Can Leo Messi lead the Albicelestes to victory against the extraordinary organization and tactical finesse of Die Mannschaft?
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by Randinho| 262 Comments
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Can Leo Messi lead the Albicelestes to victory against the extraordinary organization and tactical finesse of Die Mannschaft?
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HumboldtBlue
Thanks so much, Randinho, this has been wonderful again. Where the hell has the last month gone?
Randinho
Sorry for the delay folks. This post also missed the schedule.
raven
Randinho, thanks so much for hosting this! What will the next event of worth that you might be involved with?
HumboldtBlue
@raven: Better be European championships
Jane2
Randinho, thanks for the stellar coverage. I’m rooting for Argentina, but don’t hate Germany, so it’ll be a good game either way.
Amir Khalid
@Randinho:
Well, you made it before the kickoff, so it’s cool.
A bit of divine caprice to start the World Cup final: Sami Khedira has picked a twinge in his calf during the warmup. Christoph Kramer of Borussia Moenchengladbach is on for him. This may or may not matter to the final result, but a bit of uncertainty always adds to the fun, nicht wahr?
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
Germany 3-0 Argentina
Valdivia
@Randinho: thank you for this! Been so fun.
Hope Germany win. Though I hope most for a good game.
Randinho
@HumboldtBlue: Women’s World Cup next year and maybe Copa America. Thanks for the kind words to all.
MikeJ
Don’t forget the Sounders, home of Dempsey and Yedlin, play Portland at 7. The Portland game is always the biggest of the year, and with two players just back from heroics at the world cup, the Clink is going to be rockin’.
Valdivia
Hoping for a good game most of all!
JCJ
@HumboldtBlue:
I agree. This month has flown by! I have spent many late afternoons camping in front of the TV and then later wondering why it is already evening.
Corner Stone
@HumboldtBlue:
Can you imagine having the money to visit Brazil for this month, and enjoy the WC?
A friend of mine spent a week in Brazil while the WC was going on. Stayed in a hostel in Rio for $125 a night for some portion of the trip.
Valdivia
Sorry for the repeat comment. Kept saying it couldn’t post.
I’m really cheering for Germany
Violet
@Randinho: Thanks for hosting this, Randinho! It’s been tons of fun.
Betty Cracker
Deutschland (not über alles, but for the win)!
HumboldtBlue
@JCJ: That first weekend and the following week, three games a day and some outstanding and entertaining football.
raven
@Corner Stone: My friend is Colombian and her brother sold his company to Samsung. He took his family to Brazil and went to the Colombia and US games. Who knows what that cost?
Violet
@Valdivia: Me too. So far it’s good!
HumboldtBlue
Argentina hasn’t even thought about crossing midfield unless it’s a counter
Alex S.
Come on, Germany!
Looking like a tactically excellent game so far.
Corner Stone
I like these blues ARG is wearing.
Mike E
ARG so far weathering the onslaught then showing a lively counter…and, dare I say, swagger.
Valdivia
@Violet:
Yes! Come on Deutschland!
Corner Stone
Lights out.
HumboldtBlue
@Corner Stone: There are some great stories about folks who have made a month of it.
Randy Paul aka Randinho
@raven: A lot less if they got Brazil Air Passes.
Corner Stone
Someone put a hand on that guy. He has no clue where he is right now.
burnspbesq
Owww. Kramer got his bell well and truly rung.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
So, a blind side shoulder to the head isn’t a card in this game?
Corner Stone
@Randy Paul aka Randinho: My buddy said he couldn’t find any place to eat that didn’t cost $40+ for just normal meal.
Is that anywhere in the ballpark of what you’d expect? Or did he just get WC tourist trapped?
MikeJ
Rats. Really wanted that Argentina goal.
Corner Stone
Missed that by 4 feet.
Mike E
Shank left.
raven
@Randy Paul aka Randinho: He went to South Africa for the last one and got a lip infection blowing the vuvezuela!
burnspbesq
Higuain is going to have nightmares about that miss for a long time.
Randy Paul aka Randinho
My biggest criticism of Higuaín is that he needs excellent service in front of the goal. I guess even that won’t work for him.
