FIFA World Cup 2014

[Lejuan]

I have no doubt you do, unimpeachable good sir.

 

[crows]

Janet Jackon. Or Rihanna. Who cares.

people who want Soccer to be bigger in America.
but you are right you wouldn't know anything about that lol. this was a funny little nod for Americans. (hopefully getting more people interested in the games here)

 

[axecutioner18]

I would put Mascherano ahead of Messi. Yeah Messi scored a couple of wonder goals but he drifted in & out of matches for long periods sometimes but Mascherano has been awesome this whole tournament for every game from beginning to end.

When you are Messi you have to deal with atleast 2 players man marking you everytime I touch the ball. Name me one player, not even Christiano was marked that. way. Double marking plus one more for cover.

Yet he supplied all the chances that Argentina managed to muster.

As for who has done what, i dont remember such sounds of unfairness when Diego Forlan was given the Golden Ball last world Cup. And they didnt even end up fourth. Same with say Zidane.

Or if I have to explain like a school teacher, lets take 5 subject math, phy,che,bio,hist the marks for 6 students A to F are:

A 90+40+50+70+50 = 300
B 80+70+80+70+80 = 380
C 50+80+60+70+50 = 310
D 40+50+90+50+70 = 300
E 50+40+70+90+50 = 300
F 40+50+50+50+90 = 280
now see
A got highest in math
C got highest in Phy
D got highest in che
E got highest in Bio
F got highest in Hist

Then you ask how can B get the rank 1?? ridiculous rite?????

Im not into the meme culture but here is actually a good one which puts all the facts to paper.

 

[RagingBull]

When you are Messi you have to deal with atleast 2 players man marking you everytime I touch the ball. Name me one player, not even Christiano was marked that. way. Double marking plus one more for cover.

Yet he supplied all the chances that Argentina managed to muster.

As for who has done what, i dont remember such sounds of unfairness when Diego Forlan was given the Golden Ball last world Cup. And they didnt even end up fourth. Same with say Zidane.

Or if I have to explain like a school teacher, lets take 5 subject math, phy,che,bio,hist the marks for 6 students A to F are:

A 90+40+50+70+50 = 300
B 80+70+80+70+80 = 380
C 50+80+60+70+50 = 310
D 40+50+90+50+70 = 300
E 50+40+70+90+50 = 300
F 40+50+50+50+90 = 280
now see
A got highest in math
C got highest in Phy
D got highest in che
E got highest in Bio
F got highest in Hist

Then you ask how can B get the rank 1?? ridiculous rite?????

Im not into the meme culture but here is actually a good one which puts all the facts to paper.

Axe I love Messi & he's probably the best player I've ever seen play but to say he was player of the tournament is a joke

All the best players get double marked it's football. That's what makes world class players, world class. They will find a way

Even Maradona his self while praising Messi said "Fifa naming Lionel Messi as the World Cup's best player was a marketing plan"

To say Messi played better than Robben, Rodriguez & Muller just to name 3 players well we must of been watching a whole different tournament

But if he was your player of the tournament then good for you

https://m.101greatgoals.com/blog/no-one-can-believe-lionel-messi-won-the-world-cup-golden-ball/

 

[greygoose]

Messi winning player of the tournament was strictly down to marketing and business reasons. Neuer and Mascherano were miles ahead of him. Messi had his chances and he blew them. At least now the world can talk about how good this German side are. If Argentina had won the world would be buzzing off just Messi and there would be no mention of his team mates.

 

[Sidious-66]

The Germans deserved to raise the WC Trophy and their ten year plan after the World Cup finals in 2002 has worked out superb.

Remember that German team that got to the finals in 2002 were at the time labelled as being one of their worst teams ever and even when they were rebuilding during the twelve years since their crowning moment last night they still managed to -

Finish third at the World Cup in 2006, get to the final of the European Championship in 2008, finish in third place at the World Cup in 2010, and get to the Semi-Finals at Euro 2012. Their only 'blip' was their bad showing at the 2004 European Championships.

Not bad eh, for a team that was 'rebuilding'.

And to think that the English always talk about their 'Golden Generation' this and their 'Golden Generation' that and the Germans were just all action and no talk.

 

[jye4ever]

So true, had Argentina won, Messi would be running for president of Argentina right now.

