Germany won, but Brazil can take a bow

It seemed appropriate that the soccer World Cup, which began with an own goal by Brazil’s Marcelo, should end on a marvellous note with a beautiful chest-trap and volley by a young German substitute in Mario Goetze. This was poetic justice in a way: the doomsday scenario drawn earlier petered out and a wonderful climax resulted in a nation that wholly embraced the competition despite the tragic inadequacies of its own team.

Estimates on the cost of hosting what turned out to be a very enjoyable World Cup varied between $11-13 billion. And regardless of whether it will help President Dilma Rousseff get reelected in October or not, what will be remembered for long is the Brazilians’ hospitality and their charming ways, making all visitors feel welcome. Brazil can feel proud as it prepares to host the Olympics in 2016, just two years away.

It’s not often that Germany’s footballers — often called Teutonic, regimented, machine-like, disciplined, physical in their tackles — are loved universally as Philipp Lahm’s team were Sunday night. In the last decade German football has metamorphosed into a multi-cultural, inclusive sport by welcoming talented young immigrants into its fold. The team has broken several stereotypes while acquiring style and flair to its trusted methods on the field.

Technically, it may not have been the best of finals. Both teams enjoyed their chances to score in 120 minutes, Argentina perhaps more. Gonzalo Higuain and Lionel Messi will forever regret the way they messed up clear opportunities to score. The Argentine team’s dependence on Lionel Messi, the world’s best footballer and winner of the Golden Ball, is understandable. But his record bears out that he has never scored a goal in a knockout World Cup game; it stayed that way against a team that has now beaten Argentina thrice in successive World Cups.

Bastian Schweinsteiger symbolised everything that we have come to appreciate in Germany’s national character. He carried on like a man possessed despite having his face split open and needing stitches by the side of the pitch. No one was attacked more than the midfielder, partly because of the very nature of the bruising and physical game, but he stayed on till the prestigious final, in which the prize money of $35 million to the winner was, perhaps, the last consideration in the players’ minds.

It is clear that Fifa, the international football federation, did not come out with as much credit as the participating nations. It is always seen as a predator preying on the host, a perception made worse by a major ticketing scandal. If this World Cup rates very highly among the best of 20 competitions, then Brazil has even more reasons to celebrate.