HumboldtBlue
@Corner Stone: No way, look far too much like Italy and nobody wants to see that.
Starfish
What will the pope think of this?
burnspbesq
Mascherano has to have the match of his life in order for Argentina to have a chance.
Alex S.
Germany still in the driver’s seat, because Argentina allow them to. They certainly trust their defense and wait for a Germany’s mistakes.
dmbeaster
Is it just me or is the ABC television feed just crap. Blurred like they are using 60s technology. I dont know where the fault may actually lie, but it is hard to believe the video quality is so poor. I have FIOS and have watched many games in the tournament — none with this crappy picture.
raven
@dmbeaster: Fine here.
Randy Paul aka Randinho
@Corner Stone: it depends. If he went to a regular restaurant, yeah, but Brazil is filled with self-service restaurants where you can get a good meal at a buffet for about US $10-12.
The only city I was in at all for the WC was Belo Horizonte for a long weekend and (Argentina v Iran took place while I was there) and ate at a great self-service buffet for less than ten dollars. The key is to eat where the locals eat.
Corner Stone
@HumboldtBlue: I think they’re pretty.
I’m not a fan of boring white kit.
Violet
@Starfish: I love that photochop. Hilarious.
Mike E
Asst ref wakes up.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@dmbeaster:
I wonder if that isn’t the cameras at the Maracana. That wouldn’t be on ABC.
mike with a mic
I can’t find a good US live stream that isn’t behind a paywall… is there one or am I going to have to proxy this thing.
Corner Stone
Nope!
raven
dang
Corner Stone
That was a gorgeous non-goal though.
Mike E
@Randy Paul aka Randinho: Heh, what you said.
HumboldtBlue
@mike with a mic: ESPN 3 has a great stream watched the entire tourney with it
burnspbesq
Fuck, Higuain. You couldn’t hold that run for half a second?
Corner Stone
God dammit, it was obvious Kramer was torched. He absolutely should have never been allowed back on.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Only about three feet offsides to negate that goal.
Amir Khalid
I love this kind of football match, where you have absolutely no idea who is going to score first, and whether it’s going to be from luck or skill. The run of play does seem to be going Germany’s way, but that can be so deceptive …
HumboldtBlue
@Corner Stone: What a pass
JCJ
Whew!
Alex S.
@Amir Khalid:
Indeed, Germany seems to have more of the game, but Argentina has had the better chances. I think Argentina is very happy to do nothing unless a german mistake makes it easy for them. And it seems to me that they are wearing Germany down.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Corner Stone: FIFA has no concussion protocols. Mascherano got knocked out during the semi and never came off.
Tony J
Oooh, now that could have been a knee popper. Lucky to still be on, Mein Herr.
Corner Stone
@Randy Paul aka Randinho: He’s Guatemalan but speaks Portuguese very well, so I would have expected him to find out good options. Haven’t had a chance to talk through his visit with him to see what he was up to.
Thanks.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@mike with a mic:
ESPN’s site. Game is being shown OTA on ABC, so there’s no “Which of these is your cable provider?” hoop through which to jump.
burnspbesq
Howedes is lucky the ref didn’t get to see that replay. He’d be off. That was a reckless challenge.
Randy Paul aka Randinho
Corner Stone, I would also add that Rio and São Paulo are both incredibly expensive these days.
Mike E
Iain Darke quotes the Black Knight from Holy Grail: “None shall pass!”
Corner Stone
@HumboldtBlue: Just nuts, and dead on. You couldn’t through an American football into a better spot/location than that pass was.
HumboldtBlue
Argentina has had all the dangerous chances
Valdivia
Yes poor Kramer he looked totally out of it.
Amir Khalid
@Alex S.:
That’s why this match is so perfectly balanced, without being a stalemate.
JCJ
@burnspbesq:
I agree, but maybe Nigel de Jong set a precedent for what you can do in a World Cup final without being sent off.
Corner Stone
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): That’s fine. But If I knew the guy was out on his feet, then why didn’t his own coaching staff?
