The epilogue.

What happened in Brazil today. The epilogue. One week later.

The German flags are still flying proudly on the cars and houses in Toronto, one of the best places to follow the World Cup. Every country is supported, 32 different communities coming together individually to form a mosaic of World Cup support probably seen nowhere else, other than Rio or San Paulo. The early elimination of Italy and Portugal took some of the buzz out of the city, but at least Brazil kept going and going and....boom! What the hell was that? Oh, but ok at least the Argentinians will keep the party going. Right now....Higuain..no...Messi...surely....no... Palacio....he must....no. Ok, then, the Germans. But did the Germans in Toronto erupt in a celebration to rival the Italians street closing, all night party of 2006. Your's truly doesn't know because here is the World Cup final story that took place far, far away in a return to the place where the source of all the last year's inspiration was first viewed and enjoyed......Falcao, Socrates, Zico on a hot summer night in Malta.

After a few hours sleep, from sunrise to full sun up, with the scars of the all night wedding festivities too fresh in the mind and body, plans were afoot for an outdoor viewing of the Final. Three brothers, one father happy to have his boys together, wives and semi interested children came together for what Brother number 2 called his dream...TV set up outside to watch World Cup Final. The extra cable had been purchased, the chairs and couches still conveniently in place from the previous evening, pizzas ordered, mosquito spray sprayed. The night was perfect, an un-typical, almost cool July night in Malta. The setting was spectacular, yet maybe only appreciated by the visitors. Beyond the TV, lights twinkled all over Malta, fireworks periodically lighting up the sky. Within the overcrowded craziness of this loud Island, the only sounds here were from the pre-match, ignored Maltese analysis on the TV and the fun being had by the cousins who sub-consciously were enjoying each other's company, knowing or not knowing, depending on their age, that these moments don't happen very often when they are spread out across the world.

There had been a few pre-match nerves. The cable extension was attached with emergency tape, the fault being blamed on the "man in the shop" who didn't provide all the right connectors. With the wires taped down in the right position, and the picture finally stable, the hope now was that none of the kids would decide to run over the wires. Every close call was greeted with a yell of "stop, no, don't go there". Brother number 2's dream was evaporating as more time was spent admonishing over exuberant children then lounging in his specially chosen couch. We made it though the first half with pizzas devoured, salad enjoyed and sparking wine washed down. With there being a few lost picture moments, it was decided that Brother number 1, him with the greater knowledge, would, in 15 minutes, secure a better connection. The clock started and with a few minutes to go, the thought of "never change a winning formation " sprang to mind and was voiced in hindsight. Would we make it? Father was getting nervous, but thought he was hiding it , wives were enjoying the entertainment of Brothers number 1 and 2 getting a little heated in their exchange of opinions, and Brother number 3 sat back, enjoying the uniqueness of it all and watching for little glimpses of what was happening in the second half..."oh, Aguero's on".

After we decided that one person holding 2 wires together for 45 minutes was not a good idea, the executive decision was made to abandon the dream and make a run for it....inside with the twenty year old, heavy as you can get TV. Running soon became a labored walk. Are we going to make it...this way around the pool...help, we need help...who has the cable box. Inside, wires were connected, plugs plugged in and chairs hastily rearranged. And it was still 0-0. Surely, we hadn't missed anything. Of course, a quick phone online check was needed to see if anybody had been sent off, or missed an open goal. All we missed was the future Golden Ball winner messing up a golden chance to put Argentina ahead.

So there we were. The dream had been good while it lasted. And, that it did happen for 45 minutes was probably the most magical 45 minutes of a World Cup final. Sister 1 and 2 couldn't be with us to make it even closer to perfection.

Now if only we could have heard...Zico, Falcao....Eder...goal. Or the modern version...Neymar...Neymar....Neymar..Fred...Fred?...he's on the floor...but Neymar has scored!

Good night. See you in Russia.

Germany!

Day 32. What happened in Brazil today.

The best team won, the best player didn't, and the best World Cup for a long time is over.

Germany looked good, very German good, right from the get go with the 4-0 win against Portugal. They stumbled a little bit against Ghana, but overall they always looked like they knew what they were doing. In hindsight, it was like they allowed the likes of Colombia, Belgium, Chile and Brazil to grab the attention early on, to be the flashy, noisy partyers, while they sat in the background waiting for all the teenagers to leave before they came out and showed the world how to really get a job done.

