Argetina versus Netherlands in World Cups

Tomorrow Argentina will face the Netherlands in what will be one of the most awaited quarterfinals of the tournament. Two great teams each in their way: the Argentina of Lionel Messi remain candidates for the title, but as yet to be really convincing, while everyone knows that the Dutch have the quality to make it all the way but appear to be unrealiable, and they are certainly not invincible as shown by Ecuador.

Historically it is also a special match. The two countries have faced one another four times before in a World Cup:

• West Germany 1974: They were paired together at the second group stages of the tournament in which Dutch Total Football was presented at a World Cup, and were superior by trashing Argentina 4-0 with goals by some Dutch legends: Rep, Cruyff and Kral. Netherlands went on to the final, losing to West Germany.
• Argentina 1978: a memorable World Cup final when Argentina won its first title after extra time!
• France 1998: They faced one another in the quarterfinal. They both had a fantastic team, and a great match went to the Dutch 2-1 on a victory goal by Denis Bergkamp; a goal that in my opinion is one of the best goals in World Cup History. Netherlands lost the semifinal to Brazil on penalties.
• Germany 2006: These two great footballing nations drew one another at the group stages. They tied 0-0 and Argentina won the group on goal difference. Netherlands went out in the next round to Portugal and Argentina were eliminated by Germany in the quarterfinals
• Brazil 2014: The two sides faced one another in the semi-finals in a tense match that ended 0-0 after extra time, but Argentina ended up winning on penalty kicks. Argentina went on to lose the World Cup final to Germany.

So in terms of World Cup history the Dutch have a slight edge over Argentina, although Argentina seems a bit better when it counts. 

Of course history counts for nothing when they face one another this time! Two fantastic teams, great fans (yes, I fully admit to have joined their ranks once in a while!), and what promises to be another historical match between them.

Go Argentina!

Greatest World Cup Matches: Germany-Argentina 2014

The 2014 World Cup final will be remembered for two things: it made Germany the greatest footballing nation of all time and it made Lionel Messi the greatest player never to win a thing for his country.
Argentina entered the tournament by winning the always-difficult South American qualifying group (Brazil did not take part as they were hosts). Manager Alejandro Sabella had built up his team around the Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, who he had made captain of the team. While Messi had scored 10 goals in qualification, he kept being criticised for not being as good with his home country as he was with Barcelona. But truth was that Argentina had been struggling with setting a style where Messi could be used optimally in a team. It was not because Argentina lacked strength in other positions: an ageing but experienced defense around Manchester City's Martin Demichelis and Pablo Zabaleta, alongside Benfica's Ezequiel Garay and Sporting's Marcos Rojo, in front of Monaco goalkeeper Sergio Romero. The difficulty of finding midfielders in support of Messi was not because of lack of choice: Fernando Gago from Boca Juniors, Lucas Biglia from Lazio, Enzo Perez from Benfica and Maxi Rodriguez from Newell's Old Boys were all in the squad, and complemented the sure starters Javier Mascherano from Barcelona and Angel DiMaria from Real Madrid, the only two players on the squad, besides Messi, of superstar quality. To play up front Argentina had what on paper looked like luxury choices with Inter's Rodrigo Palacio, PSG's Ezequiel Lavezzi, Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain. These choices proved to be purely on paper.
Sabella was an intelligent manager who knew that a team, to win the World Cup, needed to balance play with defense and pace itself for the tournament. Argentina won its group with three victories against Bosnia-Hercegovina, Iran and Nigeria. Despite Messi scoring four goals there was criticism of their slow defense and over-dependence on Messi, as their apparent star strikers could not score (the two other goals were an own-goal and one by defender Rojo), and Messi, despite it all, looked tired, and only showed his brilliance occasionally. In the last-16 Argentina struggled to defeat Switzerland, with DiMaria providing a 1-0 victory late into extra time. Against Belgium in the quarterfinals Argentina won a hard-worked 1-0 victory with Higuain's only goal of the tournament, and in the semifinals Argentina again worked through a penalty kick victory against a difficult and cynical Dutch side. Although they had not looked impressive Argentina were nevertheless in the World Cup final in none other place that in their big rival's home, Brazil. Argentine fans were ecstatic as Brazilians clearly feared the humiliation of Argentina winning in Brazil. Of course, a Brazil-Argentina final would have been what everyone wanted, but this was not to happen when Brazil suffered the greatest humiliation in World Cup history when losing 7-1 in the semifinals to the other finalist, Germany.
This was the third final between Germany and Argentina following 1986 and 1990, with one victory for each. And Germany probably entered the final as favourites, not just because of their Brazil trashing, but because the had been impressive throughout the tournament: they opened with a 4-0 trashing of Portugal, an exciting 2-2 tie against Ghana and a routine 1-0 victory over the USA. They had fought hard to defeat Algeria in extra time in the last-16 and then went on to defeat France 1-0 in the quarterfinal before the now infamously legendary semifinal against Brazil.
Brazilians were surely supporting Germany before the final, and their final lineup had at this point also become admired by the entire world: Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer was the best goalkeeper on the tournament; in front of him in central defense he had Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels and Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng. On left back was Schalke 04's Benedikt Howedes and on right back the Bayern Munich and Germany captain Philipp Lahm, who had been one of the tournament's best players. A young Christoph Kramer from Borussia Monchengladbach was a surprise starter alongside Bayern Munich's veteran Bastian Schweinsteigger in central midfield, just behind the young Toni Kroos, who had been the best midfielder of the tournament and man-of-the-Match against Brazil. Behind the veteran striker Miroslav Klose (who against Brazil had become the most scoring player in World Cup history) were the splendid pair of Mesut Ozil from Arsenal and Bayern Munich's versatile Thomas Muller.
Argentina had been seriously hurt in the quarterfinal when DiMaria got injured. His replacement, Ezequiel Lavezzi, was nowhere near his level, and this proved crucial for Argentina's offensive capabilities in the final. That said, Argentina could have won a very tactical final with few chances: Gonzalo Higuain missed an open chance, alone with the goalkeeper, not even hitting the target, in what has become an infamous miss for a striker that has missed other crucial final goals for Argentina. A goal he scored in the second half was correctly disallowed for off-side, while Rodrigo Palacio, who came in for the hapless Higuain, also missed a big chance at the end of the match. Despite Argentine chances one always had the feeling that a German strike could prove deadly, and it was certainly close when Howedes hit the post following a corner.
But the match ended 0-0 in ordinary time, the third final ever with this result, and it could look as it was going into extra time when two substitutes constructed Germany's winning goal: Chelsea's Andre Schurrle had come on for Cristoph Kramer (who had been injured) and Bayern Munich's Mario Gotze had come in before extra time for Miroslav Klose. Schurrle crossed from the left and inside the area Gotze elegantly controlled the ball with his chest before hammering the ball into goal with a first-timer. He was the first substitute to score the winner in a World Cup final, and at only 22, the youngest as well.
Argentina did not really have any response in the last minutes, and Thomas Muller instead almost made it 2-0. But 1-0 was enough for Germany to be crowned World Champions for the fourth time, and the first European team to win in the Americas. To everyone's surprise (not least to himself), Lionel Messi was named best player of the tournament, a title which seemed more to be for the sponsors than for the player, who had seemed tired throughout the tournament.