He looked like Colt McCoy a couple years ago when James Harrison knocked him the fuck out. Poor kid had no idea where he was for days but they left him back in.
Fuck FIFA rules, protect the player.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
This game is getting really chippy. I thought Brazil was already out.
Corner Stone
So, for NFL players we have the 40yd dash as a kind of marker. Do futbol players have a standard measure to judge?
Corner Stone
WHAAATTT?
HumboldtBlue
Perez looks like a Latin version of Footman Thomas Barrow on Downton Abbey
Corner Stone
That was the best corner I’ve seen all tourny.
JCJ
I am miserable.
Violet
So far this match has been very entertaining. Wonder how the second half will go?
Alex S.
With that last chance, they’ve now been equally dangerous I’d say.
SRW1
Sooooo many missed chances!!!!
By both sides, but the way the last minutes before halftime went, I guess Argentina may be a bit more relieved by tea time.
Ivan Ivanovich Renko
Veryentertaining so far.
Ivan Ivanovich Renko
Ummm… oops?
Corner Stone
“I heard she (Shakira) has the room with the hot water!”
That was funny.
Corner Stone
Wooosh!
Violet
@Corner Stone: I’m going to miss Darke and Macca. They’re good announcers but they’re also funny.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Argentina has started this half quickly.
HumboldtBlue
@Violet: Macca gas a great backstory too, Liverpool kid who grew up as a regular in the Kop then went on to play for the hometown team
MikeJ
What5’s on JC’s head? Airplane warning light?
Mike E
The Redeemer holding up Aten.
HumboldtBlue
Boateng has been Germany’s best player
Corner Stone
Is 1-0 going to take this match? Or PK’s?
burnspbesq
Arjen Schurrle, or Andre Robben?
Amir Khalid
Germany seem a bit slow to start the second half. Argentina need to take advantage. Someone on the pitch ought to have their shooting boots on today.
Corner Stone
Holy Shit!
raven
wtf-k?
burnspbesq
And Higuain says, “I am Patrick Battiston.”
Mike E
Germany makes out like thieves in that exchange of concussions.
Alex S.
Argentina running out of steam?
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
We’re getting chippy again.
Amir Khalid
@Alex S.:
It’s too soon to say that, methnks.
Valdivia
This Argentina team is playing a little brutally no?
Mike E
Give me the idol, I throw you the whip!
Tripod
Moaner Lessor?
Corner Stone
How did he even get that F’ng shot off?
Randy Paul aka Randinho
Mūller is a pal of Robben’s it appears. Either that or he’s trying to exemplify the saying the bigger they are the harder they fall.
Amir Khalid
Extra time is where this match is going. Neither team seems to have this match quite in its control. And everyone seems to have left their shooting boots back at the hotel.
Violet
Could it be that Germany is still a bit hungover after the crazy match against Brazil? I can imagine it might be hard to get back focus after that kind of match.
SRW1
Argentina has the oldest team in the tournament and they already have one extra time from Wednesday in their bones. If this also goes into extra time they presumably will have to run on fumes.
I suspect Gramps Klose is about to come off.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Is there anyone on the German bench you’d really want to bring in?
Edit: Götze, I guess.
SRW1
Hummels looks like he needs to come off.
Corner Stone
0-0.
IMO, from a non-soccer watching perspective, it seems like Germany is the better team but in regular time ARG just seemed more consistently aggressive.
Mike E
The
GroupCup of Death.Corner Stone
@Mike E: “He chose…poorly.”
Randy Paul aka Randinho
No shots on target for Argentina and only three for Germany.
Highway Rob
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): Götze? He’s such a huge asshole, why would we want to see him?
JCJ
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike E
@Corner Stone: “I can…almost…reach it!”
Corner Stone
Germany’s going to hate themselves for that little exchange.
Mike E
Well.
Alex S.
Eh, let’s call it a draw.
Amir Khalid
@Violet:
People say that about teams after a big victory, but I doubt it really works that way.
SRW1
I don’t think Muller’s wearing any shin pads any more.
Corner Stone
He just kicked Schweinschteiger right in the spine.
Corner Stone
Maraschino just sold that header contact.
