Football: Beautiful Game Raises The Bar In 2014

WORLD CUP 2014

Brazil World Cup had some exhilarating moments, breathtaking action, stunning reverses and a gripping script. It also had colossal controversies that threatened to sully the beautiful game

GOALS GALORE: With 171 goals (not counting penalty shootouts), the 2014 World Cup saw an average of 2.67 goals per game, equaling France 1998 as the highest-scoring WC since it moved to a 64-game format. And there were some spectacular ones too. James Rodriguez's effort against Uruguay was deemed as the best by FIFA. Close behind were Robin van Persie's flying header against Spain and Tim Cahill's thunderous volley against the Dutch.

GERMAN STEAMROLLER: Germany's 7-1 humiliation of five-time champions and hosts Brazil will remain an indefatigable memory - part of German folklore and Brazilian nightmare. But the match itself, in which eventual champions Germany went 5-0 up in a space of 18 first-half minutes, will remain an instance of total domination and unabashed capitulation of a sort never before witnessed in a World Cup semifinal.

KLOSE SHOT: As Germany dismantled Brazil in the semifinal, spoke by spoke, lost in the carnage at a shell-shocked Estadio Mineirao was the fact that in scoring Germany's second goal, striker Miroslav Klose set a new all-time record for goals scored in the World Cup by a single player with 16 --one more than the previous record of 15 held by former Brazil striker, Ronaldo.

VAN GAAL'S SWITCH: Louis van Gaal cemented his position as a tactical genius when he decided to switch goalkeepers right before The Netherlands' penalty shootout against Costa Rica. It raised more than a few eyebrows, including those of regular 'keeper Jasper Cillessen but coming off the bench, backup goalie Tim Krul succeeded in getting inside the skin of Costa Rican players and keeping their efforts out of the net. Costa Rica returned home, the Oranje progressed and somewhere in Old Trafford, the decision to replace to David Moyes with Van Gaal was made.

'CTRL+S' HOWARD: In the last of the second-round matches, the USA faced an onslaught from supremely talented Belgium, but the Europeans were continuously denied by goalkeeper Tim Howard, before finally succumbing in extra-time. The US custodian's tally of 15 saves is the highest number made by a goalkeeper in a World Cup match since records started being taken in 1966. His performance also sprung a spate of Internet memes and Howard became part of social media folklore.

BRAZIL'S HUMILIATION: An entire nation's dream died on that fateful night at Belo Horizonte. Germany mauled hosts Brazil 7-1 condemning the latter to their first competitive home defeat in 39 years. It was not just a loss, it was the ultimate humiliation of Brazilian football. Many mourned its demise. The home side's defence, discipline and passion was totally absent on a night that will always haunt the the South American nation. The aura of the five-time world champions is gone forever.

NEYMAR'S SPINE: Colombian defender Juan Zuniga kneed Neymar in the back and broke Brazil's spine in the quarterfinals. The flamboyant striker lay prone on the ground in unbearable pain having suffered a fractured vertebrae. A couple of inches higher could have paralysed Neymar and ended his career for good. The fans chanted Neymar's name and the team held aloft his No. 10 shirt prior to the semifinal kickoff against Germany but the trauma that followed proved just how much Brazil missed their marquee striker.

GHANAIAN ANTICS: The Ghana team refused to train just days before their final group match against Portugal because of a row over appearance fees. The Ghana govt stepped in and sent more than $3 million in cash by airplane to Brazil to pay the players. Ghana expelled two of their players following allegations of physical and verbal attacks in the camp. Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng were both suspended by the Ghana Football Association.

REFEREE DEMOTED: Referee Yuichi Nishimura was demoted to fourth official after his controversial decisions during the opening game between Brazil and Croatia. Nishimura incurred the wrath of the Croatians after awarding a soft penalty to the hosts, failing to punish a Neymar elbow on Luka Modric with a red card, and disallowing what looked to be a perfectly legitimate Croatian goal.

EURO LEAGUES

Real got the decima in Spain, while Man United went into a freefall in England. Europe was buzzing all the time...

LA DECIMA: Finally, Real Madrid earned their 10th Champions League title - after a wait since 2002. After years of spending fortunes, the trophy found its way to the Bernabeu. It couldn't have been sweeter for Cristiano Ronaldo. He was signed to win this one five years ago. And the mystical moment arrived in Lisbon, where he had burst into prominence.

MESSI GOES ON AND ON: The wizard's club form and personal form are running on parallel tracks. Barcelona ended up trophy-less last season and is now chasing Real at the winter break but one just can't seem to stop Lionel Messi from scoring. His record-breaking hat-trick saw him surpass the all-time top scoring record in the La Liga, held by Telmo Zarra (251 goals).

ATLETI, THE THIRD FORCE: Atletico Madrid bucked the trend by winning the Spanish League, snubbing the domination by Real Madrid and Barcelona. Under Diego Simeone's leadership, Atletico managed to win the title in front of a packed Camp Nou.

GOALS GALORE IN PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester City and Liverpool both ended the 2013-2014 English Premier League season with a goal tally in excess of 100. This was the first time the league witnessed two clubs cross the century-mark in the same season.

TRANSFER HIGH: Luis Suarez and James Rodriguez fetched a combined sum of £138 million for their respective clubs. The controversies surrounding Suarez's "appetite" for staying out of trouble did not detract Barcelona from pursuing the Uruguayan for £75m. Spanish rivals Real Madrid swooped in on James Rodriguez (£63m), whose cause was aided by his brilliant performances in the FIFA World Cup.

UNITED'S DOWNFALL: The post-Alex Ferguson era was a nightmare for Manchester United, who failed to qualify for a place in Europe for the first time since 1982. David Moyes, who had received the backing of his predecessor, failed to get the best out of the players at his new club and was eventually sacked with four games to play in the season.

SERIE A PICKS THE WRONG ONE: Italian football federation chose Carlo Tavecchio over Demetrio Albertini as president, the former winning 63 per cent of the votes. Tavecchio is a career politician with five criminal convictions ranging from forgery to tax evasion. No wonder Italian football is languishing where it is now and no sign of languishing where it is now and no sign of improvement is noticeable, Juventus' strong show notwithstanding.

MARIO AT IT AGAIN: Mario Balotelli shot himself in the foot, once again! He posted an image of video game character Super Mario on a social networking site that included a message which read, "Be like Mario! He is an Italian plumber created by Japanese people, who speaks English and looks like a Mexican. He jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew." He apologized, of course.

RACISM AT ITS PEAK: Atalanta fans threw bananas at AC Milan full-back, Kevin Constant. This incident was widely regarded by many as one of the worst moments in Italian football during the 20132014 season.

TITO LOSES THE BATTLE: Ex-Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova lost his battle against cancer at 45. He had earlier fought off a malignant tumour in 2011 but was unable to fight it this time. Under him, Barcelona it this time. Under him, Barcelona had equalled Real Madrid's record of points in a season when they finished with an amazing 100.

LET'S HAVE ITALIAN: Luis Suarez is no stranger to controversy. Having bitten his opponents on a football field twice before, the Uruguayan finally thought it fit to sink his teeth on the World Cup stage. And he chose Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini as his victim. After initial denial, he finally admitted his guilt. FIFA later banned him from all footballing activities for four months and suspended him for nine international matches, including World Cup fixtures.

-TOI