 

[RagingBull]

The Germans deserved to raise the WC Trophy and their ten year plan after the World Cup finals in 2002 has worked out superb.

Remember that German team that got to the finals in 2002 were at the time labelled as being one of their worst teams ever and even when they were rebuilding during the twelve years since their crowning moment last night they still managed to -

Finish third at the World Cup in 2006, get to the final of the European Championship in 2008, finish in third place at the World Cup in 2010, and get to the Semi-Finals at Euro 2012. Their only 'blip' was their bad showing at the 2004 European Championships.

Not bad eh, for a team that was 'rebuilding'.

And to think that the English always talk about their 'Golden Generation' this and their 'Golden Generation' that and the Germans were just all action and no talk.

Doesn't matter who England produce because they'll never gel together & won't care either

Spain's golden Gen was the core of Barca & was based to play like Barca. Germany is the same thing with Bayern but that will never happen in England because no team in the Prem will have a core of English players to base the team around. Except a team like Burnley

 

[Sidious-66]

Yeah I was just using England as an example because every few years a new 'Golden Generation' appears and then they still do nowt.

Yes the lack of quality English based players is a contributing factor but there is a lot more as well.

 

[GasparZizou]

When you are Messi you have to deal with atleast 2 players man marking you everytime I touch the ball. Name me one player, not even Christiano was marked that. way. Double marking plus one more for cover.

Yet he supplied all the chances that Argentina managed to muster.

As for who has done what, i dont remember such sounds of unfairness when Diego Forlan was given the Golden Ball last world Cup. And they didnt even end up fourth. Same with say Zidane.

Or if I have to explain like a school teacher, lets take 5 subject math, phy,che,bio,hist the marks for 6 students A to F are:

A 90+40+50+70+50 = 300
B 80+70+80+70+80 = 380
C 50+80+60+70+50 = 310
D 40+50+90+50+70 = 300
E 50+40+70+90+50 = 300
F 40+50+50+50+90 = 280
now see
A got highest in math
C got highest in Phy
D got highest in che
E got highest in Bio
F got highest in Hist

Then you ask how can B get the rank 1?? ridiculous rite?????

Im not into the meme culture but here is actually a good one which puts all the facts to paper.

Axe I love Messi & he's probably the best player I've ever seen play but to say he was player of the tournament is a joke

All the best players get double marked it's football. That's what makes world class players, world class. They will find a way

Even Maradona his self while praising Messi said "Fifa naming Lionel Messi as the World Cup's best player was a marketing plan"

To say Messi played better than Robben, Rodriguez & Muller just to name 3 players well we must of been watching a whole different tournament

But if he was your player of the tournament then good for you

https://m.101greatgoals.com/blog/no-one-can-believe-lionel-messi-won-the-world-cup-golden-ball/

Yet, none of the players being suggested as "better than Messi" actually did more than him, at all.

Messi was the sole reason Argentina reached semis.

Muller created 15 goal chances and completed 20 dribbles... Messi doubled those numbers and then some.

Yeah he had 2 horrible matches, yet despite that he did more than the rest

Also, no one was marked like Messi, no one ever is marked as heavily as Messi.

Messi winning player of the tournament was strictly down to marketing and business reasons. Neuer and Mascherano were miles ahead of him. Messi had his chances and he blew them. At least now the world can talk about how good this German side are. If Argentina had won the world would be buzzing off just Messi and there would be no mention of his team mates.

That's because other than Mascherano, who only shined in the last couple of matches, there were no other team-mates in Argentina.

 

[axecutioner18]

Robben was double marked in one game... Argentina. Where he wasnt his usual destructive self. Rodriguez wasnt double marked, rather inspite of the huge transfer fee that came with him joining Monaco Rodrigues caught the eye of the world only in this world cup. And no he too wasnt double marked. Muller has been marked but only zonal when he comes into the penalty box. So in comparison these players got ACRES of space, Messi wasnt given an inch because of his reputation from day one. And he pulled the team into the second round almost singlehandedly can you deny that?

Secondly some say he disappeared from the quaters. Then tell me if it wasnt him who created ALL the chances that Argentina managed to create. You dont win matches by simply defending do you? In the Swiss game he was marked by 4 players!! Yet the moment he got the chance he created that goal for Di Maria.