Amir Khalid
@SRW1:
Shinpads are mandatory equipment, and have been for decades. You’re not allowed to remove them.
PsiFighter37
Think this one’s going to a shootout
James E. Powell
Love the black, red, and gold fraulein wigs
Corner Stone
Does this 0-0, combined with the 3rd place game say anything about how overrated BRA was?
Punchy
Not surprised by this score. Argentine-based leagues all specialize in low-scoring, no risk, defensive games.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Corner Stone:
Yes.
raven
They’re droppin like flies.
Amir Khalid
Schweinsteiger is bleeding like a stuck pig. Why wasn’t Aguero red-carded?
Corner Stone
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): I ask because I don’t follow futbol very closely, and trying to put apples to oranges to pears may not make sense.
But ARG holding GER tight, while BRA got lit the F up twice in a row at the elite rounds level. Just asking, from the most casual of fan perspectives.
Mike E
Buh. Roo. Tuhl.
Randy Paul aka Randinho
How is Agūero still on the pitch after that?
Corner Stone
Super Mario!!
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
What does it take to get sent off tonight?
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
There. It. Is,
Jay C
goooooooalllll1111
Corner Stone
@Mike E: That was nasty. Wow.
Mike E
Merkel wins the Falklands!
raven
@Amir Khalid: It’s pretty easy to get a cut under the eye on the cheekbone like that.
Randy Paul aka Randinho
@Highway Rob: that’s why.
Tony J
What a finish by Goetze. Astonishingly shite marking though. What have the Argentines got left in the tank now?
JCJ
JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Alex S.
Replay of Germany vs Algeria?
SRW1
Mario Goetze, a no show almost all of the tournament and then redemption in the final?
Amir Khalid
If the fouls are any indication, Argentina are losing their composure.
scav
HA!
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Nice goal by Götze, that asshole.
The Bobs
Well done Deutschland.
Violet
That was a beautiful goal.
Steeplejack
Argentina has to go on the hard offensive now, which is the opposite of their whole game so far. Don’t see it happening.
HumboldtBlue
First European team to win in America
trollhattan
@Violet:
+1. A bit of artistry to win the WC is how it should be.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
Even for a German, Neuer is one cool sonnuvabitch.
Corner Stone
@Violet: That was crazeballs.
Randy Paul aka Randinho
Fireworks are going off around here in Brazil.
Highway Rob
@Randy Paul aka Randinho: Was just going for the cheap internet butt joke, not actually offering reasoned analysis.
Highway Rob
@Randy Paul aka Randinho: Was just going for the cheap internet butt joke, not actually offering reasoned analysis.
raven
Still better than a damn PK shootout.
Violet
@Randy Paul aka Randinho: Brazil may be spared the ultimate and final indignation of Argentina winning in the Maracana.
Amir Khalid
And there it is!
Deutschland, Deutschland, über alles
Über alles in der Welt!
(Unless Argentina find an equaliser. And who’s to say they won’t?)
Tony J
The Argentines are certainly going got it, but they’ve got to take one of these chances and soon. Won’t be much injury time.
SRW1
Good Lord, Low reserved one substitution for time wasting.
If this ends 1-0, can Low manage a smile?
trollhattan
@raven:
Amen.
raven
It sure was fun having something to kill a month while waiting for football!
Corner Stone
@raven:
Amen.
Mike E
2 yards and a cloud of dust.
trollhattan
@Corner Stone:
Irony Jinx!
SRW1
That last free kick just about sums up Messi’s week.
Corner Stone
Seems like he wussed out under the weight of the moment.
Steeplejack
Jeez, Messi boots it. Literally.
Jay C
Das ist Alles....
Corner Stone
@trollhattan: You inspire me, dog.
Tony J
And that should be that. Deutschland do it. No World Wars but four World Cups.
morfydd
fireworks! whee!
scav
Allez! I can’t remember the past tense suddenly.
Violet
Well done, Germany! Deserved the win. Best team of the tournament.
JCJ
Die vierte Weltmeisterschaft für Deutschland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amir Khalid
And that ends my term as a football deity.
