Leo lots to do to match Diego

771

Netherlands thumping Spain 5-1 seems like a season ago.  We’ve had 24 different World Cup-match days since then, during which time most of us have watched close to a season’s worth of football.  The dethroning of Spain, in such dramatic fashion, was an early portent of what we were in store for.  Brazil’s humiliation at the hands of Germany provided one of the most memorable football events of our times.

While everyone seems to have nominated the competition as the best ever, the football has been of variable quality.  Lots of strong football countries failed to show, including Spain, Italy and England.  Africa promised early on, then fell.  Russia gave no indication they were on-schedule to give the performance of a lifetime when they host the tournament in four years.

Brazil reached the semi-finals but this will surely be known as one of the worst Brazilian teams ever.  Argentina have reached their first final in 24 years ago, but I can’t figure out how they made it.  Performances against Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium and then Netherlands never convinced we were watching eventual winners.  The best they have achieved, so far, is a single goal victory.

Belgium’s golden generation were a mere shadow of their less-fancied Dutch neighbours, who under-promised and over-delivered, again.  Germany are the team who deserve to take the trophy, and although Lionel Messi finds himself in a World Cup Final this evening, on the basis of what we’ve seen over the last four weeks, he’s no Diego Maradona.

Enjoy the final, the real stuff starts in two days.

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771 Comments

  1. T4, 50,000 Germans and his son, party time indeed for Awe_Naw!

     

    Just sent a text to a mate in Germany, simply said Wünderba.

  2. bournesouprecipe on

    Marrakesh

     

     

    Fair do’s. I think Messi has done more in club football, and is still young.

     

     

    National football, makes Mario Kempes and Daniel Passerella better than Messi?

  3. That’s pretty poor, the guy looked injured most of the WC, doing what he did well in flashes but overall he looked knackered

  4. The German Goal was a cracker,and the German Keeper should have got a red card for that tackle on the Argentine player.

  5. BSR.. agreed but sometimes a club suits a player and barca with messi, xavi and iniesta has been terrific for them. However, Maradona won the world cup on his own (more or less) in an age when you could assault players. The argies of 86 were an ordinary bunch with 1 super player. Just my humble opinion of course and i don’t think it has any more or any less merit than yours bud…

  6. tommytwiststommyturns on

    Doc – Wonderbra?! :-)

     

     

    Macjay – “We Brits….”?! Nuff said.

     

     

    T4

  7. Would have been totally different game if German goalkeeper had been correctly sent off.how ref saw that as a foul by higuain I will never know.

  8. Have to say for all Schweinstiger had a great game my man of the match would

     

    be given to Boateng

  9. Comparing Pele with Maradona is facile, comparing either with Messi equally or more so.

     

    They were all wonderful players, in different eras with different circumstance and environments. Why not just enjoy their skills?

     

     

    The best team won the tournament.

     

    A wonderful one at that.

  10. Oldtim67

     

    Did you have a good bithday? :-)

     

     

    GERMANY

     

    Congratulations and well done

     

    You get out of football what you put in and Germany has invested in evwrylevel of the football experience, its youth,its clubs, its fan and its stadiums.i am happy for them.

     

    :-):-):-)

     

    HH

  11. macjay1 for Neil Lennon on

    tommytwiststommyturns

     

    23:01 on

     

    13 July, 2014

     

    Doc – Wonderbra?! :-)

     

     

    Macjay – “We Brits….”?! Nuff said.

     

    —————————————————————————————————————–

     

    Yep.I`m a Brit.

     

    And so are Celtic.

     

    I take it you`re not.

  12. tommytwiststommyturns on

    Macjay – Celtic are Brits….you’ve really got your finger on the pulse of the Hoops support!

     

     

    T4

  13. MacJay1, define Brit?

     

    I am a citizen of the UK, for now.

     

    I am no Brit, by any definition.

     

    Great Britain has been a long time dead.

     

    Is it now a legal entity in any way?

     

    We live in the United Kingdom. The Islands we live on are the British Isles, but the term Brit brings connotations I would not want to be associated with.

  14. Now we can focus our attention on the real competition.

     

    The competition for places at CP.

     

    Hopefully a few of the young squad will force their way into RD’s plans.

  15. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon ....The angels are with Wee Oscar in Heaven.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    Wisnae half a red card……that was assault

  16. tommytwiststommyturns on

    Doc – what did you say to me about that other attention seeking muppet?! ;-)

     

     

    T4

  17. T4, aye, but not something I would expect from MacJay, sorry MacJay, but that’s a poor post.

     

     

    Eddie, aren’t all of mine?:-)

  18. An Tearmann.

     

     

    Getting to old to celebrate birthdays, they still come around every year, birthdays are coming too quick now, I think I’ll change my birth date to the 29th of February, then I’ll only have one every fourth year. I’ll be going into the Blane Valley on Friday, if you fancy it.

  19. Kilbowie Kelt will vote YES on

    BRIT ????

     

     

    O, Dear !!!

     

     

    Rule Britannia,…. Britannia waives the rules.

     

     

    For this we fought for 800 years ?

  20. Doc… no, they aren’t…. your post at 23.05 would have its knockers… you boobed on that one….

     

     

    titjokes csc

  21. Been off the blog all day, little matter of the Munster Hurling Final, just logged in and was saddened to read of the passing of Weefrathe Tim’s Mam. I don’t know Weefrathe but I can tell from his posts that he is a most sincere, sensitive and inoffensive man. May I offer my sincerest sympathies Weefrathe, I will remember her in my prayers tonight.

  22. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    OLDTIM67

     

     

    Good news,mate.

     

     

    You’re allowed to start counting backwards when you hit seventyfive.