Match Stats:

• 10th July, 2014 Estadio Maracana, Rio de Janeiro 
• Spectators: 74,738 
• Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)   

Germany-Argentina 1-0 
Goals: 1-0 Mario Gotze (113)

Teams:
Germany: Manuel Neuer; Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Benedikt Howedes, Cristoph Kramer (Andre Schurrle, 31), Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil (Per Mertesacker, 120), Miroslav Klose (Mario Gotze, 88)
Argentina: Sergio Romero; Martin Demichelis, Pablo Zabaleta, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo, Javier Mascherano, Lucas Biglia, Enzo Perez (Fernando Gago, 86), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Sergio Aguero, 46), Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain (Rodrigo Palacio, 68) 

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)

Das Reboot: How German Football Reinvented Itself and Conquered the World

Das Reboot, by Raphael Honigstein, tells the story about German football leading up to their incredible victory in the World Cup of 2014. Many forget that up to 2014 Germany had not won a major football title since 1996, despite being one of the great powers of World football. Although they had made the 2002 World Cup final (which they lost 0-2 to Brazil) German football was in crisis since their last major tournament victory in the 1996 Euro.
In 1998 Germany had been eliminated from the World Cup in humiliating fashion by Croatia, and in 2000 and 2004 they had fallen in the group stages of the Euro. This was not the Germany that everyone expected to win, not least themselves. Amid the need for change two sides faced one another, the conservatives that argued that German football should continue with its values and style that had before led them to victories, and a more reformist group of coaches and football managers that wanted to adapt German football to a modern attacking style, and not least to a changing Germany. The book traces the likes of Dietrich Weise, who helped set up a reformed youth system for spotting and nurturing talent, including working with schools, in that footballers should also have education, as aptly put by Volker Kersting, the youth director at Mainz (one of the clubs that gave birth to much of the renewed focus): “...the brain is the most important thing a footballer possesses. What doesn't happen upstairs can't happen down below at the feet either.” But Weise was not alone; a notable a group of reformist managers who promoted youth and a new style at club level, Ralf Rangnick, Jurgen Klopp, Thomass Tuchel and Mattias Sammer, all had important roles in the transition of German football.
 The 2006 World Cup in Germany plays a central role in the tale. Jurgen Klinsmann became the unlikely manager who wanted to change German football. As much as ever, Germany had to win the World Cup at home, but when they didn't, it was not a catastrophe.
Quite on the contrary: the 2006 team became one of the most popular teams of German history. Its attacking style, flat hierarchy, relaxed attitude and friendly players became a symbol of a marvelous World Cup, greatly described in the documentary “Ein Sommermärchen”.
In 2006 football in Germany was no longer about winning only, but captured the wider imagination of Germans.
Germany built on the 2006 World Cup “success” for the following years. Under Klinsmann's assistant, Joachim Low, they continued building on the attacking style and involving players in decision-making. In 2008 and 2010 they lost the Euro final and World Cup semifinal, respectively, to the best Spanish side of all time. In 2012 they lost in the Euro semifinal to Italy, but one could already see the potential of a technically skilled and confident team before the 2014 World Cup. The fruits of the focus on youth could already be seen in 2009, when German youth sides, who had never performed well, in one year won the u-17, u-19 and u-21 European championships. The victories counted up to 10 players who would eventually be part of the 2014 triumph.

