World Cup Finals,Brazil 2014

[SJP17]

I pulled my lucky number 17 from the sweepstake at work and got Germany , Happy Days £320

[Drunk Monkey]

Stayed up for the WC final after the great golf finished in Aberdeen ,,, twas a mistake . At best an OK game Argentins should have won on clear cut chances but they could convert .......Germany did ... thank god no pens. Man of the match young Argie left back Rojo who marked Muller out of the game and was brilliant .

As for the tournament its self .. great group stage games loads of action and goals but from then on its been a bit dire to be honest except the semi Brazil Germany of course.

Huge attendances for the matches and not many strange refereeing decisions , another great addition was the goal line tech which was used on only 4 occasions but tiz progress.

Russia in 4 years ,,, will Brazil qualify , will England ...and so many of the players we saw here will not be around .

BTW ..Euro 2016 qualifying starts Septtember

WELL DONE TO THE GERMANS ... the best team won .

DM

[socksy]

Have to agree DM the German's were worthy winners.

[thaiguzzi]

Well. I did admit to being naive!
Although there was little noteworthy football about which to excite,the Argentinians missed their chance in the first half with excellent goal scoring chances, set up by Messi , going begging. In the second half their play seemed to lack spark and was unconvincing, and Messi, without the level of support I had expected, (and probably so had he), from the newly arrived Aquero, and Higuan, (the miss of the tournament), suddenly looked a very lonely and tired figure.
From there on the result seemed hardly, if at all, in doubt, and the surprise was the game extended into extra time before Germany finally prevailed, with a goal of some considerable skill from Goetze.
I have read and heard frequent comments complimentary to the standard of football seen, (by others! ), at this tournament. For myself, I consider the standard of football seen in, and the excitement provided by,the matches overall, to be among the lowest I have experienced covering a span of some 15 World Cup tournaments. None of the participating teams, including the winners, could justifiably be referred to as outstanding, (judged by standards set at past tournaments). That Messi, (thanks to the politically inspired 'removal' of his only possible competitor), stood alone as the only possible winner of the 'Player of the Tournament award, says all that is needed as regards the virtual total absence of players of outstanding skill and personality, so necessary to ensure the success of a world tournament of this magnitude.
The only lingering memories of the tournament which I still retain, even at this early stage, are limited to vanPersies superbly headed goal, (his solitary contribution of any note ); the individual football performance of the tournament, (and maybe any other tournament?), in the single handed dissection and destruction of the England team by 'Nibbler Suarez' ; and the sorrow of the whole of a fiercely proud football nation, as depicted on the tens of thousands of tear stained faces appearing on the TV screens at the end of Brazils 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Germany.
Finally, the most unpleasant memory is of the unsavoury, vindictive, revenge motivated actions of a certain Italian player in singlehandedly ensuring the less than lillywhite tournament powers had the excuse for which they had been praying to enable them to dismiss from the tournament one of its few world stars, and outstanding characters. That the aforesaid Italian had committed two bone crunching tackles upon Suarez, prior to the alleged 'nibbling' offence, and shouldn't have even been on the pitch, and that he had a history of similar 'assaults' on Suarez in past meetings, were apparently considered irrelevant.
Sadly, I had hoped for better memories to treasure from my likely last World Cup Finals viewing; 2018 being a lifetime away

Yawn...
Good game.

[SkyyWalker]

Well, Zid, at least we got the no penalty kicks part correct! =D>

I thought it was a thoroughly entertaining match that could have gone either way, but as DM mentioned, the best team won. For the most part, the match was well officiated and there was very little "cheating"...pretty clean match. Well done Germany!

[Zidane]

Philipp Lahm 30,the captain of World Cup winners,Germany,has decided to retire from international football.
The Bayern Munich defender,who can also play in midfield,represented Germany on 113 occassions.
Lahm will continue to play club football for Bayern Munich.
Although he's the captain,he's maybe one of the unsung heroes of the national side just quietly doing an excellent job for the team.
30 is pretty young to be retiring but he's certainly going out at the top ! =D>

Bob,nearly a week since the World Cup ended now.Give it a couple of days,then I think this thread can be locked,thanks.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

And $400 for me for winning the office pool + some outsiders. I had moved up to 2nd from 69th place after the early group stage with one game to go. Luckily, the other guy had Argentina. Once England was eliminated I could think rationally instead of emotionally.

[Zidane]

Congratulations on your win,Uncle Tilo......looking forward to your views on the prospects for the likes of Everton and Hull City during the coming EPL season !