FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 – a review

FIFA produced absolute magic  this time round with an absolutely perfect blend of twists , turns ,  upsets , destructions , heartbreaks and triumph . On records , it was the best of modern era tournaments post the heroics of Maradona and Pele . It had enough drama and suspense to get soccer lovers across all barriers of age hooked to edge of their seats .

The curtains were raised with an questionable Brazil beating Croatia , via some excellent dives , aided with what can be actually termed “gullible” officiating , but the game was off races from there .

However , the focus of the groups remain the longstanding victory of USA over arch-rivals Ghana , courtesy an excellent header by John Brooks  , which sparked hopes of higher glories for USMNT and its fans . Another thrilling group G encounter saw eventual champions Germany thrash Portugal 4-0 , who were considered favorites  by some .

The groups also brought about fall of a dynasty , when  Spain had some of their poorest outings  , remarkably best being the destruction brought by Netherlands  , when Spain were thrashed 5-1 .

Iker Casillas had a forgettable outing .

The game also saw Arjen Robben enter records book as the fastest player ever , and Robin Van Persie presented himself as the literal version of a flying Dutchman .

Spain , who had been ruling the tournament since inception , were visibly slow  and predictable , and seemed just not good enough . Iker Casillas , who is a league of his own , when it comes to keeping , kept repeating mistakes , and so did the team management by fielding slow , old midfielders , over the youth of the team .

The tournament also saw early exit of world powers England , Italy and Portugal , shattering hopes of thousands of enthusiasts  and followers . The Germans on the other hand , did what they do best and moved forward from the groups relatively unharmed .

The knockouts marked the exit of USA , who bowed out to Belgium  , while Columbia moved forward with the brilliance of James Rodriguez . Entertaining , adrenaline gushing  games were usual characteristic  of each knockout encounter .

Neymar was taken off action after a harsh foul .

Quarter finals saw Columbia lose to Brazil , with some highly questionable off-side calls  , combined with horrible officiating throughout , which saw  Neymar almost get paralyzed , as the game turned into rugby using feet .Netherlands moved forward banking on  penalties . German beat France in an rather uninspiring manner  , and Argentina moved forward beating  Belgium .

The semi finals were the hub of the most action , though Argentina moved on with a dull match , courtesy penalties . The other game saw the worst return any host can ever receive when Germany scored a landslide of goals against hosts Brazil , virtually destroying them . They decimated upon the most extremes of what they could do to the hosts . The span between 23^rd and 29^th minute saw the Germans pile 4 scores , even after being up by one . It seemed as if the Brazilian defense never existed .

Mario Gotze exults after scoring the decider .

Even though the German attack momentarily switched off during the second half , they scored another couple to complete what can be termed as an absolute nightmare for the Brazilian fans .

The finals saw the best defense and attack , take upon each other , and what followed was a befitting final , though it threatened to result draw after repeated nil scores .It took the last few minutes of the second extra time period when Mario Gotze finally scored the decider  . Star Argentine forward Messi had a disappointing outing as the  results shattered Messi lovers  , to be marginally compensated by the golden ball .

In all , this world cup was one of the ages , and will be remembered back as a year when Germans ruled all .

Victor Germans lift the coveted trophy .

Now , as we wait for Russia to unfurl curtains come 2018 , we can only hope to get there sooner !!

-Abi.