The book is excellent as it inter-changes chapters on the background, and then the actual build-up to the 2014 final at the Maracana. Each of the major matches gets a chapter, with the matches against Algeria and Brazil standing out. Against Algeria, Germany was under enormous pressure against a team that had read well their style. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saved Germany, who in the end with patience and ball possession wore down the brave Algerians.
For the Brazil-Germany semi-final it is interesting it is to read how the German team had studied Brazil's weaknesses. Brazil had indeed not been strong in the tournament, and the Germans downplayed their chances, while knowing that the South Americans were under enormous pressure to win the World Cup at home; a pressure that the Germans had themselves been under in 2006.
The description of the final is fascinating, also considering that it was never a given that Germany would win; Argentina had one of the best teams in the world, and had it not been for Higuain's misses history might well have been different... The description of Mario Gotze's winning goal is excellent. Gotze himself a fruit of the youth system and an avid user of a computer simulation where players were made to repeat a move similar to the goal move, becomes in the book the ultimate proof of the successful transformation of German football.
I liked the book because unlike many other books it does not go into gossiping or some pseudo-psychological analysis of people. The focus is on football. In that regard it may be too detailed for the un-initiated. The book requires some prior knowledge of older German players, results and teams, or one will have a difficult time appreciating all the changes and details. But f you have that knowledge and an interest beyond German football, and also on football in general (I could not stop thinking why Brazil has not engaged in similar reforms that are very needed), this is a great book.

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.

Top ten worst things of the World Cup

I am back to my dull and boring life. Without anything useful to do besides changing a flat tire on my car, I have reflected on the top ten worst things of this world cup. There was a lot of shit to consider, from the social problems in Brazil that perhaps became more prominent during the World Cup. But more directly related to the tournament these are the ten worst (and believe me, it was not easy to limit it to ten):

10. Unfair play: Yes, there were a lot of dirty plays in the world cup. Diving; elbows; kicks. One thing is that the referees allowed it. Another is that FIFA did not discipline any player besides Luis Suarez. This World Cup was one step back from fair play, which had otherwise been improving since the horrible 1990 World Cup.

9. The Golden Boot to Lionel Messi: I do not know if Messi wanted it, but he received it. I do know that FIFA were completely disconnected with the rest of the world in giving it to a player that may have had a fine tournament, but played without heart or passion in most games. Messi is a great player, but he is what Samuel Eto'o once described him as: "a Playstation player". He is a machine. And many more players deserved that prize than him. In my opinion Arjen Robben, Javier Mascherano and Toni Kroos all deserved it more.

8. Spain: Perhaps not so much Spain as their coach, Vicente del Bosque, who chose an old side, bet on the wrong players, did not study his opponents, had no tactical responses, and did not resign his post. Luis Felipe Scolari is perhaps the only other coach who compares in poor management at the World Cup.

7. Luis Suarez: enough said. He bit an opponent! The FIFA punishment was fair enough considering what he did, albeit unfair in its inconsistency.

6. Referees: Referees were bad. Not in the sense that they were decisive for any matches (although Brazil had some help in some matches, but it was not decisive I believe), but they were consistently bad, with little authority, allowing players too much very often, and punishing at the wrong times. Spray or goalline technology (did we really have to wait to 2014!?) hardly helped. The first card for diving was given to Oscar in the penultimate match of the tournament in a situation when there was no diving! The referee between Colombia and Brazil allowed the match to degenerate. I know referees have it hard: but they choose to be there, and they should be the first in making recommendations for making the game better!

5. Brazilian defense: Of course Luis Felipe Scolari is the first responsible for what happened to Brazil. But at the same time one has to wonder what happened to defenders who play in Chelsea, Paris St. Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid... Against both Germany and Netherlands the Brazilians defended as if they had never put their foot on a football pitch.
David Luiz' was one of the worst performances I have ever seen, while I frankly think I could have played better than Marcelo. The defensive midfielders were also pathetic, most of all Fernandinho. While the Brazilian fans took it out on Fred, they should perhaps have thought of taking it out on any defender.

4. Tickets: It was a labyrinth to get ticket to games at this world cup. And FIFA insisted tickets had to be bought through them; that no other sellers were authorized. And then it turns out that FIFAs own ticket agency is part of a ticket scam!?!? That a guy staying in the same hotel as FIFA executives is arrested for ticket scamming!?!? Empty seats in first round matches that were apparently sold out, and many opportunities for re-selling despite FIFAs denial. What about creating an honest and transparent system?

3. Sexism: this should belong further down in the list if one takes into consideration the abuses of sex workers in Brazil. But here I just want to focus on the fact that while racism may be unacceptable, sexism is not. This world cup saw commentators, sponsors, fans, players objectifying and degrading women.
Discriminating against women, of any race, religion or nationality, is apparently ok. At least in this, FIFA is consistent

2. Nationalism: I will repeat myself. Too many people who don't know a thing about football watch it because of their petty nationalism and desires to express it and be prejudiced against other people. These are also the bad losers, who invent conspiracy theories about referees, FIFA and so on (the referees and FIFA are just other idiots!), to justify their defeats. They delight in being xenophobic and discriminatory; in players from opposing teams getting hurt (I was particularly disgusted by some Colombians making fun of Neymar's injury. I would have thought that the country that saw Andres Escobar die because of football, would know better as to delight in others' pain).
Sadly, my impression is that Nationalism, of the bad kind, is becoming worse and worse in a world that is more globalised. While players across countries are friends because they play in same teams, fans are busy building ever bigger barriers between themselves.
In the next World Cup we will see people die because of Nationalism...

