2014 World Cup Final

Roger Hunt wrote:Messi wasn't anywhere near his best, so I can understand why people are disappointed. But as he proved all season, Messi not at his best>>>> pretty much anyone else.

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:He was vomiting again in the final, it could be related to that. Vomiting drains your energy and leaves you dehydrated.

blutgraetsche wrote:It's nonsense. The more people say stuff like that and the more Messi actually believes it, the worse he will get. It's actually pretty serious - only Fred ran less in this tournament. If Messi doesn't find that spark again soon, doesn't improve his fitness and starts playing for the team, instead of the team playing for him, he'll fade quickly like many South American players before him.

Effenberg wrote:

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:He was vomiting again in the final, it could be related to that. Vomiting drains your energy and leaves you dehydrated.

How have they not yet figured out why he has to vomit so frequently? It's not a big game thing either. He's done it during friendlies but not during most WC games.

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:

Effenberg wrote:

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:He was vomiting again in the final, it could be related to that. Vomiting drains your energy and leaves you dehydrated.

How have they not yet figured out why he has to vomit so frequently? It's not a big game thing either. He's done it during friendlies but not during most WC games.

I'm guessing it's due to anxiety, which means it is more a mental problem. This ties in with the doctors not being able to find a medical explanation the vomiting.

110% wrote:

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:

Effenberg wrote:

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:He was vomiting again in the final, it could be related to that. Vomiting drains your energy and leaves you dehydrated.

How have they not yet figured out why he has to vomit so frequently? It's not a big game thing either. He's done it during friendlies but not during most WC games.

I'm guessing it's due to anxiety, which means it is more a mental problem. This ties in with the doctors not being able to find a medical explanation the vomiting.

Mental fragility?      

Not being mean to messi, but I hope it's a real illness of some kind.

Murray wrote:

110% wrote:

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:

Effenberg wrote:

BoBo Vieri 32 wrote:He was vomiting again in the final, it could be related to that. Vomiting drains your energy and leaves you dehydrated.

How have they not yet figured out why he has to vomit so frequently? It's not a big game thing either. He's done it during friendlies but not during most WC games.

I'm guessing it's due to anxiety, which means it is more a mental problem. This ties in with the doctors not being able to find a medical explanation the vomiting.

Mental fragility?      

Not being mean to messi, but I hope it's a real illness of some kind.

Messi's vomiting could be caused by taking drugs. I don't mean that he might be taking something illegal, maybe he is just taking a load of painkillers.

blutgraetsche wrote:Pep's vitamin shakes? Should we be concerned about the Bayern contingent...?

blutgraetsche wrote:But why now? He started with the vomiting playing for Barcelona already a while ago. Why should he be anxious now? He has won everything on the club level, played dozens of high pressure games, been the focal point of his team for years. Why should the pressure be higher now and why should it get to him now? Doesn't make much sense.

blutgraetsche wrote:It's bad for the teeth though. He'll look like a bum hitting 40...

110% wrote:

blutgraetsche wrote:Robben would have been a deserving golden ball winner. Robben, Müller or James Rodriguez would have been the best choices.

While I don't really care about the award I don't think James Rodriguez is any more deserving than messi. If he was so good Colombia would have got further.

The fouling aside Brazil deserved to win the game against Colombia.  He had a certain freedom that robben, messi and neymar didn't have as they were more tightly marked and always had a couple of extra players nearby to double up. Rodriguez wasn't quite so good once he became the focus of Brazil's attention.

Jaime wrote:

Roger Hunt wrote:Messi wasn't anywhere near his best, so I can understand why people are disappointed. But as he proved all season, Messi not at his best>>>> pretty much anyone else.

When did he do this?

Roger Hunt wrote:

Jaime wrote:

Roger Hunt wrote:Messi wasn't anywhere near his best, so I can understand why people are disappointed. But as he proved all season, Messi not at his best>>>> pretty much anyone else.

When did he do this?

28 goals and 11 assists in La Liga...

Tactical trends of the 2014 World Cup

Posted by Michael Cox

Once upon a time, the World Cup featured genuine tactical innovations, with far-flung countries arriving at the tournament with something the rest of the world had never previously encountered.

