his team fall short in the end. Nonetheless Argentina should be very proud of their accomplishments at this cup.
Germany: It's funny that the past few months I've been inspired by German culture , and now here they go on to win the World Cup. I've always admired German futbol, for their possession, strength, and tactical prowess. At this tournament they were their usual selves and after four consecutive semi-final appearances they finally brought home the gold. Miroslav Klose went on to surpass Ronaldo as the all time World Cup goalscoring record at 16. And the young Bayern Munich star, Mario Gotze, will always be remembered for that sensation goal he scored in the 112th minute of the final.
Netherlands: It seemed the Dutch were on a mission from the get-go when they pounded the defending champions Spain 5-1. They then went on a rampage of Latin American teams beginning with Chile, then Mexico, then Costa Rica. As annoying as this team was, I still couldn't help but admire their deadly attack led by Robben, Van Persie, and Sneijder. They were also led by a tactical genius in Louis van Gaal who will soon be the new head coach for Manchester United. They fell short in the semi-finals against Argentina, however rightfully claimed the 3rd place trophy against hosts Brasil.
Costa Rica: Of course I was pulling for this little underdog Central American country that I spent 3 months in the spring of 09. However I never expected them to make it out of their group against Uruguay, England, and Italy; let alone win the group and make it to the quarterfinals. Costa Rica went above and beyond everyone's expectations with it's solid defense, goalkeeping from Juan Navas, and successful counter attacks. To be honest Costa Rica was not exciting to watch, (no different than watching team USA) and yet they still beat superpowers Italy and Uruguay and tied against England. They then beat Greece and lost to the Dutch in a PK shootout for the quarterfinals. Whether it was a lucky run or sheer grit, Costa Rica should be very proud of their quarterfinal finish among giants.
Chile: This was another surprisingly exciting team to watch as they defeated Australia and then Spain. Lead by the Barcelona superstar, Alexis Sanchez and their midfielder Arturo Vidal, the Chileans were very fast-paced and aggressive. Their coach, Jorge Sampaoli was also a character as he'd pace back and forth on the sideline the entire game. They nearly defeated Brasil in the knock-out match that went to PKs and were probably the better team.
Mexico: It's funny I did not care whatsoever for team Mexico at the start of this cup, however caught just about every one of their matches and every game they played was extremely exciting. They beat Cameroon, tied to Brasil, and beat Croatia is some very thrilling matches. They were lead by perhaps one of the most hilarious and emotional of the coaches, Miguel Herrera aka El Sapo. Then there unpenetrable keeper, Guillermo Ochoa, aka The Panther. And finally there super-sub superstar forward from Manchester United, Javier Hernandez, aka El Chicharitto. This team was full of personalities and came so very close to defeating the Dutch on PKs. It's also worth mentioning that this team has gone on to the second stage for the past 6 consecutive cups now which is an impressive accomplishment.
Biggest Disappointments
Brasil: As hosts of the cup and one of the most successful countries in the history of the game, anything less than the championship would be failure for Brasil. Unfortunately for them that was the case and in humiliating fashion. From the get-go they played sloppy physical futbol, unlike their Joga Bonito "Play Beautiful" creed. Barcelona FC Superstar, Neymar was expected to be their prodigy and with other big names such as Thiago Silva, David Luiz, and Dani Alves the team looked very impressive on paper. Their head coach, and former 2002 champion Luiz Felipe Scolari guaranteed his nation the trophy.
However they did not impress whatsoever in this tournament, as shown at the start of the opening match against Croatia with an own goal. They were practically awarded the first match against Croatia by terrible refereeing; they could not score any goals against the unpenetrable Mexican goalkeeper, Ochoa; they barely skimmed by Chile in a PK shootout; and they were once against handed the quarterfinal match by terrible refereeing against Colombia.
I suppose it was only a matter of time before they were pounded by some real quality, and that happened to be from the future champions, the Germans. The 7 to 1 beat-down was hard to watch and extremely humiliating for this host team, but I was not surprised. They then went on to get pounded again by the Dutch in the 3rd place match, 3-0. They loss Neymar due to injury and Silva due to two yellow cards, however that was no excuse for their poor performance. This team was a great shame to watch and not in the spirit whatsoever of traditional Brazilian football.