Messi didnt play striker for Argentina, he placed central midfield plus was the only link from attack to defence as the only other performer Mascherano was busy holding things up in defence. Higuain failed, Di Maria failed and got out, Aguero failed, Palacio failed, Lavezzi failed. So a whole midfield and frontline of a team failed.

The question is then, how did this team reach with an all win record to the finals?

Can you answer that?

And if you go by stats, he is still no 1 in those departments from dribbles completed to chances created to key chances and passes made.

The people who vote for the Golden Ball are hardcore number crunchers from the media. Use https://www.squawka.com/ yourself to see the stats of each player on every attribute per game and see where they each lie.

Messi' stats are at a different level when combined for different positions to every name you mentioned from Robben to Muller to Rodriguez. The only one who gets close to him is Robben, Rodriguez and Muller arent even in the top 10 in terms of total points scored.

Messi's stats on the attacking level is second only to Robben, however that is balanced out as his defensive work rate is the highest amongst all players playing forward. Here selective memories of what we remember isnt logged. What is logged is cold hard facts and numbers of key aspects from pass accuracy to chances created to distance covered, shot accuracy, dribbles completed etc etc

Refute them and say if the stats are lying.

 

[GasparZizou]

Even despite having a slightly lower score to Robben, Messi still created more chances than him.

 

[axecutioner18]

The lower score is because Messi's score balances out in other departments like defensive tackles, interceptions and posession kept where Robben has next to nothing.

 

[GasparZizou]

Yeah pretty much, there's really no doubt in me now that Messi deserved the award.

But it only makes his lethargy the last 2 matches all the more disappointing to me.

Like he didn't want to win.

 

[axecutioner18]

His dad had come out in the papers saying his son had disclosed to him that he was fatigued and his legs felt like a 100kilos every morning. His hamstring injury which sidelined him for most of last season may relapse if he went on was what the doctors warned after playing that huge extra time intense penalty match against Netherlands, plus he may suffer similar muscular issues that took our Aguero and Di Maria for most of the World Cup is what the physios have said unless he has a prolonged rest.

Recuperation is important like LvG has given Van Persie off for the ManU pre season for rest. This enables Van persie to come back fresh for his main season. However Messi will not get such as the new season starts because like a sideshow, he is like the main attraction for Barca's pre season tour. There is money involved and deals involved in these pre seasons which have clauses simply on the fact that he must be on the pitch for a requisite amount of time etc etc

There was a theory that most big names in modern day do not perform well in the World Cup is because they play an intense club season which at the end of it leaves them rarely fully fit. Bundesliga in that way has an advantage as it gets over much faster, plus after Bayern's Bundesliga was wrapped up Guardiola rotated all his main players of the German National team to give them as much rest as possible, only using them for Champions lEague matches.

He did the same in 2010 with Barca.

 

[GasparZizou]

That's actually a pretty convincing explanation.

That would explain why Messi wants to quit Barza.

 

[crows]

Anti-Gambling Campaign Gone Wrong
(that guy is probably loaded now LOL)

 

[RobertoBagg10]

When you are Messi you have to deal with atleast 2 players man marking you everytime I touch the ball. Name me one player, not even Christiano was marked that. way. Double marking plus one more for cover.

Yet he supplied all the chances that Argentina managed to muster.

As for who has done what, i dont remember such sounds of unfairness when Diego Forlan was given the Golden Ball last world Cup. And they didnt even end up fourth. Same with say Zidane.

Or if I have to explain like a school teacher, lets take 5 subject math, phy,che,bio,hist the marks for 6 students A to F are:

A 90+40+50+70+50 = 300
B 80+70+80+70+80 = 380
C 50+80+60+70+50 = 310
D 40+50+90+50+70 = 300
E 50+40+70+90+50 = 300
F 40+50+50+50+90 = 280
now see
A got highest in math
C got highest in Phy
D got highest in che
E got highest in Bio
F got highest in Hist

Then you ask how can B get the rank 1?? ridiculous rite?????

Im not into the meme culture but here is actually a good one which puts all the facts to paper.

