Four stars: Germany wins the best World Cup in the modern era

Photo: FIFA

Germany won the World Cup today with a score line that did justice to the teams and the tournament they played. Germany was dominant throughout Brazil 2014, including the most humiliating defeat of a football Titan ever recorded. Seven goals against Brazil, the host nation. Argentina were uncharacteristically defensive but had brilliant moments through Lionel Messi.

Argentina put up a fight and, at times, controlled the game and could have won the Cup if the ball had rolled the right direction. Messi was masterful when he was unmarked, a shadow of himself when three defenders were upon him. But he still got them to the final, and for that he deserved the Golden Ball.

Mario Gotze scored and saved us from the randomness and cruelty of penalty kicks. It was the one play where Argentina's defenders were out of position, and the German machine pounced and delivered.

We say goodbye to the best World Cup in generations. We salute the dreamers in Costa Rica, Algeria, Colombia. We will remember the fighters in Chile, Mexico, USA, Greece. We wish redemption for the fallen in Spain, Italy, England, Brazil, Portugal and Ghana.

We loved so many moments in this World Cup. From Robin Van Persie's amazing header, to the wonders of James Rodriguez, to the record-breaking number of saves by Tim Howard. There were more goals in the group stage than any other tournament since the number of competing teams went from 24 to 32. There was penalty kick drama, again, and favorites went home and tears flowed in excitement and despair.

There was a bite to the game, pun intended. From Luis Suarez's indiscretions to Arjen Robben's simulation versus Mexico. There were injuries too, like Altidore's early in the first game against Ghana and Neymar's unfortunate departure in the quarterfinal versus Colombia.

We cheered today perhaps for the game alone, perhaps for our favorite team. We forgot a nation's transgressions of the past, fallacies of the present, uncertainties of their future. But, for two and a half hours today, one billion people sat together in their homes, stood clapping at their watch parties, put down their weapons of war, and enjoyed the beautiful game. 

The World Cup is a time machine. Brazil 2014 is now a World Cup of memories that will forever latch onto our psyche. Be it Brazil's fall from grace or Julian Green's goal. But it also gives us glimpses of the future through the magic of James, the speed of Yedlin, the wonders of Neymar and the vision of Gotze.

Today is also the start of Russia 2018. When each of our teams went home, be it at the end of qualifying or the moment of elimination, plans were set in motion for the next cycle. The World Cup is the engine of the sport that drives the passions of billions.

Costa Rica and why Brazil 2014 was Concacaf's World Cup

Photo: Getty Images

We said goodbye to the Ticos via the penalty shootout versus the Netherlands yesterday. But their historic run, coupled with strong performances by USA and Mexico made one thing clear: this was Concacaf's tournament.

True, no team from Concacaf has ever made it to the semifinals, but it's not for lack of trying or quality. Indeed, the world should no longer think of Mexico as the only quality side north of Colombia. Not when quality teams like Italy, England, Croatia and Portugal have gone home courtesy of North and Central Americans teams.

Yesterday marked the fourth occasion that a team from Concacaf made it to the quarterfinals. Before it was Mexico in 1970 and 1986 (both hosted in Mexico) and USA in 2002. However, the Ticos had the hardest road of all: they won the "Champions Group": Italy, England and Uruguay. They defeated, via penalties, the 2004 Euro Champions Greece. Further, they got scored on only twice!

Concacaf also boasts the world's best goalkeepers: Ochoa, Navas and Tim Howard. In recent years there has been an increasing trend in Concacaf players transferring and succeeding in Europe: i.e. Javier Hernandez (Mexico), Clint Dempsey (USA) and Bryan Ruiz (Costa Rica). In doing so, these countries have advanced their knowledge of the game and this has trickled down to players in domestic leagues.

Concacaf's exploits have surpassed Africa's. While quality sides remain in Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast, their tactics and defense have yet to fully exploit the incredible talent of attackers like Ayew (Ghana), Moses (Nigeria), or Gervinho (Ivory Coast). 

To date, the only non-UEFA or CONMEBOL team to qualify for a semifinal is South Korea (2002), when they co-hosted the World Cup with Japan. And, truthfully, were Mexico to host the World Cup, I would bet on them winning it all. They already have the talent. The same cannot be said for Team USA, not yet. But come 2026, if the tournament is hosted in America, we might have the talent to make a run for it.

