Messi's World Cup ends on a bitter note

Messi's World Cup ends on a bitter note -- Lionel Messi's final act in the 2014 World Cup was lifting a free kick high over the bar, wasting Argentina's last chance to equalize in the final against Germany.

It was far from a fitting finish for the four-time world player of the year.

This was supposed to be Messi's World Cup, just like the 1986 tournament belonged to another Argentine great, Diego Maradona.

But after carrying his team through the group stage in Brazil with four goals, Messi seemed to run out of steam.

He created chances in the final Sunday but, like the rest of the team, lacked the finishing touch to turn the game for Argentina.

''I'm hurt for losing the way we did. We were close to penalties,'' Messi said. ''I think we deserved a little better, we had chances.''

He was a picture of disappointment as he collected the trophy for the tournament's best player, and then stood in silence at the entrance to the player's tunnel, watching the Germans receive the trophy.

''At this moment, I don't care at all about that prize, only lifting the trophy matters,'' Messi said.

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said he thought Messi deserved the best player award, ''because he played an extraordinary role. He was the fundamental factor in the team.''

Messi has won everything there is to win with club team Barcelona, but many critics say he needs a World Cup title to be considered among football's all-time greats.

''He's been there for quite a while already, in the pantheon of the greats,'' Sabella said, when asked to compare Messi with players like Maradona and Brazil's Pele.

Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, recipient of the Golden Glove trophy, stands next to Argentina's Lionel Messi after he receive the Golden Ball trophy following Germany's 1-0 victory over Argentina after the World Cup final soccer match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, July 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Messi stood out in an otherwise mediocre Argentine team in the group stage, scoring against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran and twice against Nigeria.

The free kick he curled inside Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama's left post was a masterpiece. Then, game by game, Messi's influence started waning.

Against Switzerland he had little impact until extra time, when he drilled a hole in the Swiss defense and set up Angel Di Maria's winning goal. In the next game, against Belgium, he started the movement that resulted in Gonzalo Higuain's first-half winner and helped Argentina keep possession as the Belgians tried to level the score.

Man-marked by Nigel de Jong, Messi struggled to find space in the semifinal win over the Netherlands, and besides a few runs and deft passes into the area against Germany, he didn't rise to the occasion.

His last chance came in the final seconds of extra time as he was given a free kick about 10 meters (yards) from the area. Messi wiped the sweat off his face, took aim and sent his final shot of the World Cup well over the target. ( sports.yahoo.com  )

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Lionel Messi's World Cup final was full of vomit and sadness

(Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Lionel Messi's World Cup final was full of vomit and sadness - Before the first half of the World Cup final between Argentina and Germany was even over, Lionel Messi was vomiting. This, unfortunately, is nothing new for Messi, nor is it something that seems to bother him very much. It also was not the low point of his night.

(Getty)

He gave Germany a few scares in the first 45 minutes and he had one last chance to change the result with a free kick in the final seconds of extra time after Germany made it 1-0. But, through no fault of his own, it just wasn't meant to be for Leo Messi as the better team won their fourth World Cup title and beat Argentina in the final rounds of the tournament for the third straight time.

To the surprise of many, Messi was awarded the Golden Ball after carrying Argentina through the group stage with four goals. Yet even this high honor couldn't cheer him up as that crowning achievement — a World Cup title — remains the one thing missing from his overflowing trophy room.

Of course, anyone would be upset after coming just short of winning the World Cup, but for Messi it's so much worse than for any of his teammates. Since establishing himself as one of the greatest players in the history of the game, there has been a sole, droning, inescapable focus for everyone who knows his name. "When's he going to win a World Cup? He needs to win a World Cup. Why can't he do it at the World Cup? World Cup, World Cup, World Cup." (That's an exact quote, by the way.)

So to stand on the pitch and watch Germany celebrate meant more than just one major loss for Messi. It also the start of at least four more years — if not a whole lifetime — of being prodded with obsessively critical World Cup talk. "Yeah, all that amazing stuff you constantly do every year is great, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE WORLD CUP?" And after coming this close, it will probably take it to a new level.

Keep that in mind as you look at these pictures of Messi after the match...

"Your kindness is both infuriating and so comforting, Bastian. I don't want anymore hugs right now, but maybe in a few hours we can build a Lego pirate ship together if you're not too busy being happier than I am."

"Maybe I'll throw my runner-up medal as hard as I can just to show how little second place means to me. ... Nah, I'll probably just keep it and auction it off for charity at some point. That would be nice."

"I'm going to call this my Golden Ball of Sadness."

