Around thirty years ago, I met one gentleman during one of the seminar coffee breaks in New Delhi. I don’t recollect his name but I still remember how he introduced himself. “I am …. from Uruguay. You know football, World Cup? We are very good in football.” I thought the introduction was intriguing. The person obviously was jolly. He thought no one would know Uruguay in this part of the World, so he might as well enter through football, more appropriately the World Cup, the biggest event on earth. The first World Cup, with only 13 countries competing for the trophy, was held in Uruguay in 1930. Fast forward to World Cup 2014, Uruguay entered into Round of 16. So what if Uruguay superstar Luis Suarez bit Italy's Giorgio Chiellini, every Uruguayan would say. To them it was a non-issue in comparison to Uruguay-Italy score of 1-0 in group D match. Uruguay, minus Suarez who returned home carrying 9-match FIFA ban on his shoulder, played quarterfinal and lost to Colombia. For banning Suarez the guy I met in Delhi would have slammed FIFA leaders in no lesser in terms than his President Jose Mujica’s “sons of bitches”.
You cannot call me World Cup fanatic by any standard. If I were, I would not doze off in sofa during past mid-night matches. I was up and down during the matches but invariably watched extra time play and/or penalty shootouts. In those on-off sessions I caught one scene that I must narrate here. Two players collide in mid air, both fall flat and act as if they are competing in “who-dies-first” episode. The referee blows whistle, and runs to give a hand to one of the players to stand on his feet. When he is up, the referee says something, most likely, “we play football here, not opponent’s butt.” Both laugh. Then the ref flashes yellow card on him. The player is still laughing. The slowmo showed a solid knee kick on opponent’s backside. The player who got kicked gets up on his own massaging his back. No help for him. The Arab proverb says “when you shoot an arrow of truth, dip its point in honey.” How true! It was fun even when I was half asleep. Yes, fun World Cup had lots of it but same thing you watch on repeat telecast, it is stale. The World Cup peculiarity!
We saw in the World Cup amazing display of preparation, determination and organization; of the level Louis van Gaal, the Dutch World Cup coach, exhibited to the amazement of the whole world. In an unusual and bold move he replaces Holland’s goalkeeper with substitute Tim Krul at the end of extra time. Krul had not touched a ball earlier in this World Cup. van Gaal sent him just to save penalties. The tall, imposing Krul goes and saves two Costa Rican penalty shots and walks out Holland’s hero, breaking Costa Rica hearts and ending quarter final match at 4-3 in favour of the Dutch. It was obvious that van Gaal had prepared Krul for penalties. Some say penalties are cruel, but for Costa Rica it was Krul.
Of the four semi-finalists Brazil have five World Cups, Germany three, Argentina two and the Dutch have been runners up three times. The 2014 World Cup contentions at semi-final were like: (i) Brazil should win because they are good and the host of the 2014 World Cup (and Neymar’s dream); (ii) Germany should win because look at their game plan intelligence; (iii) Argentina should win because look at the way Messi and his team play; and (iv) Holland should win because poor guys have lost thrice earlier. All deserved to win and had stood behind “Say No to Racism” FIFA banner supporting it. We did not see prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race/ethnicity is superior in the World Cup. Did we? The Uruguayan I met in Delhi, his president and countrymen would disagree, I am quite certain about this.
I am so fascinated with the World Cup colours and noise. Is the World Cup always so colourful and energetically noisy or the Latin American spirit coming live on TV? And the atmosphere, you would have seen. My closest encounter to that part of the world is through few books I read including “The Motorcycle Diaries” by Ernesto Che Guevara. If you watched the Brazil-Columbia quarter final 90% of stadium was yellow of which more than 50% had face painted with Brazil colours. More than Brazil’s 2-1 win, the quarter final will be remembered for their poster boy Neymar being ruled out of the rest of the World Cup due to fractured vertebrae after taking a knee to his back from the Colombia defender Juan Zuniga late in the game. Never mind the top-selling no 10 jersey that even Brazilian dogs preferred to put on and investment of Nike, Unilever, Volkswagen and Santander in him via endorsement deals, the whole nation grieved Neymar’s injury.
To add insult to injury, Brazil suffered humiliating 1-7 defeat in semi-final against the Germans. Germany was doing everything right, fully taking advantage of the Brazil imbalance, vulnerability, and disorganized situation. The Germans were absolutely merciless. The Brazil players, 200 million Brazilians and their yellow-jersey clad fans all over the World were in tears. "Like every Brazilian, I am very, very sad about this defeat. I am immensely sorry for all of us. Fans and our players," Brazil President Dilma Rousseff wrote on Twitter. To me the Germans looked awesome from day one. Still 7-1 was a chill pill to swallow. Even hard German fans felt sorry for such Brazilian collapse.