Cacti
The football gods decided Brazil had suffered enough.
No having to watch the Argies lift the cup in the Maracana.
*Whew
Randinho
More fireworks here in Brazil – and probably a lot of sighs of relief!
Argentina: 10 shots not one on target.
Violet
@Amir Khalid: Excellent job, Deity Amir!
morfydd
one the one hand, on call for work. on the other hand, Schland! :D
SRW1
@Amir Khalid:
Well done, that veil came off really late.
Violet
By the transitive property of football, doesn’t Germany winning mean that the USA is the second best team?
Cacti
I do feel the tiniest bit bad for Messi, who I think is both a better player and much nicer person than Maradona.
He’s going to get pilloried by the Argie fans.
JCJ
@Amir Khalid:
Like any good deity you have been quite capricious. Will you be back on duty for the Euros in 2016? Do you require any sacrifices?
Mike E
@Randinho:
The finish was pretty but getting the ball to the scorer was the feat…like Jim Brown breaking half a dozen tackles then lateraling it to a streaking wide receiver.
Valdivia
Yay Germany. They really have been such a good team, so glad for them. Sad for the Argentinians though. So cruel the futbol mistress.
raven
I can handle four years without hearing “sent off” and “go through”!
Cacti
@Violet:
Ghana.
Played them to a draw.
Amir Khalid
@JCJ:
We’ll see.
scav
@Violet: I’ll throw another snack into my baking power and vinegar volcano for São+plus Amir as well. Capricious and better.
SRW1
And thanks to our MC, Randinho, for herding the commenting futbol cats on this blog.
raven
@SRW1: Indeed, thanks brother!
Lyrebird
Huge thanks to Randinho for “hosting” !!
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
TYVM, Randinho!
Alex S.
Yes, thank you, Randinho for these threads.
Congratulations Germany! Argentina’s problem was that they could defend (almost) everything, but they just forgot to score. The Messi of three years ago would have used his one chance. And the Higuain of five years ago would have scored in the first half.
Violet
Heh. Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” is playing in the Maracana stadium while the TV is showing the devastated and crying Argentinian players. That cracked me up.
LAC
Germany!!!!! Good job! Fun to watch this with a multicultural crowd. Makes you appreciate how diverse this country is. And how much we all love beer. ?
ErrCanada
Valeu, Randinho. Até a próxima.
Violet
@Cacti: But we beat Ghana. So….
@SRW1: Yes, thank you Randinho! It’s been tons of fun.
Tripod
I hate that song.
Alex S.
@LAC:
Beer beats beef?
SP
Women’s World Cup June 2015, Canada. Road trip anyone?
Violet
Oooh! James won the Golden Boot. Does that mean we get to see him? I hope so!
JCJ
@Randinho:
Randinho, I would like to add my thanks for these threads. When I have been at work and unable to watch I have enjoyed the threads to get a feel for what was going on. I hope you are able to do more of these in the future and maybe also the league previews.
Also thanks to The Blogmeister for such an awesome site. A truly full service blog.
raven
Now we got a crying German player with his girlfriend.
Corner Stone
@JCJ:
It’s a little bit crazy, when you think about it.
raven
I bet they are frickin exhausted. I remember talking to one of the coaches after Georgia won the National Championship. He said “people thought we had a big party” we were so wiped out we just went to bed!
Valdivia
Thanks again Randinho! Can we do this for the Champions League?
Corner Stone
MmmmMMmmm…the women of Argentina…
Amir Khalid
I mustn’t let this thread die out without thanking Randinho, Balloon Juice’s real football deity. (Me, I was just temping.)
LAC
@Alex S.: I think so. Although I had a great burger with my beer.
Alex S.
Golden Ball for Messi… hmm.. consolation prize…not quite deserved in my opinion.
Oh and James gets his Golden Boot.
Yatsuno
Obligatory
Valdivia
Happy James got the golden boots but how can Messi win best Cup player??? That’s just wrong. So many others played better.
Corner Stone
@Valdivia: I’ll say from my perspective, Messi made everyone else around him better. In the matches I saw, he drew people to him like honey, and gave other players the opening to rise up.