"I'd rather wear that itchy turtleneck that grandma made for my birthday last year than this medal. Hopefully Sepp Blatter doesn't ask why I'm not wearing the medal he gave me like she does with that turtleneck every time I see her."

"Maybe I should change my name to Sven Guacamole and start a new life as a school counselor."

"Nah. The kids at the school would probably still ask me why I haven't won a World Cup even if they don't know who I am." ( sports.yahoo.com )

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Why Germany's World Cup win is a big win for world soccer

Why Germany's World Cup win is a big win for world soccer - Germany won the World Cup Sunday, beating Argentina, 1-0, in a dramatic final. The victory was the culmination of Germany's blossoming soccer revolution.

At the end of what many have regarded as the most entertaining and offensively minded World Cup in recent memory, the team left holding the little gold-and-green globe was the most entertaining and offensively minded of the bunch.

On this day, Germany was, perhaps, not at its best. In days to come, Argentina will, perhaps, look back and wonder how, in those fleeting moments when the Germans got it horribly wrong, its players managed to do even worse.

The 2014 World Cup final Sunday was hardly the best game of a sparkling tournament. But then again, finals almost never are. This one, at least, was not the boxing match of Spain-Netherlands of 2010, when yellow cards flew like confetti. Or the tedium of Italy-France in 2006, when Zinedine Zidane headbutting an opponent was the only thing that remotely resembled excitement. Or the leisurely stroll of Brazil-Germany in 2002, when the Germans were fortunate simply to be there.

No, by the meager measure of recent finals, Germany's 1-0 win Sunday was fairly decent entertainment value, actually. Not only were both teams trying to win, but they both seemed capable of it. There was endeavor, chances, a good spirit and – in the last minutes – about 48 very tired legs.

But as we have come to expect these past five weeks, there was genuine drama and, in the waning moments, a goal of some genius forged by two German substitutes – a delicate chip played intuitively into space by André Schürrle and a balletic act of soccer sublimity by Mario Götze.

In the whirling space between heaven and earth, Götze, horizontal above the grass but utterly calm, found that one second of the extraordinary that had eluded the other 23 players on the field for 113 minutes.

To score the World Cup-winning goal with seven minutes to go is one thing. To score that goal to win the World Cup was a fitting statement. "Dear Brazil, Thanks for everything. Love, Germany."

But there was also something fitting about the scene after the game of Germany's two-dozen-odd players forcibly wrenching the Jules Rimet Trophy from each other. Being Germans, they eventually figured out an orderly system – pass trophy, lift trophy, cheer; repeat. Just like, being Germans, they had eventually figured out a system for winning the World Cup after 24 years.

Choose whom you like as your favorite team at this wonderful World Cup. But there is no doubt that few things could be better for world soccer than Germany as 2014 world champions.

You only need look at Götze's bolt of brilliance for the reason why. He's 22. Schürrle, the man who passed him the ball, is 23.

They are Germany's World Cup-winners, but they are also its next generation. Because for Germany, the future and the present has blurred into the same thing, and every nation could learn a thing or two from how Germany has done it.

Humiliated by a first-round exit in the 2000 European Championships (a World Cup-like event only for European nations), Germany decided to change, well, everything.

Known as a cautious team that relied on experience, Germany has now become the most prolific factory of young world-class talent.

Known as a team of efficiency but little daring, Germany has become the most unabashedly aggressive team in world soccer, taking the intricate passing patterns of Spain's tiki-taka revolution and pressing the accelerator to the floor.

In winning the 2010 World Cup, Spain scored eight goals in seven games. In Brazil, Germany scored 18.

Germany has done this by rebuilding youth soccer from the ground up both in training sessions given by the national football federation's nearly 30,000 licensed coaches to mandatory soccer academies run by the country's top professional clubs. The goal was not only to be more systematic in identifying and training the country's best young talent, but it was to teach them a certain style of playing.

That style has now been stamped across the historical marquee of the 2014 World Cup.

Sunday's final, with Götze's indelible moment, will be memorable in its way. But Germany never really found its rhythm after its midfield engine, Sami Khedira, pulled out of the game only minutes before kickoff with an injury. Several times, Argentina exposed Germany's weakness – a desire to send too many men forward – with intelligent counterattacks. Twice, Germany escaped only because Argentinian forwards missed the goal entirely.

But Germany's World Cup will be remembered most for the 7-1 evisceration of host Brazil in the semifinal. So often, the New Germany has faltered at the semifinal stage. This was the fifth consecutive major tournament in which Germany made the semifinal (2006, 2010, 2014 World Cups and 2008 and 2012 European Championships). But it's the first Germany has won.

