Every four years, the world’s best soccer players play the most important tournament of their lives: the World Cup. During this summer, it was being played in the beautiful nation of Brazil. This tournament was packed with excitement, thrills, goals, and of course heartbreak.
Germany was seen as a strong favorite to win the tournament. They showed us that they were the real deal after defeating Portugal 4-0 behind a Thomas Muller hat trick. After salvaging a 2-2 draw against the always tough to beat nation of Ghana, the Germans clicked into gear and beat the US 1-0.
Entering the Knockout Stage, Germany narrowly beat a scrappy Algeria team and snagged a victory against a competitive France squad. In what many thought would be a close game, the Germans sealed their World Cup Final berth with a surprising 6-1 thrashing of Brazil.
With only Argentina standing in their way from lifting the coveted World Cup title, Die Mannschaft (The Team) would be running on all cylinders to achieve their fourth World Cup title. The Germans would finally breakthrough in the 113’ minute. Substitute Mario Gotze scored with a beautiful shot past Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero which would end up being the game changer, as Germany would go on to win 1-0.
The World Cup had a major impact on both the Brazilian National Team, in addition to the nation as a whole. In Brazil, football is more than just a sport; it’s a way of life. Every time the national team wins, it’s a victory for the people of Brazil. Winning gave them a sense of pride, so this defeat was a major blow to the country.
When asked how the World Cup loss would affect the people of Brazil, sophomore Kaley Ward of the women’s soccer team said, “I think that as a nation the people were more upset that so much money was spent on the tournament than on infrastructure and other internal issues.” Brazil spent millions of dollars building excess stadiums that will sit and rot like the Olympic stadiums of Beijing. FIFA stated a minimum of eight stadiums should be built for the tournament and Brazil ended up building 12. According to Fox News, the country spent 14 billion on preparation expenses.
First things first, Lionel Messi is still the best player in the world. Although Messi had a lackluster World Cup for our standards, he still played extremely well. Messi finished second in scoring with five goals, falling just one short to Colombian starlet James Rodriguez. Messi also had to deal with losing the second best player on the team in Angel Di Maria to injury and had world-class striker Sergio Aguero hampered by a nagging left leg injury.
There are also others that don’t believe he is worthy of that title. In order for him to even be considered in the argument, he will have to lead his nation to a World Cup title. Players who he is competing against in the argument are Maradona and Pele, each who have won the World Cup. Messi needs to win a World Cup title in order to be considered in the same sentence as Maradona and Pele. He will have another chance to do so in Russia at the 2018 World Cup.
Ed Kerner can be reached at edward.kerner@spartans.ut.edu