What country to represent

What are we? Where are we from? From where we are born? Where we grew up? The fact is that most people tend to put you in boxes according to how they see you, most often a “nationality box” that is fixed and closed. 

But they could not be more wrong; there is no box; identity is open, flexible, and in constant movement. 

The footballing world provides an interesting insight into this apparent nationality paradox. According to FIFA rules, footballers are only allowed to play for one national team at Senior level. This means that while they may have played for a different youth national team, they eventually must select the side they will play for the rest of their footballing lives. 

Recently Diego Luna, a young player of Mexican background said he preferred to play for the USA rather than Mexico: “Nací y me crie aquí, este país me dio lo que tengo ahora. Creo que es justo jugar para el país que me hizo quien soy” (“I was born and raised here [USA], this country gave me what I have today. I think it is fair to play for the country that made me who I am”). Some people may call him a “Mexican playing for the USA”, but this ignores the diversity of backgrounds that is the reality in this world with more people of diverse backgrounds than not. 

Alfredo Di Stefano is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time and may be the reason that the eligibility rules were changed. During his career Alfredo di Stefano played for three different national teams: Argentina, Colombia and Spain. The issue never became major as he made his career in Real Madrid, but his changes of teams would never have been possible today, and other players have had to choose their national teams. 

Owen Hargreaves was a one of the most important players of the English national team and Bayern Munich in the early 2000s. He was born in Canada to a Welsh-English couple, and could have been eligible for Canada and Wales as well. In fact, he played for Wales youth sides, but in the end chose England, playing the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, something that would not have been possible with Wales or Canada. Ben Breterton is another English player, born and raised, but with a Chilean mother. He played for England at youth level, representing them at U-17 and U-19 tournaments. But never having made his debut at Senior level he was called up by Chile, and made his debut in 2021, despite of the fact that he did not speak Spanish. He nevertheless became a popular addition to a team that took him to a Copa America, something that would surely have been impossible with England. 

The many migrations between Europe and Africa have meant that there are many players with mixed identities. France is often accused of playing with “non-French” players, but the truth is that this is much more nuanced, and players' choices of national team depend on a wide range of individual circumstances. Before Ngolo Kante became one of the world’s best footballers he had played a few years at lower level French sides Boulogne and Caen. Born in France to Malian parents he was approached by the Mali football federation, but said he preferred to wait for a possible call-up from France. In 2015 Kante changed to Leicester, becoming one of the best players in the world, and never looking back. He was called up for France and became one of the most important players in the World Champion side of 2018 with the country where he was born and grew up. 

Yacine Brahimi was also born in France and played consistently for all French youth national teams from the age of 15 to 20. Born to Algerian parents he was contacted by the Algerian football federation in 2010, but turned them down, expecting to be called up for France at Senior level. When this did not happen, Brahimi opted for Algeria, and in 2014 represented the North African side in the World Cup. The Moroccan star, Achraf Hakimi was born in Spain to Moroccan parents, and was spotted early on by the Real Madrid youth academy, who immediately took him in alongside other future Spanish stars. He was offered to play for Spain’s youth side, but he rejected it, and went on to play for Morocco youth teams, and was a key player in Morocco’s historical semifinal side at the World Cup in 2022. 

Germany is unlike France not often accused of using “foreigners” in their national team, but have a history of players with diverse backgrounds as well. Miroslav Klose, the most scoring player in World Cup history, was born in Poland (his mother represented the Polish national handball team). Klose arrived in Germany as a child speaking no German, and was raised in the country he came to represent, although he later stated that he would have liked to play for Poland. The large Turkish diaspora in Germany have provided players both for Germany and for Turkey. A notable case is the great Mesut Ozil, born and raised in Germany, he has stated that it was a dilemma for him who to choose to play for. He ended having a successful career with Germany, winning the World Cup in 2014, but has also faced a lot of controversy following his involvement in Turkish politics, showing the complex diversity of his background. 

Another interesting case is that of Kevin Prince-Boteng who was born and raised in Germany to a Ghanaian father and a German mother. Alongside his brother Jerome, he played on German youth national teams, but after some disciplinary problems he chose to play for Ghana at Senior level, stating that he felt more Ghanaian, despite the fact that he had never lived in the West African country. In the meantime Jerome became an important player in the German national team, and in the 2010 World Cup the two brothers faced one another when Ghana and Germany clashed in the first round. 