I will certainly respect your opinion and that you are obviously a huge Messi fan, so rightly you want to defend the decision that he deserved player of the tournament...but in all seriousness, even Messi looked a little embarrassed as he walked up the steps to collect the trophy. As others have mentioned, him winning the golden boot was totally down to marketing...we are talking about FIFA here! That enough should explain everything You also went on to show us previous winners of the golden boot from past tournaments...I would also agree that all of these winners did not deserve to win the trophy either...Zidane winning it in 2006 was just as bad a decision than it was awarding it to Messi for this years tournament imo! The golden boot in 2006 should have gone to Fabio Cannavaro. Same with Forlan in 2010 when it should have been maybe David Villa.

Messi is a great player...arguably one of the worlds best in the present day...I say that respectfully due to a certain Cristiano Ronaldo who this year has been phenomenal. However, put these two players in teams which do not have the financial resources such as Barcelona or Real Madrid and they will struggle to show any of the form that they have shown us over the past few seasons. This conclusion is apparent when they play for their national teams. They are both clearly above any of their fellow international team mates in regards to ability and hence why they constantly appear to look frustrated when their team mates are not on the same wave length. Yes, you will get the odd glimmer of individual brilliance as we saw with some of Messi's goals in the World Cup and by Ronaldo's solo performance in the World Cup play off game vs Sweden but these visions of brilliance are few and far between when wearing the shirts of their countries.

Going back to Messi, he is often compared to one Diego Maradona. Of couse he would be, the comparisons are there to be seen, he's Argentinian, he's left footed, he has a low sense of gravity, his ability to dribble past defenders, blah, blah, blah....however, the one claim that I cannot agree on is that he was better than Maradona! In my opinion, aswell as thousands and thousands of Argentinians is that Messi will never be better and I agree 100%. Maradona will always be the greatest player that has ever lived! No-one will ever reach his ability! My point earlier of how Messi and Ronaldo struggle to discover the form they show us at club level, well Maradona did this for both club and country despite being head and shoulders over all his team mates. He was so good that he literally controlled his teams single handedly...the team played for him, they adored him and would do anything on the field for him. Messi was the captain of Argentina, when do you ever hear his rally cry to his team mates? I didn't see any passion at all from him...and he's supposed to be the captain? Do me a favour! Mascherano showed more passion in his little finger than what Messi did...look when they went a goal down in the final, the camera panned towards Messi and instead of gathering his players around and remind them all about where they are and what this final means to them for the last 10 minutes, what does he do? He flicks his hair and looks to the ground as if he doesn't give a monkeys....hmmmm....and he is said to be better than Maradona? Maradona was leaps and bounds ahead of all his team mates both at club level (Napoli) and internationally, yet what you saw from him during the 89/90 Serie A season with Napoli and the 1986 World Cup will never be repeated again by any player...and all this when in those days, free kicks were not given for the slightest touch. You see Messi or Ronaldo get the slightest contact and the referee will award a free kick. Maradona was constantly targeted, man marked, yet nothing could stop him!

You see, I also to some extent, disagree that Pele was better than Maradona. With Pele, people often forget that like with Messi and Barcelona, there are also an abundance of talented players on the same side...Pele had this with Brazil. Players such as Rivalino, Tostao, Garrincha, Vava, Carlos Alberto, Jazinho, etc...and as for club level, he is renowned for the amount of goals he scored for Santos, something he could have only achieved due to the efforts of his team mates. Scoring over 1000 goals in your career is no mean feet but nor is scoring 16 goals over 4 World Cups, a feat achieved recently by Miroslav Klose of Germany, yet this doesn't make him one of the worlds greatest?

You see, with Maradona, his career will always be judged based on the controversies rather than what he achieved single handedly...he will be remembered more for drug taking and scandals...a shame I know but then so many of these so called geniuses have a self destruct button and this was his unfortunately.

Each and everyone of us has our opinion as to who was the greatest player that ever lived, some will say Zidane, some will say Messi, some will say George Best, some will say Di Stefano, some will say Pele, some will say Ian Dowie...in my eyes, there will only be one...