Indeed, Sunday marked the end of what was, for Germany, a dry spell. It's Germany's first World Cup win since 1990, when it was West Germany. That tournament closed a remarkable run of three consecutive World Cup finals appearances – and five in seven – for the West Germans.

Sunday evening, those achievements didn't seem out of the question for Germany's new golden generation. Now, it's one and counting. ( csmonotor.com )

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Germany wins terrifically entertaining World Cup

Germany wins terrifically entertaining World Cup -- Germany won the World Cup. Host Brazil won a world of new friends.

The now four-time world champions, the first European team to win it on South American soil, earned the honor of lifting the most recognized trophy in sports with a tooth-and-nail 1-0 victory in a final as terrifically entertaining as the tournament itself.

For a 32-day showcase of football at its best, the winning goal was beautifully appropriate. Mario Goetze controlled the ball with his chest and then volleyed it into the Argentine goal, making difficult skills look so simple. Scored in the 113th minute, the mortal blow left Argentina too little time to recover.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, sat in the VIP section with other world leaders, waved a clenched fist as Goetze celebrated. When referee Nicola Rizzoli blew the final whistle a few minutes later, Vladimir Putin reached across and shook Merkel's hand. The Russian president's country hosts the next World Cup in 2018.

Sepp Blatter, president of World Cup organizer FIFA, and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff embraced as Germany's players went crazy with joy and Argentina's wept.

One of the ironies of this World Cup is that even though the tournament will be remembered as a resounding success, it was a headache for Rousseff and Blatter to the end.

As they handed over the gold trophy to Germany captain Philipp Lahm, the Maracana Stadium echoed with an insulting chant aimed at the Brazilian president. There were resounding boos, too, when she was shown shaking the hand of losing coach Alejandro Sabella. Such protests were also heard at other stadiums during the tournament, demonstrating how the party atmosphere was really only a thin veneer for grave public misgivings about $13 billion of spending on cup preparations.

As sunset-pink clouds made way for night, and the teams treated the watching world to 30 minutes of extra time because they were still scoreless after 90 minutes, the iconic Maracana bathed in light looked like a spaceship landed between the hills, high-rises and favelas of Rio de Janeiro.

The 74,738 fans had a ball, especially Germans and Brazilians who didn't want Argentina, their neighbor and fiercest football rival, to win a third world title. They drowned out the Argentine fans' tireless, jaunty singing with piercing whistles and shouted ''Ole!'' when Germany players' had the ball, weaving their game of intricate passing.

The biggest game in football attracted a good sprinkling of celebrities. David Beckham hugged Pele. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen snuggled with her husband, NFL star Tom Brady. Rolling Stones front-man Mick Jagger was there, too.

Even with tired legs as they played into extra time, the two exquisitely matched teams gave and sought no quarter. Germany brought brawn, its intricate passing and movement and tireless determination to attack and attack again. Argentina responded with bruising defense and craftiness and could have won had its players not wasted chances.

For the highest stakes in football, players bruised body and soul. German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger was carrying a cut under his right eye as he walked up with his teammates to collect the trophy. Midfielder Christoph Kramer played on for 14 minutes with a suspected concussion before he was replaced by Andre Schuerrle. It was Schuerrle who provided the cross that Goetze controlled so magically. Kramer's head injury was the last in a series at this World Cup that will put pressure on football to better protect players from concussion. ( The Associated Press )

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Messi's World Cup ends on a bitter note

Messi's World Cup ends on a bitter note -- Lionel Messi's final act in the 2014 World Cup was lifting a free kick high over the bar, wasting Argentina's last chance to equalize in the final against Germany.

It was far from a fitting finish for the four-time world player of the year.

This was supposed to be Messi's World Cup, just like the 1986 tournament belonged to another Argentine great, Diego Maradona.

But after carrying his team through the group stage in Brazil with four goals, Messi seemed to run out of steam.

He created chances in the final Sunday but, like the rest of the team, lacked the finishing touch to turn the game for Argentina.

''I'm hurt for losing the way we did. We were close to penalties,'' Messi said. ''I think we deserved a little better, we had chances.''

He was a picture of disappointment as he collected the trophy for the tournament's best player, and then stood in silence at the entrance to the player's tunnel, watching the Germans receive the trophy.

''At this moment, I don't care at all about that prize, only lifting the trophy matters,'' Messi said.

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said he thought Messi deserved the best player award, ''because he played an extraordinary role. He was the fundamental factor in the team.''

Messi has won everything there is to win with club team Barcelona, but many critics say he needs a World Cup title to be considered among football's all-time greats.