With Brazil's big defeat still fresh in the memory of everyone, the second semi-final turned out to be conservative tight match. There were very few opportunities to take a shot to the goal. It looked like both, Argentina and Holland, preferred to go for penalties rather than take aggressive risk: Holland confident from their quarter final four-out-of-four shootout against Costa Rica and Argentina very positive on their football shooting skills. The Dutch coach van Gaal had already used his three substitutes and could not bring Tim Krul for penalties like before. He could have saved one to bring in Krul. Why he did not do is a mystery. Accurate the Argentineans were, shooting four of the four balls into the net and the Argentina goalkeeper, Sergio Romero, was the shootout-hero blocking two Dutch penalty shots. This gave Argentina 4-2 win for the final with Germany. With that win and Brazil out, the Argentina fans have made Rio de Janeiro’s famous Copacabana beach their own, turning it from yellow-green to blue-white, to cheer South American World Cup win.
With injured star Neymar watching the match from the bench, Brazil lost 0-3 to Netherlands in the third-place play-off. Brazil defence looked as frail as in the semi-final against Germany when Holland scored their first goal within 3 minutes and second on 17th minute, and strikers did not appear strong enough to penetrate Dutch defence. It obviously is not possible to garner team energy and World Cup momentum so soon. The Netherlands returned with the consolation third place and with unbeaten 2014 World Cup record, the semi-final loss against Argentina being a penalty shootout.
So Germany is the 1-0 winner of the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy. They also pocket a grand total of US$35 million while Argentina takes runner-up cheque of US$25 million. The 120 minutes World Cup final was intense. The Germans were ahead overall with more ball possession, impressive display of ball passing and control. The planning, organization and teamwork of Germans were somehow kept on check by the Argentineans except the 113th minute stunning goal by German substitute Mario Gotze. Keeping Germany on check, Argentina had few opportunities to shoot the ball into the German net but they put the ball wide past the goal. Even though Messi, wearing captain’s armband, may have calibrated his team to make him shine, he had to be satisfied with Golden Ball trophy for best player of the World Cup. I wonder if he will be up there with Pele and Maradona. The Golden Boot for maximum goals was awarded to Colombian James Rodriguez and Golden Glove for best goalkeeper was bagged by Germany’s Manual Neuer.
Who says we are not outward-looking and least bothered about whatever happens outside in the World except for occasional glance at scanty cut and paste BBC/CNN pieces in Kuensel? The World Cup is World Cup, even Jules Rimet Trophy was in Changlimithang, Thimphu (Bhutan). So football fans watching World Cup on the giant screen at the same venue should not surprise anyone. Do we need to wear Adidas/Nike no 10 jersey and paint faces to cheer the favourite World Cup team? We can do it in ghos, kiras, pants and shorts, but for the World Cup spirit!
You cannot call me World Cup fanatic by any standard. If I were, I would not doze off in sofa during past mid-night matches. I was up and down during the matches but invariably watched extra time play and/or penalty shootouts. In those on-off sessions I caught one scene that I must narrate here. Two players collide in mid air, both fall flat and act as if they are competing in “who-dies-first” episode. The referee blows whistle, and runs to give a hand to one of the players to stand on his feet. When he is up, the referee says something, most likely, “we play football here, not opponent’s butt.” Both laugh. Then the ref flashes yellow card on him. The player is still laughing. The slowmo showed a solid knee kick on opponent’s backside. The player who got kicked gets up on his own massaging his back. No help for him. The Arab proverb says “when you shoot an arrow of truth, dip its point in honey.” How true! It was fun even when I was half asleep. Yes, fun World Cup had lots of it but same thing you watch on repeat telecast, it is stale. The World Cup peculiarity!
We saw in the World Cup amazing display of preparation, determination and organization; of the level Louis van Gaal, the Dutch World Cup coach, exhibited to the amazement of the whole world. In an unusual and bold move he replaces Holland’s goalkeeper with substitute Tim Krul at the end of extra time. Krul had not touched a ball earlier in this World Cup. van Gaal sent him just to save penalties. The tall, imposing Krul goes and saves two Costa Rican penalty shots and walks out Holland’s hero, breaking Costa Rica hearts and ending quarter final match at 4-3 in favour of the Dutch. It was obvious that van Gaal had prepared Krul for penalties. Some say penalties are cruel, but for Costa Rica it was Krul.