These are just some example, but there are so many more: Thomas Christiansen (Denmark-Spain), Valon Berisha (Sweden-Kosovo), Gonzalo Higuain (France-Argentina), Timothy Weah (Liberia-USA), Diego Costa (Brazil-Spain), Jorginho (Brazil-Italy), etc. 

It is simplistic to assert that a certain national team has “foreigners” on their side; the fact that players are “forced” to choose a national team does not take away the fluidity of multiple identities that is a reality in a world of fluent borders and identities.

Greatest World Cup Matches: Brazil-Germany 2014

The semifinal between Brazil and Germany in the 2014 World Cup was, if anything, perhaps the strangest match ever, with a result that left the football world perplexed and Brazil on their knees. When Brazil won the hosting of the 2014 World Cup expectations were immediately enormous. Last time the greatest footballing nation on Earth had hosted the World Cup was in 1950, when they lost a traumatic final to Uruguay in what was remembered as “O Maracanazo”. Since then Brazil had won five World Cups, but the lack of winning it on home soil still lingered in Brazil's memories. So now was the time: this was to be not only the greatest World Cup ever, but would bring home the overwhelming superiority of Brazilian football. Brazil seemed to have reason to believe in their strength when they won the Confederations Cup rehearsal for the World Cup. Even though it had never been a priority for Brazil, the buildup of the World Cup made it crucial for the Brazilians to win at home, and a 3-0 final victory against the defending World Champions from Spain gave the Brazilians such an overwhelming confidence that some of the managers of Brazilian football, such as Carlos Alberto Parreira (managed the 1994 World Champions) and manager Luis Felipe Scolari, confidently announced that Brazil was on the way to winning the title. The squad on paper looked solid enough, as Brazil, as always had a selection of experienced players from Europe's biggest clubs: captained by the solid Paris SG defender Thiago Silva, who in defense had Chelsea's picturesque David Luiz, Barcelona's superstar Dani Alves as well as Real Madrid's offensive right left back Marcelo, and complemented by Bayern Munich's Dante and experienced players such as Maicon (Roma) and Maxwell (PSG). In midfield they had Chelsea's young star Oscar, his team mate Ramiro, Tottenham's Paulinho and Manchester City's Fernandinho. Not impressive, but experienced players to support the team's superstar, Barcelona's Neymar, whom all of Brazil was expecting to lead them to victory, despite the fact that Brazil side lacked quality strikers: Zenit St. Petersburg's efficient but inelegant Hulk and Fluminense's Fred were expected to put in the goals. Brazil were at this time not a team that had been playing the “Jogo Bonito” they had become famous for: they had won the Copa America in 2004 and 2007 playing a defensive and physical style, and in 2011 being eliminated in a strange penalty shootout where they missed all their penalties. In the 2010 World Cup Brazil made it to the quarterfinals, losing to the Netherlands more physical style, and so had not been impressive. Their Confederations Cup victory had been well-deserved but they were against a Spanish team that looked tired and burnt out (and confirmed the end of their greatest generation when they were eliminated in the following World Cup). The faith Brazilians had in their team was totally out of proportion with the quality, and as soon as the team started showing weaknesses, criticism and insecurity quickly made the confidence crumble. In their opening match Brazil had beaten Croatia 3-1, but were criticized for a non-existent penalty that got them started. In their second match they did not manage to impress in a 0-0 match against Mexico, and although they defeated Cameroon 4-1 in their last match, this did not take away the impression of a team that had eased their way through the first stages. In the last-16 Brazil faced a confident Chile side with one of its greatest generations, and as Chile were unlucky not to win, Brazil took a nerve-wrecking penalty victory. Colombia had been one of the best teams to watch in the tournament, and led by the elegant James Rodriguez, they looked to be able to upset the Brazilians. But Brazil came out to the match with one objective: stopped the rhythm of the Colombians and kick James in every occasion. It was one of the ugliest displays of any Brazilian team in history in a match where the referee completely failed. But it worked as the locals went ahead 1-0 by Thiago Silva, and then took a 2-0 lead on a splendid free kick by David Luiz. Although James got one back for Colombia, the Brazilians won. But there was a prize: the Colombians, without scruples to kick back on the Brazilians, took their revenge by a violent (and dangerous) kick to Neymar's back, taking him out for the rest of the tournament. Brazil's greatest star was out, and the team spent their time talking about how they would dedicate the title to Neymar, rather than concentrating on their next opponent: Germany.