Germany were maybe not at their greatest yesterday, looking a little uneasy at times. Some may even say they were lucky that Argentina seemed determined to not score. The best goalkeeper in the world proved himself by having to make zero saves. I guess it was his mere presence that threw off Higuain, when Germany practically said to him, go ahead and score, and Messi, who didn't think it would be polite to make Neuer have to dive, and Palacio, who made sure that even without Fred we still had a striker in the final who is spectacularly unable to do what his country expects him to do. Can somebody cut off that ridiculous pony tail now? If you're good, a world cup winner and world cup final scorer, you can get away with things like that.

On the other side, the man who looks like a 12 year old, Goetze, showed the Argentinians that with a bit of skill and the knowledge that if you shoot right at the goal there is a better chance of the ball going in, you can win a Fifa Adidas Macdonalds Budweiser World Cup. And so it was that the Argentinian defence went walkabout 6 minutes from the end of extra time, thus ensuring that not another final had to be determined on penalties.

For added late drama, Argentina had a free kick in the last minute well within Messi range. As the world waited for the expected flash of brilliance, Messi maintained the Argentinians consistency for the night and hit the ball so high that there was absolutely no chance of Neuer, not only not having to dirty his gloves, but also having to even worry about making a save. And that was that. Germany were champions, and nobody could say they didn't deserve it. The only person who looked like he would mark the German exam "could do better ", was the manager, Low. Somebody teach the man how to celebrate. You just won the World Cup, Joachim. Stop brushing your hair forwards with your hand.

Before the World Cup presentation Neuer was awarded the golden glove award and Messi the golden ball, as best player. I could go on and on about all the reasons why Messi shouldn't have won this, but I'll spare you. All I'll say is put your hand up if you really, honestly think he was the best player out there. If he didn't have his name on his shirt and wore a disguise, and the commentator didn't say his name, how many times would we have noticed him in a match. Take James Rodriguez, who really made a difference and there you have a great player. His downfall was that he won the golden boot, as top scorer, so Fifa had to spread out the wealth a little. The record books will say: Messi, best player at 2014 World Cup. No matter what the experts may say (and I will never imagine myself as being one), that he is listed in the same record books as Maradona and Pele is an insult to the record books and to those two, truly great players.

And on day 33 and 34 and.....I rested. It's just under 3 years before my next countdown starts. It's been an amazing 4 weeks. If we ignore that Iran-Nigeria happened, the first round was spectacular. From then on it was a different kind of excitement, more the intensity, fear of losing kind. Let's hope that in Russia in 2018, the teams come to play again.

I've had fun. This was always supposed to be fun, but thank you for all your comments. Now if anybody wants Tour de France updates, it now has my full attention.

Losers done, make way for the real thing.

Day 31. What happened in Brazil today (or yesterday).

Different time zone has thrown me off.

Usually the losers is sad for both teams. Nobody wants to play in it. It's a reminder that you lost in the semi-final, one step away from the chance to play for winning the World Cup. But, if you're playing at home, and have been completely humiliated beyond belief, far beyond anything that's ever happened before, you may see the 3rd place match as a slight chance at redemption. But then when you are 2-0 down after 15 minutes against a team who's manager says they don't want to play the match, and your supporters constantly boo you, then you really have reached supreme loser status. Brazil, well done for going from passionate, albeit unskilled, footballers with the hope of a nation wanting to forget about wasted millions and day to day misery, to complete and utter clowns in a matter of days.

And Fred? Well, it took a while for the Brazilians to finally admit out loud how bad he is. It took match after match of repetitive turgidity, and disbelief from many (or just me?) for the fans to realize that Big Phil was not to be trusted when he put old Freddie out there.

And today? I do not make predictions. The only thing I fear is that this final turns out to be one not to remember. And, I hope Messi finally does something to get him the Maradona and Pele-esque acclaim that he gets without justifying it. Gary Lineker said yesterday that Messi has been disappointing. Thank you Gary! Everybody else seems to think he's been a superstar, just because he scored 4 goals. An above normal player can score 4 goals. A great player should do a lot more.

Here's to a happy ending after 4 wonderful weeks!

Winding down before ramping it up.

Day 30. What happened in Brazil today.

Aren't you all happy I spared you a day? I needed a rest day after the mental exhaustion of figuring out how to watch the Argentina-Holland semi, quickly followed by the realization that it was going to be one of those overly cautious, we don't want to lose matches. The ironic thing was that the incredible Germans seemed to get everybody talking. Non-sports fans and non-football believers had heard that something unbelievable happened in this FIfA world cup thingy. (btw, am I the only one who is amused/annoyed by how this world cup is constantly called the FIFA world cup. Next it will be the FIfA Adidas Macdonalds World Cup). So more people watched on Wednesday and that's what they got.

