After about five weeks of grueling football with fantastic goals, 171 goals in all, it was the Germans who emerged Champions of the 2014 FIFA World Cup hosted by Brazil. And it took 120 minutes of intense soccer action to decide this.
At the end there was no celebration for Lionel Messi and Argentina on Sunday, no party at the famed Estádio do Maracanã for Brazil’s biggest rival. Instead it was Germany, on a gorgeous goal from Mario Götze just minutes before the game would have gone to a shootout, that celebrated, with a 1-0 victory in extra time. The win made Germany the first European team to prevail in a World Cup in the Americas and gave the Germans their fourth title over all (and their first since 1990).
How much did Brazilian fans want to see Argentina lose? When Götze chested down a pass from André Schürrle and then lashed the ball into the side netting, the stadium, which was still filled with plenty of fans in Brazil’s yellow jerseys, erupted. Germany eliminated Brazil from the tournament with a 7-1 rout in the semifinals, but it did not matter; as long as any team but Argentina won, the home fans were pleased.
The Argentine players and fans, meanwhile, hung their heads. Messi is often praised as the best player in the world, but he has struggled to gain universal acclaim in Argentina, where he will forever be compared with Diego Maradona — who, of course, delivered a World Cup title in 1986. This was seen as Messi’s opportunity to cement his legacy, but along with most of his teammates, he was never quite sharp enough in what was surely the biggest game of his life.
While organizers worried about a repeat of last year’s Confederations Cup, a tournament marred by violent protests and demonstrations, the level of visible vitriol over the past month has been relatively low. Even after Brazil’s national team was embarrassed in the semifinal — and then lost again in the third-place game on Saturday — predictions of widespread tumult were never realized.
That does not mean there was not unrest. Hundreds of protesters gathered at their usual spot in the city center here on Sunday afternoon and marched through the streets in an anti-FIFA demonstration. They were met by a large cadre of Brazilian police officers, and there were instances of tear gas being used on protesters, as well as batons, according to reports. Protesters also complained that leaders of their group had been arrested earlier in the weekend, presumably as a way to mitigate larger demonstrations.
The city was also filled with traveling fans, many of them from Argentina. It was estimated that as many 100,000 Agentines traveled across the border — many on flights but a fair number on long car or bus trips, too — and the vast majority seemed to settle in Copacabana or other neighborhoods along the water. That most did not have tickets to the final was irrelevant; they were here to eat, drink, dance and, once kickoff finally arrived, watch the match among the masses.
One Argentine who was not in Brazil, however, was the country’s president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Kirchner declined an invitation from President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, citing a lingering illness and a desire to celebrate her grandson’s first birthday with her family. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany did make the trans-Atlantic trip, as did Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, which will host the World Cup in 2018.
The teams had met in two previous World Cup finals, one that was a thriller (Argentina’s 3-2 victory over West Germany in 1986) and one that is generally regarded as the worst final in the history of the tournament (West Germany’s slog to a 1-0 win in 1990), and Sunday’s game appeared more like the former from the start.
Both sides had injury issues — Argentina was without Ángel di María, and Germany replaced Sami Khedira just before kickoff because of a calf problem — but the speed of play was frantic all the same. Messi showed great speed in getting around Mats Hummels early to create a chance. A Gonzalo Higuaín shot somehow completely missed the net after Toni Kroos inexplicably headed the ball back toward his own goal, leaving Higuaín open from about 18 yards out.
As the ball rolled harmlessly wide, Higuaín stared, blankly, as his teammate Javier Mascherano grabbed his head in disbelief. Germany then had its own version of that reaction just before halftime when Benedikt Höwedes blasted a header off the goal post as Argentina’s goalkeeper, Sergio Romero, was flat-footed and helpless.
The first half also featured a familiar bit of controversy as for at least the third time in this tournament, a player who had clearly sustained a head injury was allowed to return to the field after what appeared to be, at best, a cursory examination.
In this case it was Christoph Kramer, a young German midfielder who was placed in the starting lineup at the last moment, after Khedira was hurt. About 20 minutes into the game, Kramer crumpled after taking a shoulder to the face from Ezequiel Garay while battling for the ball. Kramer was disoriented and obviously dazed, but he re-entered the game just moments after play resumed.
About 10 minutes later, however, Kramer was substituted as he was obviously still feeling the effects of the collision. Critics of FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, have been vocal about the organization’s lack of a comprehensive protocol for dealing with head injuries, and Kramer’s injury should further inflame the debate.
Kramer was not the only player to topple after a taking a blow to the head. Higuaín was felled when Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer charged out and leapt to punch away a high ball that Higuaín was chasing. Neuer raised his leg — a common move from goalkeepers — but lifted his knee into Higuaín’s face. Oddly, the referee called a foul on Higuaín, and like Kramer, he returned to the game with little delay.
That collision fit with a second half that was more rugged and tenser, particularly as Messi faded out of the action after a bad miss. Lucas Biglia, a midfielder, flicked a savvy pass through the German defense that brought Messi in on the left side of the penalty area, but Messi yanked his attempt at the far corner well wide, bringing a flood of derisive cheers from the Brazilian fans in the crowd. For all of Argentina’s forays upfield — and there were many — it did not record a shot on goal in the 90 minutes of regulation time.
Extra time was largely forgettable — as might have been expected because the players, who were in their seventh game of the tournament, were clearly exhausted — but Argentina had one more chance to regret: Rodrigo Palacio sneaked in behind Hummels but saw his chip float wide of the goal.
Germany then seized its moment with Götze’s superb finish in the 113th minute, which brought a fevered celebration from the German bench as the substitutes poured out onto the field with delight. Argentina had a few last-ditch rushes upfield but struggled to penetrate Neuer’s penalty area. Perhaps the best opportunity came just moments before the final whistle when Messi lined up a free kick from about 20 yards away.
The Argentine fans craned their necks, and Coach Alejandro Sabella crouched down in anticipation, but there was no magic. Messi’s shot flew over the net. He turned away in frustration while, up in the stands, the German fans and the Brazilians shouted with glee.