IMO, he’s the only reason ARG went to the finals match.
Violet
@Valdivia: Yeah, that’s crazy. He looked miserable accepting the award too. I don’t think he thinks he earned it.
Svensker
Quite enjoyed the WC this year, even if it is a sockalist wimp game.
Thanks, Randhino!
Randinho
@Cacti: Agreed.
@ErrCanada: Se Deus quiser!
Thanks to all of you for the kind words. It’s been my pleasure.
Alex S.
@Violet:
It’s like when Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize (troll, troll, troll… now we can get back to politics).
Randinho
@Corner Stone: Agreed.
Violet
@Corner Stone: Yeah, Messi is a really great player. Not sure he deserved the award, but agree he carried the team. Love watching him play. Like all great players, he makes it look easy and somehow time slows down for him when he’s got the ball.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Violet:
I think he’s disappointed that he wasn’t going to get to hoist the Cup. He deserved the Golden Ball, but it’s a hollow award when you’ve just finished second place in the tournament.
Randinho
@Amir Khalid: Thanks, but if I were a soccer deity, the US would have beaten Brazil in the championship game and I would have been seeping on the couch for the next four years.
JCJ
@Alex S.:
Nicely done! You are ready for the World Cup of trolling!
Valdivia
@Corner Stone: oh I think he does elevate his team though I don’t think that means he deserved it. You can say the same about many of the German players who were everywhere making moves happen and scoring. Just feels like a consolation price.
Valdivia
@Violet:
Co-sign every word of what you said about Messi. Much more eloquent than my answer to Corner Stone
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Valdivia:
You can take just about any single player off the German squad and the team still makes a deep run. Take Messi off the Argentine squad and there’s a good chance they end up in the same place Uruguay did once they lost Dracula,
raven
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): ding
Corner Stone
@Violet:
I still don’t know how he got that one shot off today. He had like four guys around him and he somehow wrapped his strike around the guy 8 inches in front of him.
Just nuts.
Violet
@Valdivia: Sweet baby James is my favorite discovery of the tournament. Such a future ahead of him.
Messi was my favorite player to watch. The ball just looks glued to his feet and somehow he finds a way to get through a crowd and make things happen. Just amazing to watch. Looks so easy.
Tim Howard’s performance in the US-Belgium match was my favorite individual player performance of the tournament. Just jaw-dropping.
Corner Stone
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): Germany was so much more the balanced team throughout. Not just because the result today. Even to me it seemed like they had all the levels covered, and were just more disciplined and consistent.
Violet
@Corner Stone: The really great players just have that ability, no matter the sport. They make it look so easy. Time slows down for them in some way. They see how to make it happen and then they do.
Valdivia
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): I agree but that says more about the Argentina team than about him. And that still doesn’t make him the best player of the whole cup! Even the Argentinians are saying he didn’t deserve it. That doesn’t mean he isn’t a magician of a player. I admire him and l love to see him play.
raven
@Valdivia: “The Argentinians”? come on
Valdivia
@raven:
A few I follow on twitter who are die hard soccer fans yes. Also my super secret line into the community here–my cell phone has been burning off with angry texts since the game ended.
But if it was I artfully said I’m happy to change it to the Argentinians I know, which is not the whole universe of them but I think a good sample of soccer fandom.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Valdivia:
Meh. They will always compare him to Diego Maradona, and they will always downplay his achievements until he, as Maradona did, hoists that Cup.
The team only scored eight goals on the way to second place, and he scored, what, five of them? He was marked incessantly, sometimes doubled and tripled. Was his play head-and-shoulders above that of everyone else in the tournament? No. But I don’t see any single player who was more important in the manner in which the tournament played out.
Valdivia
@Violet:
James is such a star. Amazing talent. Can’t wait to see more of him.
I’m looking forward to seeing Messi with Barca, I think he plays even more incredible with them.
And Howard. That match was epic. He deserved some recognition for that.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Valdivia:
I work with a couple of Argentinians, they’re on my FB feed, and I see what they and their friends and family (my friends are siblings) have to say, and I’m tellin’ ya, they all employ the Maradona standard- well, except for my friend Damien, who’s too young to remember Maradona’s career.
