Just before the 20th World Cup football tournament kicked off, I wrote in an article: “As for the ultimate winners, I would like to see a European country lift the coveted trophy for the first time in South America.”
Little did I realise then, that I would have to face the wrath of the huge number of ardent supporters of Brazil and Argentina. Some even rubbished me for suggesting that a European country would bag the world title in Brazil, a feat never achieved before.
Be that as it may, the just concluded 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup has been one that gave immense joy and pleasure to football fans throughout the world, and could easily be termed as one of the most successful, with Germany bagging the title by beating Argentina in the final by a solitary goal scored in the last few minutes of extra time by Mario Gotze.
Yet, this tournament was shrouded with uncertainty, fear, and trepidation long before it had started. There were voices within Brazil which questioned the justification of holding such an event when the host country was engulfed with so many socio-economic problems.
There were questions raised about the level of preparedness for this world event. The law and order situation was such that fears were expressed about the security of the huge number of football fans who would throng the various cities of Brazil.
But, once the tournament kicked off, all the problems seemed to have just evaporated. The whole nation got deeply involved with only one thing they know and love, which is football.
This tournament will be remembered for years to come for a number of reasons. There were new records, there were dramatic turns of events, there were heroics, and there were successes and failures which were never comprehended. And best of all, it gave immense joy to the thousands who swarmed the football stadia.
Shocks came very early in the tournament when three former champions failed to cross the hurdle of the first round. Reigning champions Spain, Italy, and England had to take early flights home. Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo had to meet the same fate. The surprise of the pack was Costa Rica, who beat two former world champions Uruguay and Italy, and drew with England. They defeated Greece in the round of 16, and had to bow out after a penalty shootout in the quarter final. Theirs was a real success story.
There have been many upsets in this edition of the World Cup too, events even the neutrals could never comprehend – Brazil had to suffer its worst defeats in World Cup history.
But what really baffled football enthusiasts was the approach taken by the Brazilians in the match against Germany. Even after conceding an early goal, they continued to push people ahead instead of slowing the pace of the game. By the time they realised a change in tactics was called for, they were five goals down. Scolari just did not read the game.
The drama of penalty shootouts kept supporters nervous, and there was goalkeeping brilliance too. But the most dramatic event had to be the biting of Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini by Uruguay’s star striker Luis Suarez. FIFA promptly took action and barred him from football for four months.
The most heartbreaking event was the injury sustained by Brazil’s real hope on the field – Neymar Jr. In the match against Colombia, defender Zuniga recklessly pounced upon Neymar Jr, seriously injuring him and taking him out of the semi-final, the match in which Brazil conceded seven goals.
There were goalkeeping heroics. Tim Howard’s name comes to mind automatically for the huge number of saves he made against the Belgians. Just for his brilliant saves, the United States came out of that match with a respectable 2-1 defeat.
The Golden Boot for being the highest scorer in this tournament was bagged by Colombia’s young striker James Rodriguez for his six goals across five matches. European clubs would be showing keen interest in him, no doubt.
And then comes the most talked about individual player’s trophy: The Golden Ball. Argentina’s genius Lionel Messi was judged best player of this World Cup, and this raised a few eyebrows. Even FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was surprised. There is no denying that Messi’s brilliance is second to none, but many football pundits say Messi failed to shine in this World Cup.
There were flickers of his magic, and also goals in crucial moments, but in the semi-final and final, he was made absolutely inert by the opposition and he was just a bystander. Some football commentators also said that in the semi-final, Messi was very easy to mark, and the only time he took a shot at the opponent’s goal from the penalty area was when he scored in the tie-breaker. It has also been observed that not many defenders or goalkeepers are brought to the reckoning. I, for one, would rank Argentina’s Mascherano higher than Messi in the race for the Golden Ball.
This football World Cup has been sublime, some of the matches have been great spectacle, the final was great to watch, and the goal that sealed the fate of the Argentinians was just out of this world.
Well done, Brazil! The whole tournament went so smoothly. All in all, a memorable World Cup. Four years later, the players will be travelling to Russia for another great spectacle that will keep the whole world glued to one single event.