Spain: This team was ranked number 1 in the world coming into this tournament and was predicted by many to repeat as champions once again. However from their opening match against Netherlands it became quite clear that Spain was a thing of the past. Their squad was full of veteran superstars from their 2010 championship, Iniesta, Sergio Ramos, Xavi, Torres, Villa, Pique, Casillas, and yet they could not deliver whatsoever. It became apparent that the world had caught up with this team and were no match against the aggressive attacks from Netherlands and Chile. Spain did not even make it out of the group stage which was a shocker for many.
Portugal: Granted they were in the Group of Death with USA, Germany, and Ghana and for the first time in a while I was cheering against them so USA could move on, however this team was expected to move to the next stage. Much of this high expectation lies on the shoulders of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's greatest player, who has yet to impress at the cup. They were pounded by Germany in their opening match, due to a red card from Pepe. They barely skimmed a tie against the US, and their victory against Ghana was too little too late to move on. This was an unfortunate tournament for Ronaldo, who only scored one goal. He was not at 100% and simply does not have a supporting cast to work with.
England: As hosts of the greatest professional league in the world, (The Barclay's Premiere League) you would think that England would provide the best international squad as well, however that has not seemed to be the case in the recent years. England was expected to move to the second stage, however lost to both Italy and Uruguay and tied to underdog Costa Rica. I suppose the biggest takeaway from their lackluster performance was Wayne Rooney scoring his first ever cup goal after his third tournament.
Uruguay: I think there's really only one person to blame in Uruguay's performance and that's Luis Suarez. He only played in two games, and both had complete opposite outcomes. He did not take a part in their shocking loss to Costa Rica, however led his team to a glorious victory against England by scoring two great goals. Then came the infamous match against Italy where everything was on the line, and he snapped and bit a defender (for the third time in his career). He was thus banned from the tournament and no doubt the reason Uruguay fell short against Colombia.
Favorite Players to Watch
Top 5 Best Goals
Top 10 Biggest Moments
For the past month I have been glued to this tournament and can gladly say it exceeded it's expectations from the first game all the way until the final game. Now that it's over, there will be quite a void to fill, as the next cup won't be until Russia 2018. However I'll turn to something new as I always have and thankfully still have other sporting events to follow (Indy Eleven, NFL, European leagues, Champion leagues, Euro-Cup, Olympics, etc). For now I intend to close out the Brasil 2014 Cup with some highlights of the many memories, stories, teams, coaches, and players that made this cup so remarkable!The Final Match
It was the third time these two teams, Germany-Argentina, faced off in the final match (1986 and 1990). The game was full of chances on both sides and had us glued to the TV the entire game. Germany was always the favorite to win it and had control the entire game, however Argentina had the more dangerous attacks. Although I was pulling for Argentina to win, (it would have been nice to see Lionel Messi carry the trophy) it was still a very thrilling match to watch, and a well deserved victory for Germany.
