It seems there's almost a unilateral view that Germany deserved to win the World Cup, and I for one am not going to say any different. A quick analysis of the last four suggests that the Germans were the best option, and most deserved winners. After the performance against Brazil, it was not a forgone conclusion that Argentina would be a walkover. The Dutch lost their semi-final to Argentina on penalties, so yes, it was close. But in some ways it was nice to watch the final without Robben flinging himself all over the place, with a grimace as melodramatic as the arm movements.
The Argentinians should have taken their chances, and should have beaten Germany. Yet, the reliable Germans managed to escape punishment, and make it to extra time. Were they lucky? Perhaps, although overall, I cannot fathom how Mascherano didn't get his second yellow card and get sent off. Neither can I understand how Aguero was allowed to play any further part in the game after blatantly hitting Schweinsteiger in the face. These travesties were equaled by that of Lionel Messi, whose under-whelming performance proved beyond doubt that he's not really top class on a world stage. Amazing then that he managed to get the Golden Ball. This "farce of an award" highlights the poor side of things, when overall, the World Cup 2014 has been a good competition. No way on earth, let alone in South America, did Messi do enough to win that lump of a trophy. Of the Golden Glove, more in a moment.
I am, perhaps like most in the UK, rather glad that Argentina didn't manage to win. There is not a lot to be commended about the attitude, and the play is only better when Messi decides to wake up and spend 5 minutes per match doing something really good. Otherwise, there's not a lot going on. Mascherano got lots of praise for his lunging tackles. Yes, some are timely and important; but others are completely fucking horrendous and worthy of a card. The rest, including Aguero, have been rather ordinarily. Meanwhile, the German machine has functioned as expected.
Schweinsteiger was simply outstanding, and the man-of-the-match without doubt. The pleasure I got from seeing the ball go into the Argentinian net with seven minutes to go was immense. However, I ought not to ignore the massively contentious incident involving Neuer.
In the first half, I got agitated over the above action by Romero, the Argentinian goalkeeper. This style of catching the ball is outrageously dangerous, and the referee should have awarded an indirect free kick without question, and shown a Yellow Card to Romero. The uselessness of the referee in this respect was to return much later in the game, when Neuer decided to risk someone else's health, through the use of a knee.
It is beyond any doubt that Neuer's use of his knee, travelling at 20mph, was dangerous as fuck! The fact that he got the ball with his fist is no defence for, at the same time, managing to almost kill the Argentinian with his fucking knee. In any other part of the field, a raised foot is dealt with quickly and easily, in fact so fucking readily that you'd suspect officials were worried about a rise in goosestepping. Jumping with a raised boot and with studs showing was sinful in Romero's case. Luckily the German player was not in direct line, or had the time, sense and luck to avoid the foot. Unfortunately Gonzalo Higuain was looking at the ball and not the German knee aimed at his head. Neuer's jump with a raised knee was quite simply a Red Card offence that went completely unpunished! In fact, the referee was a complete wanker, and awarded a free kick to Germany! This awful example of the referee "turning a blind eye" to a dangerous assault occurred shortly before Neuer was gived a stupid-looking trophy to mark his being the keeper of the tournament. A shame that Ochoa of Mexico or Keylor Navas of Costa Rica did not win.
Overall, the officiating was unsatisfactory. Were things 'evened up' over the course of 120 minutes? Probably, because every man in blue seems to want to assault Bastian Schweinsteiger, and it's a wonder he made it through the game, let alone avoided the urge to deck an Argie.
Yes, the right team won the World Cup (although I have great sympathy for Costa Rica) and we can all now move on. The best inspiration came courtesy of the USA, whose performances, determination and never-die attitude will serve them well as a springboard for future tournaments. Meanwhile, despite a slightly annoying Neuer incident, we shall marvel that neither Brazil nor Argentina managed to win.
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