''He's been there for quite a while already, in the pantheon of the greats,'' Sabella said, when asked to compare Messi with players like Maradona and Brazil's Pele.

Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, recipient of the Golden Glove trophy, stands next to Argentina's Lionel Messi after he receive the Golden Ball trophy following Germany's 1-0 victory over Argentina after the World Cup final soccer match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, July 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Messi stood out in an otherwise mediocre Argentine team in the group stage, scoring against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran and twice against Nigeria.

The free kick he curled inside Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama's left post was a masterpiece. Then, game by game, Messi's influence started waning.

Against Switzerland he had little impact until extra time, when he drilled a hole in the Swiss defense and set up Angel Di Maria's winning goal. In the next game, against Belgium, he started the movement that resulted in Gonzalo Higuain's first-half winner and helped Argentina keep possession as the Belgians tried to level the score.

Man-marked by Nigel de Jong, Messi struggled to find space in the semifinal win over the Netherlands, and besides a few runs and deft passes into the area against Germany, he didn't rise to the occasion.

His last chance came in the final seconds of extra time as he was given a free kick about 10 meters (yards) from the area. Messi wiped the sweat off his face, took aim and sent his final shot of the World Cup well over the target. (Associated Press)

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World Cup champion Germany expects to keep machine rolling into Euro 2016

World Cup champion Germany expects to keep machine rolling into Euro 2016 – There are different levels of satisfaction in winning the World Cup. It is the peak of rapture for every victor, the greatest feeling in soccer, the pinnacle of a career, in many cases the end of a long and exhausting journey.

But for others it is merely the beginning, the fuel for more success, more nights like these, more chances to show they are the best. In the heady moments following Sunday's World Cup final, this was how it seemed for Germany, a team that was delighted with collecting the trophy but by no means surprised by it. It's a team that fully believes it can form a dynasty, much in the same way Spain reigned over soccer right up until its first game of this tournament.

Substitute Mario Goetze was the hero with the only goal against Argentina at the Maracana Stadium and Joachim Loew served as the wily architect of triumph, yet everyone in the Germany set-up has his place and knows it; and, most important of all, executes it with diligence and commitment. 

Mario Gotze became a national hero in Germany. (Reuters) 

Loew talks about his program as a consistent action in progress, not a peaking roller coaster defined by the rigid nature of major tournament scheduling. Now that Germany is at the top, he wants it to stay there.

"This was a result of 10 years of preparation and tough work," Loew said. "And a team spirit which is unbelievable. This team has a marvelous technical capacity and they have the willpower to carry this out. For that reason we made it today and are proud."

Loew has been with Germany since his days as an assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup and took sole command following that tournament. It is an extraordinarily long run for a national team leader but you can't think that he will step down now, there might be a nationwide revolt if he tried to.

Next up is the European Championships in France in 2016 and on the basis of this past month, Germany will be an immediate and automatic favorite for it. And why not?

So many things point to an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talent, no expression of that greater than Loew's "boy wonder" Goetze being implemented as a substitute when he would likely start for any other team in the tournament.

It is not an old team by any means either; Goetze, Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer and Mats Hummels might be hitting their peak when the World Cup rolls its merry way to Russia four years from now.

Most important of all, it is a team that has found a system that no one has an answer for. It borrows heavily from the Spain team that began its glut of success at Euro 2008 and passed its way to perfection at three straight major tournaments. But even if Germany was not the sole inventor of the style that it used to pummel Portugal, France, Brazil and Argentina by a collective margin of 13 goals to one, then it deserves credit for being the only team able to effectively copy it, or a version of it.

Passing efficiency isn't the sexiest thing in soccer, neither is seamless teamwork, but in the modern game they are the most important factors. That is why Cristiano Ronaldo has been idle these past three weeks while Germany has the party of parties awaiting it in Berlin on Tuesday.

It hasn't always been easy. Germany was good, seriously good, at all the three tournaments Spain won, but fell short in one final and two semis. Loew had to convince his players to keep believing in the system.

"We have made constant progress even though we didn't make this ultimate step before," Loew added. "We believed in it and worked a lot for it. This team deserves it.

"In my time over these 10 years they have been with us, we were disappointed once or twice, but we have always played good football. We showed the best performance of all teams for seven matches and that is why we are so happy."

Happiness is one thing, contentment is another. This German machine isn't content yet. It wants more, and everyone else should watch out. ( sports.yahoo.com )

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Germany coach's special message to Mario Goetze helped inspire winning goal

Germany coach's special message to Mario Goetze helped inspire winning goal – Before replacing starting striker Miroslav Klose in the 88th minute of a tense and scoreless World Cup final against Argentina, Germany coach Joachim Loew gave instructions to the substitute. But this wasn't your ordinary marching orders of late-game tactics.