Tomorrow we have the match of Losers, the match neither team ever wants to play. And this time we have the Brazil factor. Will a win bring back a bit of pride to the country? Or, as I suspect, is it too far gone for that?

Anyway, if anybody is watching the Losers tell me about it.

Airport to airplane, the World Cup is there.

Day 28. What happened in Brazil today. Part 1.

Nothing so far. First half over and I hope something does happen before I get on my flight in 30 minutes.

Part 2.

Apparently nothing so far. Sitting on plane, online, hoping for some Messi magic, or a lucky foal before take off.

Part 3.

Off we go...the plane that is. looks like I'll be landing in Munich in the morning with no knowledge of the result. Unless the pilot has got the radio on, maybe.

Part 4

Thanks to Lufthansa WiFi and the guy with the laptop in front of me we watched the end. It was a first. World Cup semi final on a plane.

I didn't get the Brazil Argentina final I hoped for, but this could be even better now for Argentina. How does that song go again, the one the Argentinian fans are singing..."Brazil, how does it feel" to have us win in your house and it ends with "Maradona is greater than Pele".

I hope we get a repeat of Germany Argentina 1986, not version 1990.

Wow! That's all he could say.

Day 27. What happened in Brazil today.

Zico said that football died on that day in 1982 when Italy beat that incredibly talented, freestyle like Brazilian team. And today? Maybe football as Brazil has ever known it, died. Maybe every sense of pride felt by every Brazilian in the Selecao, died forever, or was ripped away by the birth of a German team that will go down in history.

Today really was unbelievable. It was a sports story beyond football. The hosts, the country looking for redemption for 1950, torn apart not only by the Germans but also by their own embarrassing ineptitude. It was so embarrassing that I joked that it reminded me of the days of watching Malta concede goal after goal and how we pleaded with the referee to at least award us an in-existent penalty.

Brazil were absolutely terrible. Germany were simply outstanding. You put the two together and you would rarely get that result. Germany were so ruthlessly brilliant that it produced a canyon between excellence and mediocrity that I don't think we will see again for a long time

What more to say. 7-1. Seven. In a world cup semi-final. Brazil lost 7-1. No German player, honestly, could have imagined this. What would my other idols, McIlvenny, Lawton and Parkinson say about this. I'm so in awe of what Germany did, and so shocked by how bad Brazil were that I can't even bring myself to imagine the conversations between Big Phil and Neymar tonight. But at least David Luiz had time for a prayer at the end.

For all my taunting of Fred and Hulk and co. I never thought it would end like this. But it could be that their luck ran out today. There was little skill before today, all graft and passion. Today, the Germans said that counts for nothing.

I feel the dream of beautiful Brazilian football is over. Is it even harder to go back to 1982 now? Or will they finally realize that playing the way that is their way, the 1982 way, is what they have to do.

What a World Cup this has been. Germany took it to a whole new level today. Simply outstanding.

More reflection.....

Day 26. What happened in Brazil today. 

After my uniformed opinion about Brazil's footballers and religion, here's a better piece about it. Tomorrow Germany will be playing against the prayers of a whole countr.

 http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28202816

Who needs talent when you've got Fred?

Day 25. What happened today in Brazil.

I'll take a day of rest and give you one from me and my ramblings and only say two things.

Luis Suarez's appetite for opponents' shoulders may end up being a good thing for Liverpool as they go about spending the expected 70-80 million pounds they will get for him from Barcelona. After Lambert, Lallana and Emre Can, now they look like they will get Lovren (Croatia), Origi (Belgium) and Markovic (Serbia). And how many English players are being bought by non-English teams? Makes you wonder....doesn't make you proud...to play for England....(reference: 1982 England World Cup song B side.....and don't go asking me what a B side is).

And as the debate rages, between me and myself, about how Brazil, version 2014, are nothing like Brazil version 1982 (who lost before the semis) this is what Carlos Perreira said about Brazil 1994: (Perriera was the manager in 1994, when Brazil beat Italy in the final, on penalties, and even Brazilians were lamenting how un-Brazilian the team were. Perreira is now the technical director with Big Phil) "The World Cup was a short competition and we wanted to win it with the talents we had at hand. I still hear we didn’t play beautiful football. But what is beauty? To me it’s to be efficient. We were unbeaten champions and that will never change.” Discuss and reflect as you think about Brazil's only player of flair lying in a hospital bed somewhere while his team mates (Fred and co.) try to make him a world champion.

We're boring, but we win.

Day 24. What happened today in Brazil.
Today's exciting stories in the world:

Mark Cavendish fell and dislocated his shoulder in the first stage of the Tour de France.

Petra Kvitova won the ladies singles at Wimbledon.

