raid
Dad Photographer
Germany 1
Argentina 0
Argentina 0
raid
Dad Photographer
Yes, they won.
kutitta
Well-known
"Football is a simple game. 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."
Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Pioneer
Veteran
I seem to remember Argentina and Brazil (among others) winning it once in awhile.
Paul Jenkin
Well-known
Argentina played well without having a single shot on target in the first 90 minutes of play. They had more than enough chances to win but kept fluffing their lines. Germany managed to snuff out Messi's threat and keep him occupied having to pick up the ball deep in midfield and only have sporadic forays into the German "danger zone".
Here in the UK, the TV commentators / pundits kept asking stupid questions about whether we can now regard Lionel Messi as being in the same category as Pele and Maradona. In all honesty, no we can't. Messi is unfortunate in that he's not playing in a national team which is capable of giving him the same support and opportunities as either Pele or Maradona enjoyed and, therefore, hasn't had the chance to influence games / results in the same way. Thankfully, neither is Messi a cheat in the same, blatant way as Maradona. I refer to the so-called "Hand of God" incident. Such a shame when a truly gifted player resorts to blatant handball and hasn't the guts or honesty to own up at the time.......
There was another comment that I heard (can't remember to whom it was attributed) but it went along the lines of "Argentina has Messi, Brazil has Neymar but Germany has a team". On last night's evidence, that certainly seems to be true. Germany's average age of team members is 5-6 years younger than Argentina's and Brazil's - so I expect there'll be some big clear-outs and rebuilding goes on before the next qualification stage.
Hopefully, Roy Hodgson will also learn from Germany's example.
Here in the UK, the TV commentators / pundits kept asking stupid questions about whether we can now regard Lionel Messi as being in the same category as Pele and Maradona. In all honesty, no we can't. Messi is unfortunate in that he's not playing in a national team which is capable of giving him the same support and opportunities as either Pele or Maradona enjoyed and, therefore, hasn't had the chance to influence games / results in the same way. Thankfully, neither is Messi a cheat in the same, blatant way as Maradona. I refer to the so-called "Hand of God" incident. Such a shame when a truly gifted player resorts to blatant handball and hasn't the guts or honesty to own up at the time.......
There was another comment that I heard (can't remember to whom it was attributed) but it went along the lines of "Argentina has Messi, Brazil has Neymar but Germany has a team". On last night's evidence, that certainly seems to be true. Germany's average age of team members is 5-6 years younger than Argentina's and Brazil's - so I expect there'll be some big clear-outs and rebuilding goes on before the next qualification stage.
Hopefully, Roy Hodgson will also learn from Germany's example.
Kent
Finally at home...
Germany did not win "out of the blue".
The whole project started 10 years ago when Jürgen Klinsmann took over.
The second place in 2002 was more or less coincidental.
But the 3rd place(s) in 2006 and 2010 were more than deserved. They were (together with Portugal) the best team in 2006 and with Spain in 2010 already.
And this year they are worthy champion. Best team over the whole tournament (other really good ones were the Netherlands and France, rather than Argentina) and they played very fair, too.
I also liked Chile's and Colombia's performance - and the underdog Costa Rica.
The whole project started 10 years ago when Jürgen Klinsmann took over.
The second place in 2002 was more or less coincidental.
But the 3rd place(s) in 2006 and 2010 were more than deserved. They were (together with Portugal) the best team in 2006 and with Spain in 2010 already.
And this year they are worthy champion. Best team over the whole tournament (other really good ones were the Netherlands and France, rather than Argentina) and they played very fair, too.
I also liked Chile's and Colombia's performance - and the underdog Costa Rica.