These days, that simply doesn't happen -- there's too much knowledge about world football in general, and tactics have become homogenised. Now, the World Cup acts as a barometer of the dominant style of the moment. Here's what World Cup 2014 featured:

Aggressive goalkeepers

Arguably the main tactical talking point from the tournament was the extremely advanced sweeper-keeper role perfected by Manuel Neuer, most obvious throughout Germany's 2-1 extra-time victory over Algeria.

Neuer continually charged out of his goal and into wide areas to make tackles -- not just interceptions, but literally outfield tackles -- as Algeria continually attempted to break in behind the German defence. This was too extreme for Joachim Low, and the fact that the sluggish Per Mertesacker was dropped for the rest of the tournament was probably a recognition that Germany were relying on Neuer too much as an eleventh outfielder. Still, Neuer continued that approach in the final, wiping out Gonzalo Higuain in the left-back zone.

The vast majority of goalkeepers weren't as aggressive as Neuer, but many were extremely quick off their line. This was a crucial part of Tim Howard's superb display against Belgium: The saves weren't spectacular, but he shut down the angle excellently, so they didn't have to be.

In the same match there was another fine example: Thibaut Courtois' superb save from Clint Dempsey after the USA's well-worked free kick. Again, it looks like a simple block, but Courtois' quick reaction and tremendous acceleration was truly remarkable. Whatever happened to goalkeepers going in goal because they weren't mobile enough to play outfield?

Neuer's approach is an exaggerated example, but it's easy to imagine young goalkeepers across Germany -- and elsewhere -- becoming inspired by his proactive style.

Three-man defences dominate

This tournament was a fantastic advert for the three-man defence. By the end of the group stage, three-man defences had played eight matches against teams playing a back four, and remained unbeaten, with only two draws, both without a goal: Costa Rica against England, and Mexico against Brazil.

Recently, three-man defences have often been used for attacking reasons, but throughout this tournament, the three-man backlines were secure defensively. Costa Rica and Mexico played the system throughout, while Chile and the Netherlands switched between a back three and a back four according to the nature of the opposition.

It's highly unfortunate these sides found themselves on the same route to the final -- the Dutch beat Chile in the final group game, then eliminated Mexico and Costa Rica. All four sides can consider themselves unfortunate to be eliminated: the Netherlands, Chile and Costa Rica all lost on penalties, while Mexico trailed in the entire competition for less than two minutes, victims of a late turnaround against the Dutch.

Three-man defences aren't entirely uncommon in modern football, but it felt like opponents were entirely unprepared for the challenge. The best example was on the second day, with Mexico's 1-0 victory over Cameroon -- it should have been more a more resounding win, but for some poor offside decisions. Mexico wing-backs Miguel Layun and Paul Aguilar continually pushed back the Cameroon wingers, who were playing in a 4-3-3 system and therefore should have been supporting the central striker. Instead, they tracked back Layun and Aguilar all the way, to the point where Cameroon were effectively playing a back six, and unable to break forward.

That was one small example, but it summarised the problems with playing against wing-backs -- the most natural way to counter them is to play wing-backs yourself.

Classic strikers continue to struggle

It was only natural that Thomas Muller, that most unusual of forwards, was the obvious pick up front in everyone's team of the tournament. This wasn't a World Cup for strikers.

Muller played up front in the group stage, netting a hat trick against Portugal in Germany's first game, but he actually spent that match continually sprinting laterally to the flanks, making space for others to exploit. Of course, Muller eventually moved right to make way for Miroslav Klose, which helped the balance of the German side. But Klose wasn't a major factor in Germany's knockout stage success, and while he surpassed Ronaldo's all-time World Cup goal-scoring record, he still feels like a throwback -- if Neuer is the ultra-modern goalkeeper, Klose is the ultimate old-school striker.

Few other strikers shone. Gonzalo Higuain of Argentina had a poor tournament apart from one brilliant snapshot against Belgium, and wasted the final's best chance. The Netherlands' Robin van Persie was quiet by his usual standards, his superb header against Spain his most significant contribution. Brazil's Fred was terrible throughout.