"I said to Mario Goetze, 'OK, show to the world that you're better than [Lionel] Messi, show that you can decide the World Cup,' " Loew recalled.

Show you're better than Messi? Is that all?

Loew's words were half-dare, half-inspirational speech. And, luckily for the Germans, Goetze took every syllable to heart.

The forward from Bayern Munich did what Messi couldn't do – score the winning goal – as he showed off his world-class skill to the millions watching around the globe to secure Germany's fourth World Cup title Sunday night at Maracana Stadium.

Germany's Mario Goetze celebrates with the World Cup trophy. (AP)

Running down the middle of the field, Goetze stopped at the left edge of the 6-yard box, controlled Andre Schurrle's deft cross with his chest, then let the ball drop to his left foot and blasted it past goalkeeper Sergio Romero from the sharpest of angles into the side netting. The 113th-minute strike was all Germany needed in a 1-0 extra-time victory.

For Goetze, the moment was "a dream come true." For Loew, it was just one more stroke of genius.

"Mario Goetze is a miracle boy, a boy wonder who can play any position," Loew said. "He has superior technical quality. I knew he could be decisive in the match. It was a great decider today."

"I'm more than happy," Goetze said. "And I'm happy with the team and what happened here in Brazil. I guess it's more or less indescribable how I feel. It is absolutely sensational."

Goetze's season with his club team Bayern Munich was anything but. After a nearly $50 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund, the 22-year-old battled inconsistency in his first season with the German Bundesliga champions, scoring 15 goals in all competitions.

At the World Cup, Goetze started Germany's first two group games, scoring in a 2-2 draw with Ghana, then found himself on the bench in three of the next four matches, including the previous two knockout-round victories over France and Brazil, as Loew opted to start the 36-year-old Klose.

Goetze credited his support group – girlfriend, family and friends – for continuing to "believe in me" when it seemed Loew didn't.

"I kept on training with the team," Goetze said during his news conference to accept the Man of the Match award. "Every single player deserves to be named here. I think we deserved the [World Cup] trophy."

Loew said he had a hunch Goetze would perform under the most intense pressure in the world's biggest soccer game.

"I had a good feeling about him," Loew said. "And the plan for both teams was similar in a sense that both teams wanted to win the game in regular time. We both wanted to decide the match."

Surprisingly, Mario Goetze decided it, not Lionel Messi. ( sports.yahoo.com )

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Germany will earn $35 million thanks to its World Cup championship

Germany's Mario Goetze, center, celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the World Cup final soccer match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, July 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Francois Xavier Marit, Pool)

Germany will earn $35 million thanks to its World Cup championship - To the victors go the spoils and 1 percent of FIFA's 2014 World Cup revenue.

After Germany defeated Argentina in extra time of the final of the World Cup, not only did it get to hoist an 18-carat trophy, but it also hauled off a cool $35 million.

It’s fitting that the largest prize in World Cup history was distributed in the most expensive World Cup in history. Spain, winner of the 2010 World Cup, received $30 million.

That money is the only thing Germany gets to keep (except for bragging rights) since the expensive trophy stays with FIFA and teams are given a cheaper replica.

Argentina received $25 million as the runner-up, which is up from $24 million in 2010. The Netherlands earned $20 million for finishing third and Brazil earned $18 million for fourth place.

The United States earned $9 million for making it to the Round of 16. That money will go to each country’s soccer federation and it is at the discretion of each nation how to dole out the winnings.

That prize money is in addition to the $1.5 million each nation was given prior to the tournament for training, travel and other expenses. FIFA also has a pool $70 million to pay to the various clubs that employ the 736 club players in the tournament, which works out to $2,800 per player per day that the player was in the World Cup.

Here’s a look at the prize money distribution for the 2014 FIFA World Cup:

• Group Stage (16 eliminated teams): $8 million each 

• Round of 16 (eight losers): $9 million each 

• Quarterfinals (four losers): $14 million each 

• Fourth place: $18 million 

• Third place:: $20 million 

• Runner-up: $24 million 

• Winner: $35 million

If it sounds like a lot of money is being dished out for the five-week tournament, it pales in comparison to what FIFA stands to make, which could be upwards of $4.5 billion thanks to broadcasting revenue, licensing, sponsorships and hospitality.

It’s also just a drop in the bucket for players such as Lionel Messi, who just inked a deal with Barcelona for more than $50 million per year.