Germany had been reforming its football since their weak appearances in 1998 and 2000. Despite their World Cup final in 2002, they were building up a young side for their 2006 hosting of the World Cup. Led by a team of young managers, many of them from Mainz and led by Jurgen Klinsmann, they were undertaking big changes to German football. Out was the focus on physical fitness and strength, and instead young players were being schooled on technique, ball possession and pressing football. In 2006 for the World Cup at home, the new team took over Germany with style: despite them not winning their positive style, their outgoing personality and their charm came to symbolize a new Germany for whom winning was not the most important, but who enjoyed the game. This new German side grew to become more competitive, and in 2008 made it to the Euro final only to lose to the best Spanish side in history. In the 2010 World Cup they made it to the semifinals, only to narrowly lose to Spain again, but with their young players looking better than ever, and in the 2012 Euro they made it again to the semifinals, losing to Italy. After qualifying in style, Germany certainly entered the tournament as one of the outsiders for the cup, although not as hyped as the Brazilian hosts, Messi's Argentina or Spain's defending champions. Manager Joachim Low, who had taken over the side from Klinsmann after the 2006 World Cup had been building up a squad of players that had played together for many years and besides understanding one another were really good friends. It included Manuel Neuer from Bayern Munich as arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the world, behind a defense that included Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm, also from Bayern Munich Jerome Boateng, Borussia Dortmund captain Mats Hummels, Arsenal's experienced Per Mertesacker, and Schalke 04's Benedikt Howedes, as well as a young Kevin Grosskreutz from Borussia Dortmund. The midfield was a pure luxury of youth and experience with Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteigger, Real Madrid's Sami Khedira, Arsenal's Mesut Ozil, as well as Bayern Munich youngsters Toni Kroos and Mario Gotze. Also along was Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller who had been named best young player of the 2010 World Cup, and could plausibly play in almost any position, including attack. Although a versatile team, where players could play almost any position, the attack was led by two experienced veterans with Arsenal's Lukas Podolski and Lazio's Miroslav Klose, who was participating in his fourth World Cup and would go on to set many records in this World Cup. Germany opened the tournament with a stylish 4-0 trashing of one of the outsiders to the title, Portugal, where Thomas Muller scored three goals. In the following match against Ghana, Germany showed some defensive weaknesses in going down 1-2, but Miroslav Klose ensured a 2-2, making him the third player ever, alongside Pele and Uwe Seeler, to score in four different World Cups. In their last group match the Germans relaxed with a 1-0 victory over the USA. Despite making it to the next round Germany had shown some weaknesses with their high pressure and at times slow defense, and had to use all their quality to defeat a well-playing Algeria (who had wanted revenge for the 1982 scandal), being saved by a splendid Manuel Neuer playing as sweeper and a last minute of extra time victory goal by Mesut Ozil. In the quarterfinals the Germans had played an intelligent and solid match to defeat France 1-0, and were now to play the hosts of Brazil.

In the book “Das Reboot” the German players explain how they prepared for the match mentally; they knew they were up against a team under great pressure to have success at home, and that Germany could use this to their benefit. At the same time they expected to face a team that would give everything in front of their fans. As it turned out, the Germans were right on the first part, but wrong on the second. In the first half, as much as Germany were good, Brazil were disgracefully bad. The first goal, in the 11th minute, came when Thomas Muller was left completely uncovered for a corner kick. One could at this point have thought this was one of those typical mistakes that are punished by any quality team, but as the match progressed one could see that the Brazilian players were on another planet on that day. In the 23rd minute the German combinations tore apart a passive Brazilian defense and Miroslav Klose scored record goal beating Ronaldo to become the most scoring player in World Cup history. This started a complete Brazilian collapse: within six minutes Toni Kroos scored two goals and Sami Khedira one, to make it 5-0. All the goals were excellent combinations, and in particular Toni Kroos, who would be named Man-of-the-Match, played more as a Brazilian than any Brazilian.
As the home spectators were crying, the rest of the world could hardly believe what they were seeing. It was impossible to rejoice as one saw Brazil, a team everyone liked, being humiliated in such a resounding way. But as the first half ended with a 5-0 score, it was also impossible to wonder how Brazilians like David Luiz, Paulinho, Marcelo or Fred, were playing so dismally bad in a World Cup semifinal at home!? Most Brazilians in the world would have played better than what these guys did on that day!
Brazil were better in the second half, when there really was nothing more to play for and the Germans slowed down a bit. But when the Brazilians came forward, they encountered Manuel Neuer, who was the world's best goalkeeper. On the other hand, the Germans extended their lead: Andre Schurrle, who had come on for Miroslav Klose (clearly taking him out was not to spare Brazil), made it 6-0 and 7-0. The last goal was a spectacular strike worthy of any World Cup semifinal in Brazil.
Only in the last minute Oscar scored for Brazil. It mattered because it prevented the match from becoming Brazil's greatest defeat ever (so it only equalized their 6-0 defeat to Uruguay in 1920). But it was a game of records anyway: the greatest scoreline in a World Cup semifinal and Brazil's greatest home defeat ever. With it, Germany surpassed Brazil to become the most-scoring World Cup team ever and made it to their record 8th World Cup final. In the meantime, this was the greatest humiliation Brazil ever suffered and lost Brazil their place as the greatest footballing nation of all time, an honour that surely belongs to Germany today.