1. FIFA: Granted that FIFA does get a lot of bad press, and that the press is not always fair. However, FIFA doesn't want to change; doesn't want to be accountable! They can ask Brazil to change laws about serving beers in stadiums but cannot distance themselves from eviction of people from their homes because of a World Cup? They can say a lot of things about respect and tolerance when they do not practice many of the things themselves. They can discipline a player like Suarez because of the press, but cannot discipline players for violence. They do not respect women, normal football fans, or players, but want respect themselves (respect is something your earn!). They have thousands of volunteers and government workers to do most of the hard work, while they themselves live in million dollar hotels and apparently get money from obscure Qataris?
The beautiful game is beautiful despite FIFA. I am afraid FIFA will one day make it as ugly as itself.

I got angry from writing this!

The Day After the World Cup: Football Hangover

I had really wanted to go to this World Cup, but unable to get a ticket I did not go. Still, I enjoyed as much as I could, taking vacation for the entire tournament, traveling to seven countries and seeing matches in Liberia, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, England and Denmark. I spent time with great friends, met a lot of people, discussed football, cheered and celebrated no matter who won.
It was a lot of fun. And in the end the World Cup is and should be about that: fun and celebration.
Too many people take it too seriously. And this was surely one of the things I disliked a lot about this world cup: many people, who never bother to watch football between World Cups, got overly excited about the tournament. Too often people had opinions about matches that were more borne out of prejudices and conspiracy theories and not at all on football knowledge.

This World Cup was not bad. I do not share the opinion of those who say it was one of the best. It had some drama, moments and a couple of historical matches, but only a few more than the previous three world cups. It was a far cry from 1986, better than 1990 and 1994, and barely a bit better than 1998.
There were many goals in the first round, but not that many absolutely brilliant ones. Too many goals were from set-pieces or defensive errors. The knock-out rounds were more disappointing, with many teams that did not risk much in the offense (Netherlands, Argentina, USA, Costa Rica, Greece...). In my view only Germany and Colombia, and to a lesser degree Chile and Mexico, offered anything close to entertainment and willingness to take risk. In the end this is perhaps because of the disappointing performance of teams that we expected so much more from: Spain, Portugal, and most of all Brazil.
In the end it is a sad thing to remember this World Cup for: The worst humiliation ever of the great Brazilians. We will all keep speculating about what happened, but it did not give me any sense of satisfaction.

In the end I think this World Cup has further confirmed what I knew already: the four-year event is a show appealing to nationalist passions, and the drama it engenders is the only reason for the event.
In footballing terms it has lost its way.
The best football is what you see in the big European leagues. Club football out-shined national football a long time ago.
And the majority of players, global citizens of today, also know this...

As a spectacle for football fans the World Cup is also losing its way: this was not the world cup of football fans, but of rich nationalistic blood suckers of the people. Greed and power rules FIFA, who showed their enormous distance to fans by its inconsistent disciplinary standards, giving prizes where they were not justified, and inexcusable excuses for excesses.
FIFA not only exists in a glass house; that glass house is on another world, totally disconnected from what happens on planet Earth.
But the show must go on. And the show will be on again in Russia in four years...

Germany World Champions

In what was surely one of the greatest footballing feats of all time when Germany won the World Championship in Brazil. It compares to the great victory of the Germans against Hungary in 1954 at "The Miracle of Bern", but this was less a miracle than a foreseen victory of what proved to be the result of hard work and skills.
When the tournament began all odds were against a European side in South America, but the Germans were the best prepared team, tactically, physically and mentally, as well as the only team that combined clever tactics with skills and flair. On their way to the final they did have some problems against Ghana and Algeria. Against Ghana they played what remains the best match of the tournament, but they defeated some of the great teams of the tournament in style, such as Portugal, France and most notably Brazil.
In the last-16 match against a wonderful Algeria the German's high defensive line was exposed. Argentina also tried to take advantage of this, but with an Higuain who cannot score, a Sergio Aguero without skills and a Lionel Messi who seemed to want to be somewhere else, Argentina forgave the chances that came their way. Although 0-0 it was not a bad match; there were chances on both sides, spirited fight, intensity with fair play and tactical confrontation.
Like four years ago it had to be in extra time when one player outshone the rest: Mario Gotze, who at a young age already shined for Borussia Dortmund, gave Germany their deserved title with a splendid goal. I only wish I had been back in Berlin, where I watched a few matches in this World Cup, celebrating with the many great German fans!

Two matches in this tournament are bound to go over in history (and become part of my list of greatest matches): Germany's trashing of Brazil in the semifinal and this final.

The great Germans

I am a bit hungover right now. But just want to say that Germany are the right champions, the best team in the world, the greatest fans in the world, and I am delighted they won, if only a bit disappointed Argetina lost.

But losing to a great team is never a shame.

The only shame was that Lionel Messi got the golden ball. A joke, and an insult to many great players in the tournament.