Axe I love Messi & he's probably the best player I've ever seen play but to say he was player of the tournament is a joke

All the best players get double marked it's football. That's what makes world class players, world class. They will find a way

Even Maradona his self while praising Messi said "Fifa naming Lionel Messi as the World Cup's best player was a marketing plan"

To say Messi played better than Robben, Rodriguez & Muller just to name 3 players well we must of been watching a whole different tournament

But if he was your player of the tournament then good for you

https://m.101greatgoals.com/blog/no-one-can-believe-lionel-messi-won-the-world-cup-golden-ball/

I would love to have seen James Rodriguez win the golden ball. If the fact that he scored in every game he played wasn't enough then his dazzling brilliance on the pitch should have been enough. -Unfortunately for him some poor referring against the game with Brazil where he was kicked and fouled constantly put an early end to his tournament..

If not James, then Robben was another candidate, as was Nueur or Muller. I personally think that Brazil would have beaten Germany had Neymar and Silva played...that's my opinion anyway, and that Neymar would have gone on to win golden boot and golden ball

Yet, none of the players being suggested as "better than Messi" actually did more than him, at all.

Messi was the sole reason Argentina reached semis.

Muller created 15 goal chances and completed 20 dribbles... Messi doubled those numbers and then some.

Yeah he had 2 horrible matches, yet despite that he did more than the rest

Also, no one was marked like Messi, no one ever is marked as heavily as Messi.

That's because other than Mascherano, who only shined in the last couple of matches, there were no other team-mates in Argentina.

Messi was the sole reason why Argentina reached the final? So in that case, when Argentina took the field they fielded just one player against an eleven man opposition. Don't be silly. The only times where I'd say that Messi got Argentina through a game was against Iran (scoring the last minute winner) and the run he made to set up Di Maria against Belgium. I actually expected more from Messi in this tournament, as did so many others, hence why the majority of pundits were dumbfounded at him winning the golden boot. Its also a bit unfair of you saying that Mascherano only played well in the last couple of matches...if that's the case then thanks to him shining in those games, he single handedly prevented Argentina from conceding a goal with his fantastic tackles...if he hadn't played well, Argentina may have conceded on, two maybe three goals and then they'd be out! So to say it was all about Messi is a bit unfair. Talking of unfair, I actually thought the best Argentinian player on the pitch during the Final was Lavezzi!!!! and what happened to him? The manager subbed him to bring on a bigger name - Aguero, and what a difference he made

 

[The Tuggernaut]

Personally, I'd have given the Golden Ball to Neuer, Robben, and even Schweinsteiger ahead of Messi. In the case of Schweinsteiger, he typified the German spirit and was outstanding in the final. In fact, I'd give him the Golden Ball for his performance in the final alone. He was bloodied and bruised numerous times, but continued on and played until the end.

Messi was the captain of Argentina, when do you ever hear his rally cry to his team mates? I didn't see any passion at all from him...and he's supposed to be the captain? Do me a favour! Mascherano showed more passion in his little finger than what Messi did...look when they went a goal down in the final, the camera panned towards Messi and instead of gathering his players around and remind them all about where they are and what this final means to them for the last 10 minutes, what does he do? He flicks his hair and looks to the ground as if he doesn't give a monkeys....hmmmm....and he is said to be better than Maradona?

Just before extra-time:

 

[franpincho]

I will certainly respect your opinion and that you are obviously a huge Messi fan, so rightly you want to defend the decision that he deserved player of the tournament...but in all seriousness, even Messi looked a little embarrassed as he walked up the steps to collect the trophy. As others have mentioned, him winning the golden boot was totally down to marketing...we are talking about FIFA here! That enough should explain everything You also went on to show us previous winners of the golden boot from past tournaments...I would also agree that all of these winners did not deserve to win the trophy either...Zidane winning it in 2006 was just as bad a decision than it was awarding it to Messi for this years tournament imo! The golden boot in 2006 should have gone to Fabio Cannavaro. Same with Forlan in 2010 when it should have been maybe David Villa.

Messi is a great player...arguably one of the worlds best in the present day...I say that respectfully due to a certain Cristiano Ronaldo who this year has been phenomenal. However, put these two players in teams which do not have the financial resources such as Barcelona or Real Madrid and they will struggle to show any of the form that they have shown us over the past few seasons. This conclusion is apparent when they play for their national teams. They are both clearly above any of their fellow international team mates in regards to ability and hence why they constantly appear to look frustrated when their team mates are not on the same wave length. Yes, you will get the odd glimmer of individual brilliance as we saw with some of Messi's goals in the World Cup and by Ronaldo's solo performance in the World Cup play off game vs Sweden but these visions of brilliance are few and far between when wearing the shirts of their countries.

