Terrific World Cup That Swept Aside The Doubts
Updated: 11:40pm UK, Sunday 13 July 2014
By Nick Powell, Sports Editor
It was entirely appropriate that a competition where predictions became impossible should be settled in extra-time by a German who came on as substitute for the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer.
After a gripping but goalless opening 90 minutes, Mario Gotze, replacement for Miroslav Klose, beat Argentina with a sublime piece of skill befitting what we have seen this past month.
For sustained team excellence throughout, Germany are worthy champions.
It was unquestionably a terrific tournament.
Best ever? Too subjective. One of the best, certainly. 1970 and 1998, to name but two, gave us plenty to enjoy.
But football has changed since then, and World Cups too.
Fitter, faster, stronger players. Bigger tournaments. More countries, for heaven's sake, and more finalists (after an expansion to 32 countries in 1998).
One argument against that has been exploded this past month in Brazil, namely that too many weak teams would feature.
Costa Rica, Algeria? Both reached the last 16, where the former won again and the latter took Germany to extra-time.
The competition's compelling nature proved enough to quell most of the Brazilian protests about its cost, and help us generally forget the questions about FIFA's competence and propriety.
But match-fixing allegations surrounding Cameroon were an in-tournament reminder of football's seamy side, or more accurately of the sport's attractiveness to criminals seeking a fast illegal million bucks or a money laundry.
Luis Suarez snaffled himself more column inches through his incisors than his prodigious talent or his noteworthy comeback from knee surgery to blast England out of the World Cup.
Ah yes, England ... no, let's move on, as they might yet successfully do themselves if Roy Hodgson can get them playing consistently as they did for long periods against Italy.
FIFA acted quickly and strongly against Suarez, less so against the brutality which many teams realised they could get away with - not least Brazil, who themselves ironically lost poster boy Neymar to a crude knee in the back.
That must be sorted by Russia 2018 - always assuming investigator Michael Garcia has not found reasons to switch the venue (unlikely).
Which brings us to Qatar 2022, and a welter of unanswered questions guaranteed to keep journalists busy and lawyers rich.
And to Teflon-coated FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
Like the poor, always with us, and set on asking in 2015 for another four-year term to stay as football's overload until he's 83.
The politics are on the doorstep.
But it's acceptable for now to put our fingers in our ears, draw the curtains, and replay in our minds (or on video) the sporting delights served up this past four weeks by unheralded talents like Colombia forward James Rodriguez and Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas, and acknowledged superstars like Neymar, Dutch wizard Arjen Robben.
Not to mention the wonderfully gifted Argentinian Lionel Messi, who fell one step short of football's ultimate prize.
His team's fans ended the night in tears.
Only four more years ....
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