The final: Germany

Germany has us all in awe. As a football fan they are impossible not to like. And I like them. Had it not been that they are playing Argentina, I would probably have been supporting them against anyone else.
It has been a joy to watch Germany develop its football over the last 12 years. They threw away the tight discipline and hierarchies that had given them so much in the 20th century, and developed a football that fit into the Germany of the 21st century; organized and tactically well-founded, but at the same time with flair and offensive pressure. They took the best of the Spanish tiki-taka and assimilated it into the German style, something that Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich have been practicing.
Watchers of the German league will know that it is a league with a lot of attacking, goals, and young talent. In the early 2000s German football implemented a plan to develop youth talents with a  focus on skills rather than muscle. The mayor clubs all signed up for it, and the result was a wave of European u-17 and u-21 titles. In 2009 they won the u-21 European championship in awesome style defeating England 4-0 in the final. Six players from that team are playing today: Ozil, Khedira, Neuer, Howedes, Hummels and Boateng (as an anecdote, Fabian Johnson, now playing for USA, was also part of that team).
At the same time they have some of their former greats in Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteigger, who both played the World Cup final of 2002, and so they build bridge between the old and new Germany.

Germany have been splendid throughout: they started with a complete trashing of Portugal, which was basically enough to win them the group, despite struggling against Ghana and winning 1-0 against the USA in a match where the Americans were more than happy to be defeated. They struggled against Algeria, who showed some of the German weaknesses, but were then systematic in defeating France with relative ease (the French never really threatened them), and then the historic trashing of Brazil has made them the best team of the tournament.
The Germans know they are favorites, but they also know they need to concentrate against a well-organised Argentine side with players who can decide a match in a moment of brilliance. Mats Hummels has been a fantastic defender ahead of Manuel Neuer, whom I rate as the best keeper of the tournament (closely followed by Sergio Romero). Phillipp Lahm should be back as right full back, with Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteigger and Toni Kroos, supporting the flow of Ozil and Thomas Muller, surely form the best midfield of the tournament, and could completely dominate the Argentine midfield, although it is not likely they will penetrate as easily the Argentine lines as they did with Brazil.
Germany must remain concentrated to win. If anyone can do it, it is the Germans. At the same time, they could lose, but if they do, they should still be admired for what they have done.

As an Argentina fan, I will be disappointed, but know there is no shame to be defeated by such a splendid Germany, and I would celebrate with all German fans!

The final: Argentina

I support Argentina and I am wearing my Argentina shirt today. It will be a long-held dream to see them again lift the trophy, as I still remember their last triumph with nostalgia. 1986; when football became my passion.
That said, I have been very critical of their play in this tournament. They are not that offensive side that many expected with the players they have. Perhaps it is understandable: this tournament has proven that headless attack is not a way to go, and Argentina has unfortunately, much before the tournament, been struggling with defensive weakness. In fact, I always thought that defensive weakness would be their problem. However, they have proven far better, if not careful, in defense. Marco Rojo and Martin Demichelis have been surprisingly solid, and Sergio Romero in goal has been one of their best players. Besides this Javier Mascherano has come out as one of the best players of the tournaments, playing splendidly as a holding midfielder.
The apparently strong attacking has been more of a problem. While we have seen glimpses of brilliance in Lionel Messi, he still looks tired, far from his best form, where he would be fearful to the Germans (remember his five goals against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012?). Sergio Aguero's eternal injuries has made him into a non-player in the tournament; not only absent, but even poor when he has come in. Ezequiel Lavezzi has been a better replacement, and worked harder in the last matches than in the first, where he seemed to think he was still on vacation. The same came be said of Gonzalo Higuain, who worked like a horse against the Dutch and scored the winner against Belgium. However, Higuain is still a poor striker; he was in Real Madrid, and he still is one who needs ten chances to score a goal. You don't get ten chances in a World Cup final!
Angel Di Maria has been one of the better Argentines, and his absence will be felt, although Benfica's young Enzo Perez has been a strong replacement. He does not provide the same offensive prowess as DiMaria, but has given the defensive midfield depth, giving space to the attackers.

Although I support Argentina, Germany are big favorites. But they do have weaknesses, and the team that exposed them most in this tournament were none other than Algeria, a side that fought bravely and had a style that is somewhat similar to Argentina.
Germany has played the entire tournament with a high defensive line. This also gave Ghana golden opportunities in the first round, and forced the brilliant Manuel Neuer to play almost as a sweeper. It worked but it was risky. Throughout the tournament, Argentina has faced very compact back lines that have given little space to their strikers, perhaps except for Nigeria. The Argentines do have the potential to exploit the high German defensive line.

Anything can happen in a final! I hope Argentina wins, but know it will have to be the match of their lives! The Germans are an amazing team!

The worst Brazil ever and the great Dutch

Too many people will be saying this for years to come: this is the worst Brazil side in history. I really thought that it could not get any lower than the 1-7 loss. While they may "only" have lost 0-3, the lack of commitment, belief, ideas, not to say a complete lack of basic defensive skills, were appalling to watch. A disgrace.

After apologizing for the defeat to Germany they should have shown better against the Dutch, but they did not, and no apology should be accepted.

It is sad for Brazilian football, and as I have said before, I hope they can recover, not least for their fans, who showed true greatness by clapping the Dutch players off. 

