Well, it came down to the last final which came down to extra time, but in the end, Germany won the World Cup and tasc19 won The Key Play World Cup Bracket Predictor with the "SuckIt" entry, the name of which I'm assuming was aimed at LOLUVA. Congratulations! If you can, either hit me up on email at thefifthfuller@gmail.com or tweet at me (@thefifthfuller) and we can work out the details of your t-shirt prize.
Thanks to everyone who played! FORTY EIGHT DAYS UNTIL THE SEASON STARTS!
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Tied for #28 on my second bracket, not bad someone who's soccer knowledge comes 90% from 1 season of intramurals in college and the "World Cup for College Football Fans" threads
Great final. I was rooting for Argentina but it was a really good game, and the winning goal was spectacular.
Messi seemed to have gotten the golden ball by default. You could argue that Mascherano was even more important for the success Argentina saw.
Neuer winning the golden glove was probably the right call. Ochoa probably had the best game of the tournament against Brazil. Maybe Tim Howard against Belgium.
Best goal had to be either Tim Cahill, James Rodriguez, or the late (very late) entry from Gotze. Might have to go with Gotze, just because, well, it WON THE WORLD CUP and it was a brilliant pair of touches. Imagine that. He just fulfilled every boyhood soccer dream anyone ever has. Game winning goal. In extra time. Of the World Cup Final. I believe he's right footed, too.
I'll also wag my tail a little
I think Messi's mere presence changed the course of a lot of their games. He played fairly selflessly (possibly too much so given how some of his potential assists were wasted) so his goal total is not what it could have been.
Also, remember that Gotze came in at, what, the 88th minute? Of course, they expected extra time at that point, but imagine having to sit out the majority of the game and then coming in and having that sort of impact. Dang. Beautifully executed chest trap and volley. Kept watching the replay in awe. Most players in the cup would have hoped to get that in off momentum, but he exhibited incredible control.
Germany is a machine. That game wouldn't have even been a question if they had a real LB and weren't playing Howedes there. He was the obvious weak point. Ozil had a fantastic final (odd how that happens when he's moved to his proper spot in the middle, isn't it??). There were at least two passes he played that should have been assists. And he ran over 9 miles in that game alone. I have a mancrush on that guy.
For the record, I would have won had I entered my bracket. I got every single pick correct when I filled it out last night. I'd like extra Maroon on my t-shirt please.
Germany played a very good game, but I did come away impressed with Argentina. Their defense was absolutely suffocating and did not allow Germany to get many good looks at all, despite just how much they were dominating the game. So much so that over the course of the game, while Germany was by far the better team, Argentina had by far and away the better chances to win.
With that said, I'm not sold at all on Messi getting the golden ball.
James Rodrigues should have won it. He impacted every game he played in.
Hummus Rodriguez was the biggest star of the World Cup. No one else even comes remotely close.
I too was impressed by chickpea gonzales
Mmmm...Chickpea Gonzales...
For once I'd like to see a defender win this type of thing. It's almost like the Heisman Trophy these days, but not quite. How about the defenders for Costa Rica? They conceded the fewest goals in the tournament, and made it to the quarter finals.
again like the heisman defence in soccer is such a collective unit. If one guy screws up they're all let down, and because of that noone typically stands out a defenders position either. Honestly of all the defenders in the entire world cup I thought Matts Hummels was the best. That dude was an absolute beast the whole tournament and even played on a hurt knee in the final, but again rarely do you see one defender really change the entire game, mostly because its a collective unit. I completely agree...it really sucks but not much you can do about it.
I'll tell you who doesnt deserve it is david luiz, his inconsistancy showed this tournament really badly and without thiago silva on the field he looked lost. I bet PSG is kicking themselves right now
PSG also has Thiago Silva though. They're probably betting that he'll keep Luiz on a leash and positioned well.
Oh I know but my point is even with thiago Silva he didn't look even close to the 90 bajillion gazillion dollars they dropped on him