Of the four semi-finalists Brazil have five World Cups, Germany three, Argentina two and the Dutch have been runners up three times. The 2014 World Cup contentions at semi-final were like: (i) Brazil should win because they are good and the host of the 2014 World Cup (and Neymar’s dream); (ii) Germany should win because look at their game plan intelligence; (iii) Argentina should win because look at the way Messi and his team play; and (iv) Holland should win because poor guys have lost thrice earlier. All deserved to win and had stood behind “Say No to Racism” FIFA banner supporting it. We did not see prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race/ethnicity is superior in the World Cup. Did we? The Uruguayan I met in Delhi, his president and countrymen would disagree, I am quite certain about this.
I am so fascinated with the World Cup colours and noise. Is the World Cup always so colourful and energetically noisy or the Latin American spirit coming live on TV? And the atmosphere, you would have seen. My closest encounter to that part of the world is through few books I read including “The Motorcycle Diaries” by Ernesto Che Guevara. If you watched the Brazil-Columbia quarter final 90% of stadium was yellow of which more than 50% had face painted with Brazil colours. More than Brazil’s 2-1 win, the quarter final will be remembered for their poster boy Neymar being ruled out of the rest of the World Cup due to fractured vertebrae after taking a knee to his back from the Colombia defender Juan Zuniga late in the game. Never mind the top-selling no 10 jersey that even Brazilian dogs preferred to put on and investment of Nike, Unilever, Volkswagen and Santander in him via endorsement deals, the whole nation grieved Neymar’s injury.
To add insult to injury, Brazil suffered humiliating 1-7 defeat in semi-final against the Germans. Germany was doing everything right, fully taking advantage of the Brazil imbalance, vulnerability, and disorganized situation. The Germans were absolutely merciless. The Brazil players, 200 million Brazilians and their yellow-jersey clad fans all over the World were in tears. "Like every Brazilian, I am very, very sad about this defeat. I am immensely sorry for all of us. Fans and our players," Brazil President Dilma Rousseff wrote on Twitter. To me the Germans looked awesome from day one. Still 7-1 was a chill pill to swallow. Even hard German fans felt sorry for such Brazilian collapse.
With Brazil's big defeat still fresh in the memory of everyone, the second semi-final turned out to be conservative tight match. There were very few opportunities to take a shot to the goal. It looked like both, Argentina and Holland, preferred to go for penalties rather than take aggressive risk: Holland confident from their quarter final four-out-of-four shootout against Costa Rica and Argentina very positive on their football shooting skills. The Dutch coach van Gaal had already used his three substitutes and could not bring Tim Krul for penalties like before. He could have saved one to bring in Krul. Why he did not do is a mystery. Accurate the Argentineans were, shooting four of the four balls into the net and the Argentina goalkeeper, Sergio Romero, was the shootout-hero blocking two Dutch penalty shots. This gave Argentina 4-2 win for the final with Germany. With that win and Brazil out, the Argentina fans have made Rio de Janeiro’s famous Copacabana beach their own, turning it from yellow-green to blue-white, to cheer South American World Cup win.
With injured star Neymar watching the match from the bench, Brazil lost 0-3 to Netherlands in the third-place play-off. Brazil defence looked as frail as in the semi-final against Germany when Holland scored their first goal within 3 minutes and second on 17th minute, and strikers did not appear strong enough to penetrate Dutch defence. It obviously is not possible to garner team energy and World Cup momentum so soon. The Netherlands returned with the consolation third place and with unbeaten 2014 World Cup record, the semi-final loss against Argentina being a penalty shootout.
So Germany is the 1-0 winner of the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy. They also pocket a grand total of US$35 million while Argentina takes runner-up cheque of US$25 million. The 120 minutes World Cup final was intense. The Germans were ahead overall with more ball possession, impressive display of ball passing and control. The planning, organization and teamwork of Germans were somehow kept on check by the Argentineans except the 113th minute stunning goal by German substitute Mario Gotze. Keeping Germany on check, Argentina had few opportunities to shoot the ball into the German net but they put the ball wide past the goal. Even though Messi, wearing captain’s armband, may have calibrated his team to make him shine, he had to be satisfied with Golden Ball trophy for best player of the World Cup. I wonder if he will be up there with Pele and Maradona. The Golden Boot for maximum goals was awarded to Colombian James Rodriguez and Golden Glove for best goalkeeper was bagged by Germany’s Manual Neuer.
Who says we are not outward-looking and least bothered about whatever happens outside in the World except for occasional glance at scanty cut and paste BBC/CNN pieces in Kuensel? The World Cup is World Cup, even Jules Rimet Trophy was in Changlimithang, Thimphu (Bhutan). So football fans watching World Cup on the giant screen at the same venue should not surprise anyone. Do we need to wear Adidas/Nike no 10 jersey and paint faces to cheer the favourite World Cup team? We can do it in ghos, kiras, pants and shorts, but for the World Cup spirit!