Most fans in the world would not have done that.

In the meantime, congratulations to the Dutch! I experienced their fantastic fans and support firsthand during this World Cup, and for that I will always be a fan of their side, even though I am still disappointed that we are not seeing more of the marvelous Dutch of yesteryear. This is a more cynical and result-oriented football.

Lucky for them it is impossible not to love the orange fans!

The disappointer's final

Netherlands and Brazil will be facing none another in the unnecessary fight for third place in this year's world cup. For both sides this is a huge disappointment considering their expectations before the tournament, but they can really blame nobody else.
Brazil is there after crashing wildly on the expectations and their lack of preparation and focus. The humiliation by the Germans could give the players an incentive to try to get a bit of honor. On the other hand the huge level of disappointment at not playing the final could result in a poisonous lack of motivation.
The Dutch started the tournament flying against Spain, but steadily worsened. Already in their second match they struggled to defeat Australia. In their third match they played cynically to defeat a Chile side that was not nearly as good as people said. The Dutch then made it to the semifinal with a controversial win and an unimpressive penalty win against Mexico and Costa Rica respectively. Against Argentina they were unable or unwilling to take a risk and only had one meager shot on target.
With the offensive traditions and capabilities of Dutch football, this World Cup has continued the Dutch national team slide into boring result-oriented football that we saw in 2010. One of the most likable teams in the world has become one of the least unlikeable defensive side in the world.

The match today will be the fifth time the two sides are facing one another. In 1974 they played for the first time in a match where the Dutch won 2-0, exposing a violent and poor Brazilian side. This in fact led to a revision of Brazilian approach to youth development that still resonates today.
In 1994 they played what is perhaps the best match between them in the quarterfinal. Brazil was ahead but Netherlands equalized to 2-2, before the great Branco scored on an angry free kick to give Brazil the victory.
In 1998 both sides met again in the semifinals, in a match that went into penalty kicks. With Cocu and Ronald de Boer missing for the Dutch, Brazil made it to the final against France, which until recently remained their heaviest World Cup defeat!
The two sides lastly met in the quarterfinal of the 2010 World Cup. Netherlands came back from being 1-0 down to winning 1-2 on two strikes by Wesley Sneijder. The Dutch did not win many friends and went on to lose the World Cup final to Spain 1-0.

The match for bronze between Brazil and the Netherlands today, will be between two sides that have strayed away from their football roots; two sides that after being admired for decades, are now largely seen as shadows of their former selfs. I hope that I am not the only football fan out there that hopes that the match today will be the first step in both sides returning to their former glory, and to the admiration of football fans all over. Football Total and Jogo Bonito have given the world of football so much that I hope they return to their roots.

Another comment on Brazil

The 1-7 debacle of Brazil against Germany will be discussed in and out for a long time. I still find it hard to believe: yes, Brazil were looking weak; yes, Brazil have not played beautiful football for many years; yes, many teams have done more to develop the game for a long time; yes, Germany are strong...

But all these things do not explain the pounding they received.

The legendary Zico made a strong comment on the match: http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jul/09/brazil-germany-zico

Implicit in this is a certain arrogance by Brazilians, but also the immense pressure they put the players under. Players who play for great clubs in the best leagues, but who were drugged with the adrenaline of nationalism and expectations, and could not focus on what they were there for.

In 1974 Brazil lost to the Netherlands and concluded that they needed to change their game, make it more "European", physical and result-oriented. This did lead to results. But the problem is that the 1994 and 2002 World Cup titles led Brazil to forget their footballing roots. Their identity should not just be about winning, but also about playing with the beauty and joy that Brazilians have in life.

Other great football powers have a clear idea of what they are and what they want to be. Brazil has lost that.

On and off the pitch Brazil is changing. It is such a wonderful country with such wonderful people, and I think they will find their way back, even though it will take some soul-searching and link back to their roots, just like Zico says in the article.

Forca Brazil!

Day 28 of the World Cup: Copenhagen, Denmark

Denmark did not qualify to the World Cup, but this has not dented world cup fever in this small Scandinavian country. In fact, it is nice to see the world cup with fans without a dog in the fight, who nevertheless understand the passion and enjoy to discuss the game.

On top of all this, it was a lovely sunny day in Copenhagen; one of those days where the streets are full of music, beer drinking, beautiful women and cheerful crowds. No city in the world is as wonderful as Copenhagen on a day like yesterday. It was the perfect build-up for the semi-final.

I must admit that after yesterday's Brazilian debacle (it is still hard to believe) I was not optimistic regarding Argentina's prospects in the semifinal against the Dutch. The Argentines have given a lot of space and have taken pace out of their matches. It seemed to me that Europe would totally conquer South America.

So that is why I decided to play it safe and not wear my Argentina shirt (four years ago I wore it for the Argentina-Germany quarterfinal in a bar full of Germans in Brussels, and that was not a good experience).

After the great day I went with a group of friends to watch the match at a beautiful area by the harbor of the city called Islands Brygge. This is where Danish TV, Danmarks Radio (DR), has set up a World Cup fan area with giant screens and beer sales. It is from there that the DR football pundits, led by the former player Peter Moller, comment on the matches.