Match Stats:

• 8th July 2014, Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte 
• Attendance: 58,141 
• Referee: Marco Rodriguez, Mexico 

Brazil-Germany 1-7
Goals: 0-1 Muller (11) 0-2 Klose (23) 0-3 Kroos (24) 0-4 Kroos (26) 0-5 Khedira (29) 0-6 Schurrle (69) 0-7 Schurrle (79) 1-7 Oscar (90)

Teams:
Brazil: Julio Cesar; Maicon, David Luiz, Dante, Marcelo, Fernandinho (Paulinho, 46), Luiz Gustavo, Hulk (Ramires, 46), Oscar, Bernard, Fred (Willian, 70)
Germany: Manuel Neuer; Jerome Boateng, Philipp Lahm, Mats Hummels (Per Mertesacker, 46), Benedikt Howedes, Sami Khedira (Julian Draxler, 76), Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil, Miroslav Klose (Andre Schurrle, 58)

My top-10 favourite players of the year

The following is my personal list of my 10 favourite footballers of the year; the players who were special, who I will remember:

10) Miroslav Klose: Klose is not the most memorable striker in the world, and is in the autumn of his career. But he has always been a fair player and a gentleman, and as part of the German World Cup side he went on to become the most scoring player in World Cup history. Perhaps unlikely, but not undeserved for a player who will be missed when he retires.
9) Lionel Messi: Messi has been criticized for not being at his former level, and at the World Cup, we only saw his genius in glimpses despite FIFA giving him a weird player of the tournament price. That said, he is still a marvelous player, scoring one goal after another, and carrying the entire weight of Barcelona on his small shoulders.
8) Diego Godin: Godin was core in the strong defense of Atletico Madrid which ended up taking the title. On top of this he was also a great threat in attack, witnessed by his crucial goals against Barcelona or against Italy in the World Cup for Uruguay. In my view, one of the best defenders in the world.
7) Thibaut Courtois: It has been the year of the goalkeepers, and at 22 Courtois is set to become one of the greatest ever. He gave Atletico Madrid the tranquility in defense they needed to take the title, and was immediately taken back to Chelsea, where he has continued being a wall. For Belgium he was also a strong last man. An amazing goalkeeper.
6) Toni Kroos: Bayern Munich, Germany, and now Real Madrid. Every team the German plays on seems to win, and he has been (and continues to be) a crucial side of all these sides. He is an outstanding passer.
5) Arjen Robben: It is easy to dislike Robben as he is a prolific diver, becoming infamous in the World Cup after his dive against Mexico. That said, it is undeniable that he is an incredible footballer, playing a crucial role in the Dutch World Cup campaign (taking his revenge on Spain) and most notably for Bayern Munich, where his characteristic runs continue to tear defenses apart (I particularly remember his match against AS Roma).
4) Cristiano Ronaldo: I like that Ronaldo is so competitive that he will settle for nothing less than being the best, and I am happy for him that he received the FIFA player of the year award. His goals for Real Madrid are incredible, and he has become more of a team player, although he will always, foremost, be an individualist. His poor performance at the World Cup showed this.
3) Manuel Neuer: At a time with many incredible goalkeepers, it is difficult to pinpoint the best, but Manuel Neuer it is. He made important contributions to Germany winning the World Cup title (playing almost as a libero against Algeria, he surely prevented a better Algeria for scoring) and is a bastion in Bayern Munich's defense. Neuer is a goalkeeper who would make any team great, and is already playing in great teams.
2) Philip Lahm: The Bayern Munich and Germany captain is often the kind of player most people take time in noticing, but he is the crucial piece in these two great sides. From varied defensive positions he varies between defense and offense superbly, and is often the player with most touches and longest runs. An absolutely world class player, who is already difficult to replace after having retired from the German national team.
1) Thomas Muller: Muller was an instrumental part of both Germany's and Bayern Munich's teams in 2014. Nobody really knows what position Thomas Muller plays, and in that sense, he is perhaps one of the most complete modern players in the world. He can play as striker, offensive midfielder, wing... and will probably define what it is to be a complete footballer for a foreseeable future.