It’s unclear how much Brazil, the host country, will take away in addition to its prize money, but it won’t be nearly as much as FIFA’s windfall and won’t come close to covering the estimated $14 billion in costs to build and renovate 12 stadiums, upgrade the country's infrastructure and pay for security.

And there’s probably not enough money in the world to make the country feel better about its last two games, which the Brazilians lost by a combined 10-1. ( sports.yahoo.com )

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Nike or Adidas?

Germany team celebrate after winning the World Cup final soccer match between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, July 13, 2014. Mario Goetze volleyed in the winning goal in extra time to give Germany its fourth World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Argentina on Sunday. (AP Photo/Fabrizio Bensch, Pool)

Who won the World Cup: Nike or Adidas?  - On the pitch, Germany clearly beat the U.S. It beat everyone. But in one of the World Cup's other big battles – sponsorship – an American company is giving its German rival a run for its money. (Or, more accurately, everyone else's money.)

Sponsoring 10 teams, Nike outfitted more teams than perennial soccer equipment and apparel designer Adidas, which had nine this year. It's the first time a company sponsored more teams than Adidas. Puma has eight teams; other sponsors included Mizuno, Marathon and Joma.

The two powerhouses, though, control 70 percent of the soccer market, according to Forbes.

Each company had five teams advance out of the group stage, though Adidas' had won more games. The semifinals were a Nike-Adidas showdown, as each sponsor had one team in each game (Brazil and the Netherlands for Nike; Argentina and Germany for Adidas). Adidas' teams won both matches, making it an all-Adidas World Cup final.

If you consider only the boots, 53 percent of players wore Nike – yet Adidas won the goal-scoring competition, as 79 goals had come off Adidas boots compared to 76 from Nike, according to the Score. Players in other brands had 15 goals. The player with the most goals, Colombia's James Rodriguez, sported Adidas boots.

But the goal that mattered most – the one that gave Germany its fourth World Cup title – came off the foot of Mario Gotze, who was wearing Nike despite playing for Adidas-sponsored Germany. It's not the first time the young German has snubbed the German company – at his July 2013 news conference introducing him as a member of Adidas-sponsored Bayern Munich, Gotze wore a Nike shirt.

"The pictures from the press conference with Mario Götze have us negatively surprised," Adidas spokesperson Oliver Brüggen said at the time. "Contractually this is of course not acceptable because it was an official event of Adidas partner FC Bayern."

No word on how Adidas feels about Götze wearing Nike boots on this much bigger international stage. The company is likely used to it on the World Cup stage. Two of the stars of Nike's last team standing – the Netherlands' Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie – have individual deals with Adidas. On other teams, Guillermo Ochoa wore Mexico's Adidas jersey and his own Nike gloves and cleats; England's Frank Lampard went the opposite way.

Is Nike's infiltration of the soccer market, one Adidas dominated for more than 20 years before the first Nike World Cup goal was netted in 1982, one more way Americans are staking a claim in the sport the world long considered safe from American dominance? It looks like it – and Nike plans to stick around for awhile. The company recently launched a smartphone app that it hopes will continue building the country's interest in the sport, complete with looks back at America's surprising World Cup run into the round of 16, and ways to find and organize games with other pick-up soccer players in your neighbhorhood.

No matter how hard Nike tries, though, it will have to wait awhile to get an official contract with FIFA. USA Today reports that Adidas recenty extended its contract with FIFA, which includes designing the official ball and selling official World Cup memorabilia, through 2030 for a mere $70 million per four years. ( sports.yahoo.com )

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Germany wins World Cup on Goetze's goal

Germany wins World Cup on Goetze's goal -- Mario Goetze produced the piece of individual skill that Lionel Messi couldn't muster.

With two quick, deft touches, Goetze ended Germany's 24-year wait for another World Cup title - and denied Messi the one title he needs to forever take his place among the game's all-time greats.

Goetze scored the winning goal in extra time to give Germany a 1-0 victory over Argentina on Sunday in a tight and tense World Cup final that was decided by one moment of brilliance.

Goetze, who wasn't born when West Germany beat Argentina in the 1990 final, controlled a cross with his chest in the 113th minute and in one fluid motion volleyed the ball past goalkeeper Sergio Romero and inside the far post from five yards out.

It was a goal that gave Germany its fourth World Cup title, equal second with Italy on the list of all-time champions and just behind Brazil's five.

''It's an unbelievable feeling. I don't know how to describe it. You just shoot that goal in, you don't really know what's happening,'' Goetze said. ''And then at the end of the match, having a party with the team, the whole country ... it is for us, a dream come true.''