Elsewhere, strikers were often exciting sides' weak link -- Colombia's Teo Gutierrez disappointed, as did Mexico's Oribe Peralta. There were flashes of brilliance from the likes of Joel Campbell, Enner Valencia, Josip Drmic, Georgios Samaras, Islam Slimani and Luis Suarez -- but only Campbell reached the quarterfinals, where he had his quietest game.

The tournament's best six attackers were Muller, James Rodriguez, Arjen Robben, Leo Messi, Neymar and Alexis Sanchez. None were classic strikers, and while there's an argument you still need a striker to bring the best out of these mobile, versatile attackers, these days they're rarely the star attraction.

Lots of crossing

Successful sides rarely base their approach entirely around crossing, but it remains a dangerous weapon when used sporadically, at the right moments. Throughout the competition, various sides had success by getting the ball wide and putting it into the mixer.

There was Italy's fine victory over England, where Antonio Candreva and Matteo Darmian continually combined to overload Leighton Baines down the right, or right-back Serge Aurier's double assist for two quick goals in the Ivory Coast's comeback against Japan. Left wing-back Daley Blind created two goals for the Dutch in their thrashing of Spain, while U.S. got most joy from their right, when Fabian Johnson charged forward from deep -- he was one of the competition's best full-backs.

There were also some excellent crosses from Algerian left-back Faouzi Ghoulam, plus both Costa Rican wing-backs Junior Diaz and Cristian Gamboa, and the energetic Greek pairing of Jose Holebas and Vasilis Torosidis.

Whereas tactical battles in 2010 were about the midfield numbers game, in this tournament the teams looked to shift the ball wide. Games were often about full-backs breaking forward to create overloads, but then leaving themselves exposed to the counter-attack. Switzerland's 5-2 defeat to France was a good example -- Ricardo Rodriguez and Stephan Lichtsteiner continually attacked, but then Mathieu Valbuena and Karim Benzema charged past them into space.

Even the final was about battles out wide -- both teams worked their right wing, with Philipp Lahm sprinting forward to combine with Muller, and Messi drawing wide to help Ezequiel Lavezzi. The tournament's winning goal came from the other flank, Mario Gotze slamming in Andre Schurrle's ball from the left, but it was fitting that the winner came from a cross.

That was the World Cup that was

Alas, despite our denials, the 2014 World Cup is over. Wasn't it splendid? To celebrate the entertainment the tournament treated us to, here are the biggest news stories, some strange incidents and the best of social media.

Spain's exit - June 18

Before the defending champions kicked off their campaign in Brazil, Spain captain Iker Casillas was one clean sheet away from breaking Walter Zenga's record of 517 minutes for a goalkeeper not conceding at a World Cup. Ninety minutes later, five goals had whistled past him against Netherlands. Any hopes of a return to form in their second match against Chile were emphatically snuffed as the other Roja beat them 2-0, dumping a squad containing seven players from last season's Champions League final out of the competition before their third group game.

Suarez bites Chiellini - June 24

All those watching Uruguay's Group G clash with Italy were united in disbelief in the 79th minute when Luis Suarez collided with Giorgio Chiellini. Both men went to ground -- one holding his teeth, the other his shoulder. FIFA came under pressure to act decisively regarding a player who had already served two bans for biting opponents, and so it did. The striker was suspended for nine international matches and "all football-related activity" for four months, making his 75 million pound move from Liverpool to Barcelona eerily low-key.

Costa Rica reach last eight - June 29

When the World Cup draw was made in December, no one gave Costa Rica a prayer as they were picked alongside three former world champions -- Uruguay, England and Italy. But the nation of just 4.8 million people shocked the world by topping Group D with two wins and a draw, and then went even further by beating Greece on penalties to set up a quarterfinal against the Netherlands. That proved a bridge too far, but Costa Rica's shootout defeat meant they exited the tournament with the best defensive record (just two goals conceded) and the only team other than Germany and the Dutch to not lose a match in open play in Brazil.

Neymar injury - July 4

Brazil's hopes of winning the World Cup on home soil were all but extinguished when their star player and talisman was floored late in the host nation's 2-1 quarterfinal win over Colombia. In real terms, a clumsy knee to the back from Juan Camilo Zuniga fractured Neymar's third vertebra in the lumbar region, but the emotional impact shook the entire squad. David Luiz and Julio Cesar openly shed tears as they held up Neymar's shirt in tribute ahead of their semifinal against Germany, which they went on to lose 7-1 in a historic humbling by the eventual champions.