Official Results:
| Pos. | Team | G | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Germany | G | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 18 | 4 | +14 |
| 2 |  Argentina | F | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 4 | +4 |
| 3 |  Netherlands | B | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 15 | 4 | +11 |
| 4 |  Brazil | A | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 14 | -3 |
| Eliminated in the quarter-finals | ||||||||||
| 5 |  Colombia | C | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12 | 4 | +8 |
| 6 |  Belgium | H | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 3 | +3 |
| 7 |  France | E | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 3 | +7 |
| 8 |  Costa Rica | D | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 2 | +3 |
| Eliminated in the round of 16 | ||||||||||
| 9 |  Chile | B | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 4 | +2 |
| 10 |  Mexico | A | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 3 | +2 |
| 11 |  Switzerland | E | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 12 |  Uruguay | D | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | -2 |
| 13 |  Greece | C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| 14 |  Algeria | H | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 15 |  United States | G | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | -1 |
| 16 |  Nigeria | F | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| Eliminated in the group stage | ||||||||||
| 17 |  Ecuador | E | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 |  Portugal | G | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | -3 |
| 19 |  Croatia | A | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 20 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | F | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 |  Ivory Coast | C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | -1 |
| 22 |  Italy | D | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| 23 |  Spain | B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -3 |
| 24 |  Russia | H | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| 25 |  Ghana | G | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -2 |
| 26 |  England | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| 27 |  South Korea | H | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 |
| 28 |  Iran | F | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| 29 |  Japan | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -4 |
| 30 |  Australia | B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | -6 |
| 31 |  Honduras | E | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | -7 |
| 32 |  Cameroon | A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | -8 |
Awards
Golden Boot: James Rodriguez (Colombia) 6 goals
Golden Ball: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Golden Glove: Manuel Neur (Germany)
Favorite Teams to Watch
Colombia: The World Cup always brings out my Latin side, and this was especially the case for Colombia. Prior to the cup I had sworn allegiance to this team, and bought t-shirts for my self and my family to celebrate our Colombian heritage. There were doubts going into the tournament without our superstar Falcao, however it did not seem to be a hindrance. Colombian was a very exciting team to watch thanks to the emergence of superstar James Rodriguez. Watching them defeat Uruguay at my friend's house was perhaps one of the most exciting games I watched during the cup. They loss a tough match up in the quarterfinals against Brasil due to bad refereeing. I think they can continue to improve through the years and should make another successful run at Russia 2018. USA: As always I get extremely patriotic for team USA and they did a fairly good job. I watched every one of their games with other people and each time it was a memorable experience. I watch their opening game against Ghana at Chatham Tap with some friends, and it was an incredible environment. I'll never forget that moment when John Brooks scored the go-ahead goal in the 86th minute to win the game. I hosted their second game against Portugal at my place and it was also an exciting memorable game. I left work early to watch the third game against Germany with my German friends which was an experience in itself. I then watched them play in the quarterfinals against Belgium in the pressbox of Victory Field, with the camermen and broadcasters. It was tough to see them eliminated however Tim Howard's heroic performance is something I'll always remember. Jurgen Klinnsmann did a solid job and think he should stay on for another four years as head coach. I only hope they can continue to inspire the growth of soccer in this country.Argentina: I did well not to miss a single Argentina game due to one of my favorite players Lionel Messi. I had high hopes that he could achieve glory on the greatest stage and finally be considered in the likes of Pele, Maradona, Zidane, and Ronaldo. He went above and beyond and scored four memorable goals as well as an assist to Angel Di Maria that carried his team to the final. He rightfully won the Golden Ball, and it was a shame to see he and his team fall short in the end. Nonetheless Argentina should be very proud of their accomplishments at this cup.
Germany: It's funny that the past few months I've been inspired by German culture , and now here they go on to win the World Cup. I've always admired German futbol, for their possession, strength, and tactical prowess. At this tournament they were their usual selves and after four consecutive semi-final appearances they finally brought home the gold. Miroslav Klose went on to surpass Ronaldo as the all time World Cup goalscoring record at 16. And the young Bayern Munich star, Mario Gotze, will always be remembered for that sensation goal he scored in the 112th minute of the final.
Netherlands: It seemed the Dutch were on a mission from the get-go when they pounded the defending champions Spain 5-1. They then went on a rampage of Latin American teams beginning with Chile, then Mexico, then Costa Rica. As annoying as this team was, I still couldn't help but admire their deadly attack led by Robben, Van Persie, and Sneijder. They were also led by a tactical genius in Louis van Gaal who will soon be the new head coach for Manchester United. They fell short in the semi-finals against Argentina, however rightfully claimed the 3rd place trophy against hosts Brasil.Costa Rica: Of course I was pulling for this little underdog Central American country that I spent 3 months in the spring of 09. However I never expected them to make it out of their group against Uruguay, England, and Italy; let alone win the group and make it to the quarterfinals. Costa Rica went above and beyond everyone's expectations with it's solid defense, goalkeeping from Juan Navas, and successful counter attacks. To be honest Costa Rica was not exciting to watch, (no different than watching team USA) and yet they still beat superpowers Italy and Uruguay and tied against England. They then beat Greece and lost to the Dutch in a PK shootout for the quarterfinals. Whether it was a lucky run or sheer grit, Costa Rica should be very proud of their quarterfinal finish among giants.