This has also, during the tournament, become the place to watch matches with fans of all nationalities coming through Copenhagen. Yesterday was no exception with a large crowd of orange Dutchmen and another large crowd of noisy and partying Argentines, who sang and screamed their way through the match. I could not help to get more and more smitten by their passion, and was fully immersed in the match as it progressed.

The Dutch have been strange in this tournament. After their flying start against the Spanish World Champions, they became steadily worse throughout the tournament: it was as if the fear of losing won the farther they got, playing more defensively and lacking creativity in attack. We saw it in their controversial last minute win over Mexico and their disappointing 0-0 with the Costa Ricans, where they continuously ran into off-sides.

Against Argentina they did not seem to have improved, although a strong Argentine defense, that has grown throughout the tournament, must be credited. Javier Mascherano played a fantastic match as holding midfielder, and hopefully Barcelona is watching.

Argentina were indeed the better team, creating the few chances of a very tactical match. In the end it was the first 0-0 semi-final in World Cup history (we have had two historic semi-finals!), and penalty kicks were perhaps predictable. 

Argentina have always been good at penalties, and this time looked as good as every other, with Sergio Romerio saving two penalties. The Monaco keeper has been one of the stars of Argentina in this tournament, and hopefully he will find a new club and get more games after the tournament.

Yes, Argentina play boring, but this is not equal to playing badly. Rather it means that the Argentines do not risk much. And when their (for some) fearsome offensive power is marked closely, as it has been throughout the tournament, they look boring. 

But they are in the World Cup final; without playing violently, without referee help, without controversy. It has all been about hard work, concentration and consistency for Argentina. Germany are favorites after their trashing of Brazil. But this is not to say Argentina are without chances, and that Germany should underestimate them. Argentina will work hard and fight to the last drop to get the title in Brazil.

And I will be wearing my Argentina shirt for the final.

European rule

Brazil being destroyed 1-7 was beyond everything that could be imagined could happen to Brazil. It is so beyond belief one cannot help but think of some kind of match fixing...

But ok, this was without a doubt the poorest Brazil side in history. Some players today were an utter disgrace for the proud yellow shirt; Fred continued to be a joke; Marcelo did not put one foot right; David Luiz must be causing nerves in Paris; Dante... Well, he does play in Munich...

What a joke! 

This match will likely lead to serious soul searching in Brazil, who over the last decades has given up on its football identity to be more result-oriented; to be more like Europe.

Now, why wouldn't they want to be more like European teams? This match is proof that the World Cup belongs in Europe. This is likely to be an all-European final. South American football has more trouble looking for results and fighting against each other than to threaten European dominance.

7-1 was something far beyond a German victory. It showed that the future of football is in Europe and in the USA, which is adopting Germany's style under Klinsmann.

Brazil-Germany: the evolution of the game

Brazil and Germany are the two most winning sides in the history of the World Cup. Brazil have played six finals and won five. Germany have also played six finals, and won three. The final of 2002 was between these two sides, and it was surprisingly also the first time that the two sides met in a World Cup!
In 2002 Brazil won 2-0 to become world champions.
It is therefore a special match tonight as the two greatest footballing nations in terms of history play one another for a place in the final at a World Cup in Brazil.
And the German have every reason to be optimistic: they have played well if not spectacularly, pacing themselves with the tournament. They are confident and well prepared physically and tactically.
In the meantime pressure is growing on the Brazilians, who must also be feeling a bit of nerves having lost two of their best players for the semifinal: Neymar is out with his fractured vertebrae and Thiago Silva is out with a suspension. Neymar has been the creative player for the Brazilians while Thiago Silva has held the feeble defense together. It seems Dante will now play alongside David Luiz in central defense. Dante, from Bayern Munich, will know the Germans well, but the Germans will also know that while both Dante and David Luiz are great players, they sometimes have a tendency to make silly mistakes.
One mistake can be decisive.

Brazil has been criticized a lot for not playing "Samba" football. Many people have short memories. When did Brazil play the style that they became famous for last time? In my view 1986, with the last breath of the team that had delighted the world with a stunning team, if not a somewhat naive 4-2-2-2 lineup that the clever Italians knew how to handle in the now legendary 1982 match.
In 1994 when Brazil became world champions for the first time since 1970, they certainly did not play entertaining football in any way. Instead, they were defensive, with holding midfielder Dunga in a central position and depending on Romario's incredible scoring abilities.
In 2002 Brazil almost did not qualify, and midway through the tournament Scolari decided to substitute Emerson in the midfield with the more offensive Kleberson, who gave Brazil more offensive depth and fed balls to Ronaldo. It was offensive efficiency, well played, but still not the type of samba we connect Brazil with.
Scolari is a clever man. He knows that you cannot waltz your way to a title, but you need cynicism as well. And certainly against Colombia he showed that he can play tough as well. But of course, with the pressure they are under, Brazil cannot afford to throw everything into playing football that pleases the eye. This Brazil rather plays on getting the free kick balls, a solid defensive, and occasional burst of brilliant creativity. This is much more what many connect with the Germans of yester-years. And ironically, the Germans are perhaps playing a more offensive game, more reminiscent of Brazil in 2002, than Brazil itself!

As everything in the world (and most people seem to be ignorants of this), football evolves. Brazilian and German football have both evolved into something different than they were in 1970, 1982 or 2002. That is part of the fascination of football.