At the final whistle, Germany players fell into a pile in the middle of the pitch in celebration. Messi walked past them with his hands on his hips - still in the shadow of his compatriot Diego Maradona, who led his country to the 1986 title.

Goetze went on as a substitute for Miroslav Klose toward the end of regulation time and his fresh legs made the difference.

Andre Schuerrle broke down the left flank, sending his cross into the area, and the Bayern Munich midfielder did the rest with a clinical finish. The goal echoed that of Andres Iniesta four years ago, when the midfielder scored in similar fashion but from the other side of the area to give Spain a 1-0 extra-time win over the Netherlands.

According to Germany coach Joachim Loew, it was exactly as he'd planned when he made the substitution.

''I said to Mario Goetze, 'OK, show to the world that you're better than Messi and you can decide the World Cup. You have all the possibilities to do that,''' Loew said. ''I had a good feeling with him.''

Germany became the first European team to win a World Cup in the Americas, and the victory ends a string of near misses since winning its last major title at the 1996 European Championship. The team lost the 2002 World Cup final to Brazil, the Euro 2008 final to Spain and was eliminated in the semifinals in both 2006 and 2010.

Argentina had not been back in the final since that 1990 loss, and has now been beaten by Germany in the last three World Cups.

''This was our chance, and we felt that way. We couldn't do it. We have to lift our heads and suffer the pain,'' Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano said. ''Obviously, the pain is tremendous.''

It is Germany's first World Cup title as a unified nation, having won as West Germany in 1954, 1974 and 1990.

The Germans faced Argentina in both the 1986 and 1990 finals, during Maradona's heyday. This time, they were up against Messi, the four-time world player of the year who has set a slew of scoring records in leading Barcelona to every major club title and is widely considered the best player since Maradona.

But in the biggest game of his career, Messi came up short.

He had one good chance to score when he was sent free in the area just after the halftime break, but sent his shot wide. It was a difficult angle, but still the type of chance he so often converts for Barcelona.

Messi threatened intermittently throughout the match, but was effectively smothered by the German defense. His free kick in the 120th minute went well high.

Messi, who scored four goals in the group stage but none in the knockout rounds, then had to trudge alone up the stairs of the Maracana Stadium to accept the Golden Ball award for the tournament's best player, shaking hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel along the way.

Shortly afterward, the German team made its way up the stairs for captain Philipp Lahm to raise the hallowed 18-carat gold trophy as confetti rained down and fireworks exploded in the sky.

''It's incredible how hard we worked and what a performance we produced,'' Lahm said. ''It's an incredible feeling.''

Until Goetze's winning goal, the game was more notable for top-class defending than creative attacking, but both teams had their share of chances - particularly in the first half.

Gonzalo Higuain fired wide when gifted a chance in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, and later had a goal ruled out for offside.

Germany defender Benedikt Hoewedes hit the post just before halftime with a header.

Germany had entered the game as the favorite after its 7-1 semifinal drubbing of Brazil. But Argentina proved to be an entirely different proposition.

''I'm very proud of the team. They played a great game against a great team,'' Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said. ''I salute the players, they made the country proud for the championship they played.''

After Germany's last win in 1990, then-coach Franz Beckenbauer predicted that a unified Germany would be ''unbeatable'' in the future. It took 24 years to prove him right but with young players like Goetze, the next wait may not be as long.

''We, I think, deserve this trophy,'' Goetze said.

---

Lineups:

Germany: Manuel Neuer; Philipp Lahm, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Benedikt Hoewedes; Christoph Kramer (Andre Schuerrle, 31), Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil (Per Mertesacker, 120), Thomas Mueller; Miroslav Klose (Mario Goetze, 88).

Argentina: Sergio Romero; Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo; Lucas Biglia, Javier Mascherano, Enzo Perez (Fernando Gago, 86); Ezequiel Lavezzi (Sergio Aguero, 46), Gonzalo Higuain (Rodrigo Palacio, 78), Lionel Messi. // ( The Associated Press )

READ MORE - Germany wins World Cup on Goetze's goal

Neymar thankful he's not in a wheelchair now

Neymar thankful he's not in a wheelchair now 

Neymar thankful he's not in a wheelchair now  - Neymar became emotional when talking Thursday about the injury that ruled him out of the World Cup, saying that if the knee to his back had been slightly more to one side he "could be in a wheelchair" right now. 

The Brazil striker cried as he recalled the injury, saying "God blessed" him and prevented a more serious injury. Neymar had to stop talking for several seconds, lowering his head and putting a hand in front of his eyes. 

"It's difficult to talk about a move that (happened) in such an important moment of my career," he said. 