Chile: This was another surprisingly exciting team to watch as they defeated Australia and then Spain. Lead by the Barcelona superstar, Alexis Sanchez and their midfielder Arturo Vidal, the Chileans were very fast-paced and aggressive. Their coach, Jorge Sampaoli was also a character as he'd pace back and forth on the sideline the entire game. They nearly defeated Brasil in the knock-out match that went to PKs and were probably the better team.Mexico: It's funny I did not care whatsoever for team Mexico at the start of this cup, however caught just about every one of their matches and every game they played was extremely exciting. They beat Cameroon, tied to Brasil, and beat Croatia is some very thrilling matches. They were lead by perhaps one of the most hilarious and emotional of the coaches, Miguel Herrera aka El Sapo. Then there unpenetrable keeper, Guillermo Ochoa, aka The Panther. And finally there super-sub superstar forward from Manchester United, Javier Hernandez, aka El Chicharitto. This team was full of personalities and came so very close to defeating the Dutch on PKs. It's also worth mentioning that this team has gone on to the second stage for the past 6 consecutive cups now which is an impressive accomplishment.
Biggest Disappointments
Brasil: As hosts of the cup and one of the most successful countries in the history of the game, anything less than the championship would be failure for Brasil. Unfortunately for them that was the case and in humiliating fashion. From the get-go they played sloppy physical futbol, unlike their Joga Bonito "Play Beautiful" creed. Barcelona FC Superstar, Neymar was expected to be their prodigy and with other big names such as Thiago Silva, David Luiz, and Dani Alves the team looked very impressive on paper. Their head coach, and former 2002 champion Luiz Felipe Scolari guaranteed his nation the trophy.However they did not impress whatsoever in this tournament, as shown at the start of the opening match against Croatia with an own goal. They were practically awarded the first match against Croatia by terrible refereeing; they could not score any goals against the unpenetrable Mexican goalkeeper, Ochoa; they barely skimmed by Chile in a PK shootout; and they were once against handed the quarterfinal match by terrible refereeing against Colombia.
I suppose it was only a matter of time before they were pounded by some real quality, and that happened to be from the future champions, the Germans. The 7 to 1 beat-down was hard to watch and extremely humiliating for this host team, but I was not surprised. They then went on to get pounded again by the Dutch in the 3rd place match, 3-0. They loss Neymar due to injury and Silva due to two yellow cards, however that was no excuse for their poor performance. This team was a great shame to watch and not in the spirit whatsoever of traditional Brazilian football.
England: As hosts of the greatest professional league in the world, (The Barclay's Premiere League) you would think that England would provide the best international squad as well, however that has not seemed to be the case in the recent years. England was expected to move to the second stage, however lost to both Italy and Uruguay and tied to underdog Costa Rica. I suppose the biggest takeaway from their lackluster performance was Wayne Rooney scoring his first ever cup goal after his third tournament.
Favorite Players to Watch
- James Rodriguez (Colombia)
- Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- Angel Di Maria (Argentina)
- Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico)
- Javier Hernandez (Mexico)
- Alexis Sanchez (Chile)
- Tim Howard (USA)
- David Luiz (Brasil)
- Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
- Mario Gotze (Germany)
Top 5 Best Goals
- James Rodriguez chest/volley against Uruguay in the knockout stage (Colombia 2-0 Uruguay)
- Van Persie diving header against Spain in group stage (Netherlands 5-1 Spain)
- Tim Cahill one touch volley against Netherlands (Netherlands 3-2 Australia)
- Lionel Messi free kick goal against Nigeria (Argentina 3-2 Nigeria)
- Mario Gotze goal to win the World Cup Final (Germany 1-0 Argentina)
Top 10 Biggest Moments
- Brasil defeated 7-1 by Germany
- Spain eliminated by Chile
- Costa Rica making it to the Quarter-Finals
- Luis Suarez biting Italian defender
- John Brook's goal in the 86th minute
- James Rodriguez goal against Uruguay
- Netherlands pounding Spain 5-1
- Lionel Messi's winning goal against Iran in stoppage time
- Ronaldo's cross to Varela to equalize against US in stoppage time
- Mario Gotze goal to win the World Cup Final