The Fantas-Tico warriors are out

Nobody expected Costa Rica to get this close to a semifinal. It took penalty kicks for the Dutch to defeat the Ticos, who held on to 0-0 with hard fight and commitment. No teams have fought their hearts out like the Ticos. If teams like Spain, England or even Argentina fought just a fraction of what the Ticos do, they would be title contenders.

That said, Netherlands deserved to be in the semifinal from a purely football perspective. While Arjen Robben's antics and diving may be disgusting, he creates a lot, and is proving one of the best of the tournament. And this has nothing to do with him being dislikeable. Many people do unfortunately not distinguish.

At one point Costa Rica only had the great Keylor Navas and luck to not get behind in the face of Dutch attacks. At the same time the Dutch attack was poor in the sense that they did not know the off- side rule (the Netherlands has never in their World Cup history had so many off-sides called). Also the defense looked quite ordinary in the face of the few Costa Rican attacks.

Louis Van Gaal is perhaps one of the tactical geniuses of the tournament; he is surely a genius compared to Alejandro Sabella, whose only tactical order is "pass it to Messi". That is why the Netherlands are huge favorites against Argentina. On the other hands the Dutch have shown defensive vulnerabilities which a great team could exploit. 

But could Messi do that? (and the reason I don't mention any of the other Argentina players is because they could only if they fought like Costa Ricans, but they seem totally unable to do that).

But Costa Rica is out. No matter what, this tournament will be remembered for Costa Rica. The World Champions of Spirit, Commitment and Sportsmanship. 

And that is the only real World Champion. 

Argentina in the semifinals

Argentina are in the semifinals after defeating Belgium 1-0 on an early goal by Gonzalo Higuain. Although Argentina played well the first half hour, second half saw them holding to the result, defending well against a rather toothless and disappointing Belgian side.

So Argentina did not impress, but have now made it the furthest they have made it in a World Cup since 1990. They will be seriously weakened though: Angel DiMaria went out with an injury and will be out for the remainder of the tournament. With Aguero out as well, Argentina will miss more pace. They already play very slow and players other than Messi are not keen to take on more responsibility.

I can still not get Argentina making it, but they have made it this far, and with this I only become more hopeful...

Day 23 of the World Cup: London, England

After a lovely day without football (there is a life!) in Paris, I took the famous train under the English channel to make it to London, England, to see fantastic friends.

Of course, since England was eliminated, there has been much less interest in the tournament, and there was a certain resignation, although the interest for the World Cup remains unabated in the country that, despite it all, remains the home of football.

I watched both quarterfinal matches in Brixton, a lively and diverse neighborhood in the lively and diverse city of London. 

Germany-France is a match between two sides that England would like to compare themselves to, but in the current state of the game, are actually quite inferior to. The clash between the two European sides was in many ways disappointing, considering the great matches previously seen between these two countries. But there was no doubt that the best side won, repeating what they had done to France in 1982 and 1986. With Mats Hummels back, it is not only the German defense that looks stronger, but certainly also the attack, with Hummels scoring the winning goal.

France has been a good team and will surely take a lot with them from Brazil, and will certainly be a team to watch for Euro 2016.

So it came down to Colombia-Brazil to decide who would face Germany.

There are many Colombians in Brixton, and the yellow shirt was seen a lot in the street. With my Colombian background I prepared with some Colombian beers and even an aguardiente before going to a the Local Brixton Come Together. It was a good mixed crowd of Brazilians, Colombians and other nationalities, all there to enjoy the football amid songs and friendly taunts.

Brazil played the best they have played in the tournament, and went ahead 1-0 after some dreadful defending by Colombia. Even though they tried, Colombia did not get to dominate midfield in the first half, just as they had done in previous matches. The second half started a bit later in Brixton as it started raining and the TV had to be taken inside. However, we did manage to see Colombia go forward more, but Brazil take a 2-0 lead with a fantastic 2-0 free-kick goal by David Luiz.

David Luiz is going the opposite way as I did these days as he leaves Chelsea to go to Paris St. Germain. I must admit I doubted whether he was worth it, but I take it back.

Colombia did everything to get back, and almost did it. James Rodriguez made it 2-1 on a penalty kick, and were denied a 2-2 goal by Mario Yepes in a somewhat strange situation, where an off side call was only given belatedly after a strange situation.

For their last pressure Colombia could have deserved an equalizer, but in the end Brazil won the match on a strong first half and solid defending. The referee was highly criticized by the Colombians (Colombians always need conspiratorial excuses for any defeat), and he was indeed very bad, but not decisive for the match. Indeed, in the worst attack of the match, where Juan Zuniga fractured Neymar's vertebrae, was not punished as severely as it should have been.

Neymar is out of the World Cup and that is a loss to all fans of great football out there.

A pity for the Colombians, but the semifinal between Brazil and Germany is the semifinal of legends, between the two greatest sides in World Cup history facing one another in what should be an epic match.  That said, with the few goals we have seen in the knock-out stages, it is perhaps more likely to end 0-0 and go to penalties.

I hope not.

In the end everyone had a great time in Brixton. So did I, and was happy to see a place where people of different nationalities can get together and enjoy a game where 22 men chase a leather ball in great spirit and friendship.

I am afraid this is rather the exception than the rule in most of the world.