Adios España 2014: End of a Generation

It was halftime in the Chile - Spain match and the score was 2-0. But it wasn't Spain's comeback from a humiliating loss to Holland last Friday. Instead, Chile was on top and it was further proof that this Spanish team would not repeat as world champions.

If Spain's 5-1 loss to Netherlands was a wake up call then the loss to Chile suggests a generational change is needed. 16 out of the 23 called in to Brazil by Vicente del Bosque were part of the 2010 World Cup winning squad. The starting eleven and tactics varied little between games and the tiki taka no longer dazzled, surprised, or was efficient.

For Casillas, today's game was a comedy of errors that scarcely does the storied goalkeeper justice. This wasn't how he wanted to be remembered, nor will it, in the long run. Casillas was at fault in at least one of Holland's goals and certainly for Chile's second. But del Bosque didn't have his new first-choice, Victor due to injury and Casillas got the call because of his years of experience.

It wasn't only Casillas that faltered. Xabi Alonso was clumsy in his decisions and players like Iniesta, David Silva, and Busquets were never quite in sync. Their game was off. It may have been credit to great marking by Chile, but also the time these players have been together. Many of these players are in teams like Barcelona and Real and Atlético Madrid, whose season just ended. Fatigue? 

Maybe a fatigue of style and desire. Not of desiring the cup itself but maybe complacency since they were, until this point, the best in the world. It's true that they repeated in the Euro two years ago but the World Cup is a different tournament with more playing styles. Further, in today's global game, the most studied game is the Spanish style, given its impressive track record both internationally and at club level.

Perhaps the best way to view today's game is as a goodbye to a generation. They let us know they have reached the top and are ready for a new stock of Spanish players. Individuals like Juan Mata, for example. 

So we say goodbye to Xavi, to Casillas, to Puyol and David Villa, to the tiki taka and the joy they brought to the world with a whole new and exciting style of play. Thank you, Spain. May your new generation bring us great goals and memorable games.

Van Persie: One of the best goals ever scored in the World Cup

Photo credit: ESPN

What a great goal by Robin Van Persie yesterday. Few goals deserve further analysis since few goals are as impressive as the one scored yesterday. So let's look at what happened

First, Spain was actually holding a fairly good line, trying to work the offsie by maintaining a pretty straight line. This is what makes it such a good goal since van Persie had to work for it. 

Daley Blind takes part of the credit for his incredible center. He lobs the ball in nearly from the half line, as can be seen in the graphic below. It's a fairly blind center, hoping that an attacker can cradle the ball and create a chance.

The bulk of the credit goes to Van Persie. He looks up at the ball, runs diagonally with his eyes on the ball into the center of the 18 yard box, around 17 yards. He is not looking at Casillas, however, which makes the play that much more interesting. His header lobs the ball over Casillas with just enough curve to get it over the Real Madrid goalkeeper and below the cross bar. Pure class. The truth is few goals in past World Cups are better than this one.

Brazil's undeserved penalty is a call for use of video replay

Photo credit: Reuters

Brazil defeated Croatia yesterday in the opening game of the World Cup by the score of 3-1. The go-ahead goal however, came due to a controversial penalty kick.

The goal came in the 79th minute, just in time to give Brazil the psychological bump it needed to bring the crowd into the game. However, how this PK came is debatable. In fact, it is clear from the replays that Fred wasn't touched, at least not ith enough force to pull him down.

This latest lack of fairness in a major soccer match has called, once again, for action from FIFA. But will they ever get this to happen? The goal line technology that is finally being employed took more than a decade to implement, even though the capability has been around for other sports, such as hockey, for much longer.

There are the usual arguments. Referees are part of the game and human error is a tradition, of sorts. This has been Michel Platini's assertion, for example. And yet, as the game gets a further hold of the North American sports scene, it is likely that more pressure will be placed on FIFA to act.

The way that the Mexico and Spain games went also add credence to the argument that at least one replay should be allowed per team per game. A couple more minutes per game is something most soccer lovers can live with. Giovanni dos Santos had a goal called back without a clear reason and Spain's lone goal versus The Netherlands came through another questionable penalty. Clearly, goal line tech is a great start, but it's still not enough to make the beautiful game also a fair game.