Valdivia
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): on the Maradona worship I agree. And it’s unfair because Messi seems to me to be a much better player. For this reason alone I wish they had won so he could be seen as the hero he is and not be relegated to second place behind Maradona!
We will just have to disagree about him being the best in the whole tournament.
Randinho
And the Argentinians can say Maradona is bettter than Pele the day Maradona hoists three WC titles.
Violet
@Valdivia: Didn’t Tim Howard get Man of the Match for that match, even though they lost?
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Randinho:
THIS!
Amir Khalid
@Randinho:
Even if people agree that Maradona is a better player than Pele, which is open for debate at least, few (if any) would agree that he’s a better person or a better ambassador for football. Leo Messi would have to go a long way to become the dick that Maradona has often been.
Valdivia
@Randinho: exactly!!
@Violet: he did. He deserved it. :)
Heliopause
How stupid is the penalty kick method of resolving these games?
Argentina played 450 minutes in the “knockout round”. That’s the equivalent of five full games. They scored a total of two goals in those games. They played the equivalent of three full games without scoring a single goal.
In the semifinal and final they scored no goals in the equivalent of two and two-thirds games.
In the current format you can be shutout in the equivalent of three out of five games and still come within a hair’s breadth of winning it all. Goddamned stupid.
Luckily, the team that pretty clearly was the best from the start of the tournament, Germany, won the thing. Or perhaps unluckily, as there is no incentive now to change the format, since the team whose offense ranged from awful to mediocre over the equivalent of five games didn’t ultimately win.
morfydd
As a captured German fan, I was pleased to see the team have so much depth. The first few teams they fielded were not so impressive, and as they drifted back to their 2010 team I got more comfortable, but it was so good to see that if they had one injury or penalty they would still be strong.
mali muso
Great game and a worthy winner in Germany who have really just been so solid throughout. Thanks to everyone for such a fun atmosphere in these threads. I’ve been lurking at BJ for several years but these World Cup threads were the first time I’ve participated. Good fun!
Amir Khalid
@Heliopause:
Going to penalty kicks is no more stupid or arbitrary than the other methods — full replays which take another couple of days because the teams need to rest up first, golden-goal (i.e. sudden-death) extra time which too all often rewards sheer dumb luck, or even a coin toss. You can’t take the luck or the absurdity out of the game no matter what method you pick to break ties, so you might as well just pick one method and stick to it.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Amir Khalid: Flood the pitch and then mud-wrestle.
Corner Stone
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): That doesn’t seem like a very good way to deal with your…oh, wait. The pitch.
Got it!
Heliopause
@Amir Khalid:
Yes it is. It’s completely contrived. It’s like having a free throw shooting contest or home run derby or field goal kicking contest to settle those respective sports. Other major sports settle their ties by playing the regular course of play until somebody wins. So should the association footballers. If they keel over from exhaustion it’s their own goddamned fault for playing like cowards and dropping 42 men into the penalty area all game. Or, you could liberalize the substitution rules so that instead of seeing all that slow walking and cramping and desperate diving in extra time you might see, gasp, some creative football. God forbid, right?
Corner Stone
@Heliopause: Yeah, it’s like having a tie in the NFL be decided by the QB’s throwing passes through tire swings at different distances.
You spend all that time playing the ultimate team game and then it’s 1 on 1?
Captain C
@Heliopause: I think they should find some variation on the old NASL shootout if they want to go to a skills thing to break ties. If they don’t want to have a 35 yard mark for the starting point, maybe change it to, say, start at the midfield dot and the player has 8-10 seconds to get the shot off. That way it’s exciting, but not such a crapshoot.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Heliopause:
Only baseball and basketball. Hockey only plays it out in the playoffs, and those games are sudden death, not full periods in which a team can come back from an OT deficit (and why not? they play, unlike the association game, in shifts). The NFL has added contrivance on top of contrivance in it’s OT, but at least the NFL has the balls to allow a tie after a 15 minute scoreless overtime period in the regular season. Let’s not even get started on NCAA football.