It was not an easy list: there are indeed a lot of Germans and Bayern Munich players (there could have been more, with Bastian Schweinsteiger), and even two goalkeepers! I also think this is the first time for many years no Brazilians have made my list, although Neymar came close. But other players who could have come in and thus deserve a mention are James Rodriguez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Yaya Toure, Luka Modric,  Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero, Javier Mascherano, Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal.

Top ten best things of the World Cup

I guess after getting annoyed and writing a negative post on the bad things of the World Cup yesterday, I should write one of the best things of the World Cup, in my personal view.

10. Seeing friends and family during this World Cup: For me this World Cup was an excuse to travel and enjoy with friends and family, and I did so shamelessly. I saw the best people in the world in Rome, Brussels, S-Hertogenbosch, London, Copenhagen, Viborg, Nyborg, Berlin. I am the luckiest person in the world.
9. Faryd Mondragon: When the Colombian goalkeeper entered the pitch against Japan it was a beautiful gesture by coach Pekerman, and Mondragon went on to become the oldest player that has ever played in a World Cup. And he even made a save!
8. Algeria: A marvelous team, clever tactically, with great spirit. They gave us a wonderful display against South Corea and then took on the later World Champions of Germany in a match that they could have won. And their fans were amazing!
7. Tim Howard: I was not that impressed about USA not taking many risks in their matches, if not for their organization and goalkeeping. But they survived attacking waves by the Belgians because of "Secretary of Defense" Tim Howard, who amid a lot of brilliant goalkeepers in this tournament, had the most memorable match.
6. Memorable Goals: James Rodriguez goal against Uruguay, Tim Cahill's goal against the Netherlands and Robbie Van Persie's first goal against Spain stand out as the most memorable and fantastic goals of the tournament. I cannot choose between them.
5. Miroslav Klose: The German striker has gone over to the history books by becoming the most scoring player of all time in a World Cup. It was ironically in the trashing of Brazil that he scored the goal with which he beat Ronaldo.
Klose is not as brilliant as some of the players he has beaten, but he is a steady, solid, modern striker, and a fantastic person, a true gentleman of the game, of which there are few today.
Miroslav Klose is and will remain one of the greatest ever.
4. Costa Rica: The moral champions of the tournament, without expectations, they defeated two former World Champions, tied England to win the "group of death", and then was only eliminated in penalty kicks by the Netherlands after fighting like warriors and with a fantastic goalkeeper in Keylor Navas (who seems to be going to Real Madrid). They ended the tournament undefeated in ordinary games.
3. German and Argentine fans: Great fans know this is a game. The banter is there along with the mutual respect despite the emotions of the match. During this tournament I met Argentine and German fans, and they all rocked. And the atmosphere they created for the tournament's final was great. They are both champions.
2. Germany: Fantastic, fantastic. They played great, but also had to fight when it counted, like against Ghana or Algeria. A team of world records; the first Europeans to win the World Cup in South America. The trashing of Brazil has already gone over to history; it is still unbelievable. 
1. Brazilians: Surely the Brazilian football team was the worst in history. But Brazilians do not need to win in football to be the best in the world!
Despite their government, FIFA, and all the problems ordinary Brazilians face in their everyday life, they welcomed the world with their warmth, kindness and happiness, and that is why the World Cup was a success!
Brazilians rock.

