With the World Cup in it's final weekend, it's time to end a shocking Cup, which saw the defending champions and arguably most dominant international football team ever, Spain, bow out after just two matches, and the greatest loss ever for Brasil while hosting. This is it: the beginning of the end.
We begin with Holland, a team who came in seeming down on their luck. The Oranje came so close to a victory in South Africa, but seemed to come to Brasil more focused than ever. In one of the most dominant group stage displays ever, they dominated what seemed on the surface to be a fairly tough group, knocking out La Roja and sending Chile to a tough matchup with Brasil. But it took a late comeback from the Oranje just to defeat Mexico in the round of 16, as another of Van Gaal's genius moves came to fruition as substitute Klas-Jan Huntelaar tucked away a penalty to win it. Tim Krul became a savior off the bench as well, taking the mental game as his route to victory in stopping the Cinderella's of the tournament, Costa Rica. In one of the most action-less semifinals of all time, Lionel Messi and Argentina proved that strategy can't always pay off, and that sometimes talent will come to the fore. All in all, Holland were the evil geniuses of the tournament, from Arjen Robben's dives to the incredible descisions of Van Gaal, but a lack of talent eventually cost them for redemption in the final.
Brasil had their worst showing ever in front of their home fans, lost an appeal with FIFA over a suspension, had a star taken out by an unlikely foe, needed penalties to defeat Chile, and now have pages of amusing memes made at their demise. Did Brasil do anything right? From start to finish, Brasil showed both age AND lack of experience. One of the most capped players in their history, Ronaldinho, did absolutely nothing. An aging striker, Fred, took one of the biggest mental beatings known to man. David Luiz joined PSG domestically, but fell apart on the biggest stage without Thiago Silva. Scolari didn't seem to make a single strategic move, and just watched the Germans run right over the top of his men. Oh yeah, and Neymar suffered a crushing injury that put his health into question. I think it's time to move on.
The Germans have made four straight semifinals now, but have never taken that big step to win it all. This has to be their year. Leaders like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phillip Lahm, and all-time goal scoring leader Miroslav Klose are all on the wrong side of 30. They may not have another World Cup in them, so this has to be the run they've been working towards. The Germans, let's face it, are stacked. Manuel Neuer leads one of the greatest defensive cores ever seen in football, with the aformentioned Lahm, Bendict Howedes, Jerome Boateng, and Mats Hummels. Midfield has always been a strength, with Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil, and Sami Khedira. Other than Klose, there isn't much attacking wise, but when you have the player with the most goals in tournament history, depth isn't a huge issue. Toni Kroos and Andre Schurrle continue the youth movement for Germany. This team is historically good on paper, but they'll need to prove the win against Brasil wasn't a fluke and that they are finally ready to take the last step.
Argentina have attacking power to die for. Just with strikers, they have three of the best in the world, in Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez. Angel Di Maria is out injured, but there is just so much depth that he won't really be missed. However, the Argentines have always had defensive issues, and the reason they made this far has to be attributed to their defense finally stepping it up. Veterans such as Javier Mascherano and Diego Lugano are joined by youngsters like the quickly-rising Marcus Rojo. Sergio Romero is an unsteady keeper at best, but he really proved himself with some huge saves against Holland in the penalty shootout. Even with the defensive improvements, Argentina may once again have to rely on the superstar Messi to breath life into their attack from the opening whistle and not let up until the final whistle.
This should be a very interesting final. I think that Germany will most likely win, but the Argentines have a history of finding magic in important games. Let's just say that Sunday will be an important day for all football fans.
We begin with Holland, a team who came in seeming down on their luck. The Oranje came so close to a victory in South Africa, but seemed to come to Brasil more focused than ever. In one of the most dominant group stage displays ever, they dominated what seemed on the surface to be a fairly tough group, knocking out La Roja and sending Chile to a tough matchup with Brasil. But it took a late comeback from the Oranje just to defeat Mexico in the round of 16, as another of Van Gaal's genius moves came to fruition as substitute Klas-Jan Huntelaar tucked away a penalty to win it. Tim Krul became a savior off the bench as well, taking the mental game as his route to victory in stopping the Cinderella's of the tournament, Costa Rica. In one of the most action-less semifinals of all time, Lionel Messi and Argentina proved that strategy can't always pay off, and that sometimes talent will come to the fore. All in all, Holland were the evil geniuses of the tournament, from Arjen Robben's dives to the incredible descisions of Van Gaal, but a lack of talent eventually cost them for redemption in the final.
Brasil had their worst showing ever in front of their home fans, lost an appeal with FIFA over a suspension, had a star taken out by an unlikely foe, needed penalties to defeat Chile, and now have pages of amusing memes made at their demise. Did Brasil do anything right? From start to finish, Brasil showed both age AND lack of experience. One of the most capped players in their history, Ronaldinho, did absolutely nothing. An aging striker, Fred, took one of the biggest mental beatings known to man. David Luiz joined PSG domestically, but fell apart on the biggest stage without Thiago Silva. Scolari didn't seem to make a single strategic move, and just watched the Germans run right over the top of his men. Oh yeah, and Neymar suffered a crushing injury that put his health into question. I think it's time to move on.
The Germans have made four straight semifinals now, but have never taken that big step to win it all. This has to be their year. Leaders like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phillip Lahm, and all-time goal scoring leader Miroslav Klose are all on the wrong side of 30. They may not have another World Cup in them, so this has to be the run they've been working towards. The Germans, let's face it, are stacked. Manuel Neuer leads one of the greatest defensive cores ever seen in football, with the aformentioned Lahm, Bendict Howedes, Jerome Boateng, and Mats Hummels. Midfield has always been a strength, with Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil, and Sami Khedira. Other than Klose, there isn't much attacking wise, but when you have the player with the most goals in tournament history, depth isn't a huge issue. Toni Kroos and Andre Schurrle continue the youth movement for Germany. This team is historically good on paper, but they'll need to prove the win against Brasil wasn't a fluke and that they are finally ready to take the last step.
Argentina have attacking power to die for. Just with strikers, they have three of the best in the world, in Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez. Angel Di Maria is out injured, but there is just so much depth that he won't really be missed. However, the Argentines have always had defensive issues, and the reason they made this far has to be attributed to their defense finally stepping it up. Veterans such as Javier Mascherano and Diego Lugano are joined by youngsters like the quickly-rising Marcus Rojo. Sergio Romero is an unsteady keeper at best, but he really proved himself with some huge saves against Holland in the penalty shootout. Even with the defensive improvements, Argentina may once again have to rely on the superstar Messi to breath life into their attack from the opening whistle and not let up until the final whistle.
This should be a very interesting final. I think that Germany will most likely win, but the Argentines have a history of finding magic in important games. Let's just say that Sunday will be an important day for all football fans.
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