Going back to Messi, he is often compared to one Diego Maradona. Of couse he would be, the comparisons are there to be seen, he's Argentinian, he's left footed, he has a low sense of gravity, his ability to dribble past defenders, blah, blah, blah....however, the one claim that I cannot agree on is that he was better than Maradona! In my opinion, aswell as thousands and thousands of Argentinians is that Messi will never be better and I agree 100%. Maradona will always be the greatest player that has ever lived! No-one will ever reach his ability! My point earlier of how Messi and Ronaldo struggle to discover the form they show us at club level, well Maradona did this for both club and country despite being head and shoulders over all his team mates. He was so good that he literally controlled his teams single handedly...the team played for him, they adored him and would do anything on the field for him. Messi was the captain of Argentina, when do you ever hear his rally cry to his team mates? I didn't see any passion at all from him...and he's supposed to be the captain? Do me a favour! Mascherano showed more passion in his little finger than what Messi did...look when they went a goal down in the final, the camera panned towards Messi and instead of gathering his players around and remind them all about where they are and what this final means to them for the last 10 minutes, what does he do? He flicks his hair and looks to the ground as if he doesn't give a monkeys....hmmmm....and he is said to be better than Maradona? Maradona was leaps and bounds ahead of all his team mates both at club level (Napoli) and internationally, yet what you saw from him during the 89/90 Serie A season with Napoli and the 1986 World Cup will never be repeated again by any player...and all this when in those days, free kicks were not given for the slightest touch. You see Messi or Ronaldo get the slightest contact and the referee will award a free kick. Maradona was constantly targeted, man marked, yet nothing could stop him!

You see, I also to some extent, disagree that Pele was better than Maradona. With Pele, people often forget that like with Messi and Barcelona, there are also an abundance of talented players on the same side...Pele had this with Brazil. Players such as Rivalino, Tostao, Garrincha, Vava, Carlos Alberto, Jazinho, etc...and as for club level, he is renowned for the amount of goals he scored for Santos, something he could have only achieved due to the efforts of his team mates. Scoring over 1000 goals in your career is no mean feet but nor is scoring 16 goals over 4 World Cups, a feat achieved recently by Miroslav Klose of Germany, yet this doesn't make him one of the worlds greatest?

You see, with Maradona, his career will always be judged based on the controversies rather than what he achieved single handedly...he will be remembered more for drug taking and scandals...a shame I know but then so many of these so called geniuses have a self destruct button and this was his unfortunately.

Each and everyone of us has our opinion as to who was the greatest player that ever lived, some will say Zidane, some will say Messi, some will say George Best, some will say Di Stefano, some will say Pele, some will say Ian Dowie...in my eyes, there will only be one...




I would love to have seen James Rodriguez win the golden ball. If the fact that he scored in every game he played wasn't enough then his dazzling brilliance on the pitch should have been enough. -Unfortunately for him some poor referring against the game with Brazil where he was kicked and fouled constantly put an early end to his tournament..

If not James, then Robben was another candidate, as was Nueur or Muller. I personally think that Brazil would have beaten Germany had Neymar and Silva played...that's my opinion anyway, and that Neymar would have gone on to win golden boot and golden ball



Messi was the sole reason why Argentina reached the final? So in that case, when Argentina took the field they fielded just one player against an eleven man opposition. Don't be silly. The only times where I'd say that Messi got Argentina through a game was against Iran (scoring the last minute winner) and the run he made to set up Di Maria against Belgium. I actually expected more from Messi in this tournament, as did so many others, hence why the majority of pundits were dumbfounded at him winning the golden boot. Its also a bit unfair of you saying that Mascherano only played well in the last couple of matches...if that's the case then thanks to him shining in those games, he single handedly prevented Argentina from conceding a goal with his fantastic tackles...if he hadn't played well, Argentina may have conceded on, two maybe three goals and then they'd be out! So to say it was all about Messi is a bit unfair. Talking of unfair, I actually thought the best Argentinian player on the pitch during the Final was Lavezzi!!!! and what happened to him? The manager subbed him to bring on a bigger name - Aguero, and what a difference he made

What a great post Andy. Agreed in all accounts.

And yes, Maradona remains untouchable. Best the world has ever seen.