The best match of the tournament

I joined some great friends to watch Ghana versus Germany in the small Danish town of Viborg. It was not coincidental that it was the same friends with whom I had gone on a Ghana roadtrip in 2006 (http://footballfanaticos.blogspot.dk/2006/07/world-cup-road-trip.htm), when Ghana for the first time took the world with storm.

Ghana were under pressure for a result against Germany, who had looked almost invincible against Portugal. However, one should not forget that Germany faced an awful Portuguese side, where Ghana has quality. And it really turned into one of the best matches of the tournament with two teams that played good technical football and with heart. Both had confidence and wanted to win, and there were many chances. 2-2 was a fair result, although one was left with the feeling that Ghana did not sufficiently keep their head cool towards the end when they had a couple of counter-attacks.

Germany were not bad, but looked less awesome than they had done before, and certainly are not unbeatable. The most memorable moment was when Miroslav Klose equalized for Germany with his 15th World Cup goal, equalizing Ronaldo, and on the verge of becoming the most scoring player in World Cup history.

Ronaldo also scored his 15ht goal against Ghana.

I hope Germany and Ghana progress from this group. They want to play football. Ghana could defeat Portugal, but I fear that Germany and USA may have a small agreement in place, similar to the infamous West Germany-Austria match of 1982.

I hope not. The world deserves to see Ghana in the next round.

Insignificant surprises in Europe

In Europe's World Cup qualifying group I the world champions of Spain took an important step by winning 0-2 against Finland, at the same time as France only managed to tie 0-0 in Georgia. France now has four points up to Spain, who will have to mess up their last home matches against Belorussia and Georgia not to qualify.
But France's 0-0 was far from the only surprise in the European qualifiers. Estonia managed a 2-2 against the Netherlands, who were in fact lucky with a late penalty to give them the tie. However, it matters little to the Dutch, who are six points ahead of Romania in group D, and will surely make it to Brazil.
In group B Italy is almost certain to go to Brazil with a 1-0 victory against Bulgaria. In the meantime, there are now four pursuers to the second spot, where Armenia are the big surprise. After defeating Denmark 0-4, the Armenians showed that they mean it seriously by defeating the Czechs 1-2 in Prague. Bulgaria has 10 points, while Armenia, the Czech Republic and Denmark all have nine points, and will be struggling for the play-off second spot. That said, all four teams are so mediocre that it would seem impossible for them all to win a play-off match against any team in Europe.
In group E Switzerland had an opportunity to take an important step to Brazil at home against Iceland. Switzerland were 4-1 up, but the usually so solid Swiss defense did not hold, and the match ended 4-4. Switzerland are still on first spot, four points ahead of Norway, with eleven points, and closely followed by Albania, Iceland and Slovenia. However, I must say that this is another of the mediocre groups that would be likely not to win a play-off (unless they draw one of the group B sides!).
Sweden managed an important 1-2 away victory to Ireland, and are now second behind Germany by five points. Germany defeated Austria 3-0, with one goal by Miroslav Klose, who with his 68th goal for Germany equaled Gerd Muller as the most scoring player on the German national team ever. Germany will be going to the World Cup, and Miroslav Klose is bound to break the legendary Muller's record.

Best players of 2012

This is my personal list of favourite players of 2012:

• 10) Cristiano Ronaldo: Ronaldo is one of the most gifted players of our time, but that is also what makes him so frustrating. He had a marvelous season for Real Madrid when they took the Spanish title, but it seems he only glows when things go well for the team. Perhaps it is a personality or attitude problem, but he will not become one of the best in the world even though he could.
• 9) Miroslav Klose: At a time where you see more assholes than gentlemen in international football, Klose is a marvelous rarity. The veteran has done very well in Lazio, which is in second place in Serie A, but I mostly include him for a goal he scored against Napoli, where he got the referee to disallow it by pointing out to him that he had scored by hand! A true sportsman!
• 8) Robbie van Persie: One of the most noted transfers was when Arsenal captain van Persie changed to Manchester United this summer. Both in Arsenal and in Manchester the Dutchman has been a goal machine, and he has been a huge contribution to Manchester United's first spot in the Premier League in the fall.
• 7) Didier Drogba: One of the reasons that Chelsea has not been as good in the fall is the absence of Didier Drogba who retired to play in China after bringing glory to Chelsea by scoring both in the FA Cup final and in the Champions League final. He is not only missed by Chelsea fans but by any football fan who loved to see this absolutely brilliant striker!
• 6) Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Ibrahimovic is a unique player. Which other player has given birth to a verb, "Zlatanera"?  He was scoring a lot of goals for AC Milan before his change to Paris St. Germain, where he is currently the top scoring player in the French League as Paris takes first spot. Also, he scored what is probably the most memorable goal of the year in a friendly match against England in November.
• 5) Xavi: Xavi continues to be the mid-field general of both FC Barcelona and Spain, two of the best teams in the world, not least for his impressive vision.
• 4) Radamel Falcao: The Colombian striker is perhaps the best striker in the world at the moment. In a revived Atletico Madrid side he has been a goal machine, leading them both to the Europa League title, the UEFA Supercup and a second place in the Spanish league, where his scoring record this season is only second to the mighty Messi.
• 3) Andrea Pirlo: When the Italian veteran changed from AC Milan to Juventus in 2011 it seemed as if he were reborn. He was the outstanding midfield general on a side that in 2012 went on to win their first Serie A title since 2003, and in the Euro 2012 he was simply superb in leading an Italian side that played a more offensive football than other Italian sides was playing. He would have been the best player of the tournament had he not been dwarfed by the mighty Spanish in the final.
• 2) Andres Iniesta: It is a pity that the brilliant and elegant Andres Iniesta still has often suffered from injuries during the year, as this prevents fans from admiring one of the greatest players of time. In FC Barcelona he still is outstanding and it was fully deserved when he was awarded the prize of best player of the tournament, as well as his award as UEFA best player of the year, ahead of his team-mate Lionel Messi!
• 1) Lionel Messi: There is no way around it. This has probably been the best year for Lionel Messi ever (in spite of an absence of titles, with only the Copa del Rey). He was simply unstoppable in scoring goals, making it to 91 goals in the year, breaking legendary Gerd Muller's record. These goals have not only come for Barcelona, but also for the Argentine national team, where he seems to have finally become good after many years of disappointing.

From disappointment to disappointment...

In any tournament, only one team can win, and it is most often never the team you support... I have the luxury of having many countries I support, but that has apparently not changed the fact that it is never the teams I support that win: Denmark went out early, Ghana dramatically, and yesterday Argentina crashed spectacularly against Germany (who are making good use of their psychic octopus...).

I watched the match in a bar on Place Luxembourg in Brussels. The place was full of fun Germans who of course were delighted at their team who have undoubtfully been the best team of the tournament, yesterday playing some world class counter-attacking football: Bastian Schweinsteiger was simply formidable, Thomas Müller again amazing (he will be greatly missed against Spain) and Miroslav Klose has now scored more world cup goals than Pelé... For the sake of football I believe that Germany is the team to support and for them to take the title.

In spite of the great respect for the Germans and the cool fans in the bar, I was heartbroken and left at Germany's third goal.

Now I know how it is to be English...

Argentina crashed spectacularly, but have been great to watch in this World Cup. Still, there will be much discussion on Maradona's choices, the weak defense and that Messi was another of the most spectacular flops of the tournament. Probably, Argentine football is only walking into yet another period of what it does most in its schizophrenic soul-searching.

As to me, some days full of disappointments, but as with everything in life, I have learned not to expect too much. I will have some beers, continue watching (although with some melancholy) and well, congratulate Germany, and hope they win the World Cup!

Sad for Fiorentina

Fiorentina has in my view been one of the best teams to watch in this season's Champions League; I have never followed them closely, but they have been great to watch, in particular the young Montenegrin Stevan Jovetic. It was therefore disappointing that they have just been eliminated in the Champions League after defeating Bayern Munich 3-2 at home. After losing 2-1 in Munich, the Germans are progressing to the next round because of the away goals. Fiorentina was close though: they were 3-1 up until Arjen Robben scored a great second goal for Bayern midway through the second half, giving Bayern the ticket to the quarterfinals.
Bayern Munich played well, and were probably the better team, but the elimination must hurt Fiorentina the more knowing that Miroslav Klose's second goal in the first match in Munich was a clear off-side, and should have been annulled; a correct call then, would have meant that the match tonight would have been different.
But thus is football (until they allow the usage of TV pictures), and it will surely be interesting to see Bayern Munich in the next round, although Fiorentina shall be missed.

In the other match tonight Arsenal destroyed FC Porto 5-0 and is now in the quartefinals with 6-2 on aggregate.