Neymar fractured his third vertebra when defender Juan Camilo Zuniga hit him from behind in a challenge late in the quarterfinal match against Colombia. 

"If it had been 2 centimeters to the center...," he said, struggling to stay composed. "I could be in a wheelchair." 

The 22-year-old striker complained about Zuniga's challenge, although he said the Colombian called to apologize. 

"I don't know if he was trying to hurt me, but if you understand football you know that it was not a normal challenge," Neymar said. "I can't protect myself when I'm not facing the play. The only thing that can protect me from someone coming from behind are the rules. I couldn't protect myself and I ended getting hurt." 

Neymar had been recovering at home but returned to the team's training camp on Thursday. He will travel with the squad to Brasilia to support them in the third-place match against the Netherlands on Saturday. 

Neymar said the injury led to "the worst week of his life," one that culminated — in his absence — with Brazil's 7-1 thrashing by Germany in the semifinals. He said he didn't know how to explain what happened, and that it would be "unfair for this group" to be remembered by that result alone. 

"It would have been all right to lose, but not like this. It was unbelievable, inexplicable," Neymar said. "I don't have the words to explain what happened." 

He said the loss was "part of football," and that he thought Brazil had the potential to rebound and win the next World Cup. 

"We can't lower our heads," he said. "It will hurt for a long time, but better days will come." 

He wished luck to Germany and Argentina in Sunday's final, but said he hopes the South Americans will come out on top. He plays at Barcelona with Argentina stars Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano. 

"I'm not cheering for Argentina, I'm cheering for my teammates," he said and adding that it would be good for football to have Messi winning a world title. "He deserves to be a world champion," he said. "I'm Messi Football Club." ( republika.co.id )

READ MORE - Neymar thankful he's not in a wheelchair now

Five reasons why Messi stands out in football world

Lionel Messi 

Five reasons why Messi stands out in football world  - A four-time world player of the year, Argentina's Lionel Messi is gifted with talents that most footballers can only dream of. What makes him special is that he possesses not just one or two but a combination of special skills that give him an edge over just about everyone. 

Although he hasn't played brilliantly in every game of this World Cup, Messi's talents have been on display on Argentina's road to Sunday's final against Germany. Here are five traits that explain what makes the Argentina captain so difficult to stop. 

Speed 

There are plenty of players who could outrun Messi in a 100-meter dash. But running with the ball is a different story. Messi can control the ball at close to top speed, making him an excellent dribbler. Also, it's his acceleration rather than his top speed that cuts up defenses. Few defenders can keep up when Messi revs up from standstill, creating space for his left-foot shot. 

Balance 

Like former Argentina great Diego Maradona, Messi uses his short stature to his advantage. His low center of gravity enables him to make quick turns and to stay on his feet when challenged. Often, the only way to knock him off balance is to foul him. Defenders at the World Cup have been taking turns tackling Messi to spread the risk of getting booked around the team. 

Accuracy 

Messi is one of the world's top free-kick takers, striking the ball with impressive accuracy with his magic left foot. Almost always he hits the target or just misses it — you rarely see Messi blast a free kick five meters over the crossbar. In Argentina's final group-stage match, Nigeria gave Messi two free kick opportunities near the penalty area toward the end of the first half. He elegantly curled the first one over the wall, but goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was well-positioned and stopped it. By the second free kick, Messi had fine-tuned his aim, and struck the ball perfectly inside the post. Enyeama jokingly asked the referees during the break to not give Messi any more free kicks. 

Patience 

Patience is a perhaps and underrated virtue for a football player, and it's one that has served Messi well in the World Cup. Every opponent has come with a plan to stop him, by closing down his space and tackling him as soon as he touches the ball. As a result Messi has looked out of the game for long periods. But instead of hanging his head and getting frustrated, Messi keeps looking for openings, patiently awaiting a moment when defenders take their focus off him for just a split second. That's when he strikes. Against Iran, that moment came in injury time when he scored his second goal of the tournament. Against Switzerland, it happened in extra time as he set up Angel Di Maria's winning goal with a piercing run down the middle. 

Intelligence 

Messi also stands out for his ability to read the game, mapping out paths to the opponent's goal in his mind before the opponent does. That's key to understanding why he's such a prolific scorer. Knowing by instinct where a gap will open up for a quick pass or shot gives him an advantage over others, though it can also complicate things for the team. Sometimes Messi lets chances slip away by being too smart for his Argentina teammates, who aren't in sync with him to the same degree as Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez in Barcelona. ( republika.co.id )

READ MORE - Five reasons why Messi stands out in football world