Klose record - July 8

Lazio striker Klose had already entered the record books going into Germany's clash against Brazil -- his goal against Ghana in the group stage saw him beat Gerd Muller to claim Germany's World Cup goal record, and he became the first player to play in four semifinals when he started against the hosts. But with his tap-in to put Germany up 2-0 in Belo Horizonte -- sparking a deluge of four goals in just six minutes -- he overtook Selecao legend Ronaldo's all-time record of 15 finals goals.

Oddballs

Physio's tournament ended by injury - June 14



England's chief medic Gary Lewin was sent home from the World Cup after suffering a fracture and dislocation of his ankle while celebrating Daniel Sturridge's first-half equaliser in their opening 2-1 loss against Italy. Lewin left the field on a stretcher after a short break in play following what arguably turned out to be the high point of England's campaign.

England boss Roy Hodgson said after the match: "That was a very sad moment for us. In celebrating the goal he jumped up, landed on a water bottle and dislocated his ankle. It was very painful. He was taken to hospital. The doctor set it, put it back in at the side of the field, but it's the end of the World Cup for Gary."

Chile fans - June 18

The clamour to enter the Maracana to see Chile's round-of-16 clash with Brazil was so intense that about 100 ticketless Chile supporters stormed through the stadium's media centre to try to get in to see the match.

ESPN FC correspondent Miguel Delaney tweeted from the besieged room: "Loads of Chilean fans have just stormed the media centre, running around. A makeshift wall has been knocked down. Oh. A few people seem to have got hurt, more seriously, including a middle-aged fan coming to the stairs beside us. It wasn't a protest. It was fans without tickets, who were already gathering outside gates five hours before kickoff."

Following the incident, 87 Chile supporters were arrested.

Ghana suitcases - June 25

The Ghanaian government had to fly over briefcases containing about $3 million in cash to Brazil to settle a row over bonuses on the eve of the team's decisive Group G match against Portugal. A Ghana FA statement said that the nation's president, John Dramani Mahama, "waded into the matter after agitation from the Black Stars players" in order to bring "some assurance" to the squad. Despite the money being delievered, two Ghana players were sent home on the morning of the match for disciplinary reasons. Ghana lost the match 2-1, with defender John Boye -- who was pictured kissing his share of the cash the night before the game -- scoring an own goal that helped see his country finish at the bottom of their group.

Capello 'a greedy thief' - July 3

Russia's exit at the group stage was so uninspiring that a Kremlin politician called for coach Fabio Capello -- the highest-paid boss at the World Cup -- to be summoned in front of the government and justify his 6 million euro salary.

"We need to look into his work and ask him to resign," Vladimir Zhirinovsky said. "But he's greedy, so of course he won't. It's pretty good to get [millions] for doing nothing. The team lost and it doesn't affect his pay in any way. Thief!

"Even the way he looks makes it hard to like him. He looks like a schoolteacher."

Kramer forgot it was the final - July 17

Germany midfielder Christoph Kramer was so dazed after suffering a blow to the head during the World Cup final that he had to ask the referee what match he was playing.

Nicola Rizzoli said: "Shortly after he'd been struck by [Ezequiel] Garay, Kramer came to me, asking, 'Ref, is this the final?'

"I thought he was joking so I asked him to repeat the question, and he said: 'I need to know if this is really the final.'

"After I said 'yes,' he was a bit stunned and said: 'Thanks, that's important to know.'

"I informed [German teammate Bastian] Schweinsteiger and they replaced Kramer."

Social

Italy striker Mario Balotelli may have scored the winner against England, but he was prepared to make amends in his next game -- for a price.

Rihanna's relentless World Cup coverage on Twitter culminated in her fraternising with Germany's World Cup winners while holding the trophy.



Colombia's James Rodriguez landed the Golden Boot with six goals. The omens was there when a six-legged monster landed on his arm during the game against Brazil.



The football world was left stunned by Brazil's mauling in their semifinal against Germany -- with several star players unable to contain their shock as their fellow pros were humbled.







2014 was the year that "#Persieing" became a thing...



... and when Tim Howard's presidential campaign began.