The routes that both teams took to the final were quite
different. The Germans had been exceptionally successful and made history by
crushing the host nation, Brazil (A nation that considers the World Cup its
birthright) by seven goals to one. The Argentinians by contrast scrapped
through all their games and were to all intents and purposes, saved by Mr.
Messi’s talents.
World Cup 2014 has been a success by most counts. Despite
protest against the World Cup, the football on display has been spectacular
with a record number of goals being scored.
What’s been especially wonderfully pleasing about World Cup
2014 has been the fact that this has been the year for teams from obscure
nations without great superstars. The biggest of giant killer was Costa Rica,
which defeated both Uruguay and Italy in the first round and were only knocked
out in a penalty shootout against eventual third-place finishers – the Netherlands.
You could say that it has been an occasion for the triumph of the team over the
superstar.
This is not to say that superstars aren't important. A
single brilliant individual can make the difference between success and
failure. One only has to think of Diego Maradona, who inspired Argentina to World
Cup glory in 1986 (My English friends will no doubt remind us that he did cheat
a little via the “hand of God” incident) and despite the lackluster performance
of the Argentine team, he managed to get them into the final of the 1990 World
Cup.
However, while we all admire brilliance in an individual,
depending on a single individual player is downright stupid. The biggest
example was found in the host nation, Brazil. The Brazilian team of 2014 was
built around of the brilliance of their striker, Neymar. While Brazil did reach
the semi-finals, it often looked as if they needed Neymar to either score or
create the scoring opportunity. Then Mr. Neymar had to be carried off in a
stretcher after the quarter final against Columbia. This proved to be the beginning
of the end. In the semi-final, Brazil was humiliated with the 7-1 drubbing by
Germany and couldn’t salvage any pride in the third-place play-off when they lost
3-0 to the Netherlands.
By all accounts, the Brazilian team, which had brilliantly
conquered all in the Confederation Cup a year earlier, was lost without Mr.
Neymar.
By contrast, the Germans knew what they were doing. There
times when they struggled but by and large, the German team had found a way to
play tactically sound and yet exciting football week. The Germans, as an
article by Businessweek stated, had planned this moment over forty years. After
a low moment in the late 1990s, the Germans invested in things like talent
development and management. The results proved to be spectacular, with Germany
coming third in both 2006 and 2010, losing only to eventual Champions, Italy
and Spain.
Germany has been played as a team. Traditionally, the
Germans were considered a team that played defensive football. However, the
latest German team has found a way of becoming more exciting in attack and yet
remained tactically careful in defense. The results speak for themselves.
Somehow, Germany has avoided the trap of building its
strategy around a single individual. The focus has been on the team.
We may yet see Mr. Messi provide that stroke of genious that
inspires Argentina to World Cup Glory. Many will be hopping to see the World’s
Best player make some magic.
However, it may healthy for Germany to win. It will remind
us that football, like much else in life, is often a team effort, where success
is a combination of many efforts.