Toronto Fc lost at home to DC United.

The three time defending hot dog eating champion of the contest held every year in Coney Island lost her title.

A car caught fire in Malta.

Costa Rica and Holland played a football match in Brazil.

And I really could stop there, other than to tell you, in case you have other things you are interested in right now, about the last minute of the 120 minutes. At 0-0 and it obviously going to penalties, Holland changed their goalkeeper. I only hope that it was planned and spoken about beforehand, because if I was the regular goalkeeper my confidence would have taken a real bashing if I thought my coach didn't think I was good enough. But there was the fairytale ending with the sub goalie saving 2 penalties, and Holland are in the semis.

Now, we all expect the quarter finals to be tight. Nobody wants to make a mistake, no team wants to risk giving away a cheap goal and be out after coming so far. But this really was ridiculous. Holland didn't have a shot on goal for 40 consecutive minutes. Costa Rica, the neutrals' favourite team, had a game plan. Defend for 90 minutes, then another 30, get to the penalties and hope to get lucky. Yes, the important thing is winning, entertainment is an occasional by product. Go ahead, call me a terrible heartless cynic but, unlike what I read all over the place, Costa Rica did not play a wonderful game. They could barely put three passes together. When Holland did shoot they hit the post three times, had a shot cleared off the line, and were a little tame in their finishing. To top it all off, Van Persie had the chance right at the end to put us out of our misery, but couldn't decide whether to stick his head or foot out and ended up crumpling into a heap of forlorn footballer. Holland were not much better than Costa Rica but they did try to win. They were centimetres away from scoring and that would have completely messed up Costa Rica's game plan. That the plan almost succeeded was mostly down to the Dutch missing, rather than the Costa Rican's bravery.

So why do we keep watching? Hidden deep under that mediocrity is the excitement of knowing that there is going to be an outcome. The battle will end, and one team will be out and the other on their way to the semi-finals. The event is exciting for the outcome. Pity about the process.

Of course with nothing much happening on the pitch my eyes wondered, with the help of the cameras, to Patrick Kluivert, the Dutch assistant manager. I've always been slightly amused by his presence on the Dutch bench. He looks like the kid brought along to the important meetings by his father. There's Louis Van Gaal, and the other men who look like they have a plan and system to put in place. And then there's Patrick, following along with scribbles in his notebook (probably writing down the questions he's going to ask later, or trying to figure out how the 30 minutes of extra time is broken into 2 halves. Important disclaimer: Patrick Kluivert is probably a very smart man, who was hired because he does a good job, and I know nothing about his personality and these are all good natured suppositions). Patrick was a pretty decent player, but he seemed to have a chip on his shoulder when he played that made Van Persie's strut look like a timid walk. Patrick strutted around with the look of "I'm better than everybody else around me and I will score when I want to". Today I think he was really baffled as to what his assistant managerial duties were, so in an effort to seem interested, he kept putting pen to notebook. The most entertaining was when he wrote something down just as soon as Van Gaal did. "I wonder what Louis wrote. I hope mine is as good. Maybe I can peak while he's watching the game". As the monotony on the pitch reached epic proportions, Patrick was hard at work on his notebook. The opinions as to what he was doing varied from doodling, to hangman, to tic tac toe (xoxo). Now I think he was probably writing down ideas for his next birthday (see below).

Holland-Costa Rica followed Argentina's 1-0 win over Belgium. Argentina weren't great, Belgium were pretty bad. The best thing about it was how great it is to see Messi playing like he is the best player in the world. He still had not reached the Maradona levels, but I have a sneaky suspicion he is timing his peak to happen in the next 2 matches. Just as he suddenly kicks into 5th gear with the ball at his feet in any match, I believe he is going to hit Formula 1, down the straightaway, speed at any moment. Today he was helped by Higuain actually looking interested. Higuain scored the only goal off a very lucky deflection that gave him the ball but he still needed a pretty good finish. It was sad for the purists that he didn't score when he ran at the Belgian defence, nutmegged Kompany and hit his shot off the crossbar. That would have made for a more satisfying win than the early goal and kill the game kind of win that happened.

Watching Argentina is more entertaining for their fans who take over every stadium they play in and seem to have staked a claim to ownership of Copocabana beach. Their singing adds an atmosphere element that only the Brazilians seem able to match (as seen on TV). The chants back and forth have started even before a possible meeting in the final. Argentinians taunt the Brazilians with something on the lines of, "Brazil, how does it feel to be bossed around in your own back yard", to which the Brazilians in their stadium reply; "five times champions". How can we have a Holland-Germany final when the whole World Cup has seemed like a build up to Messi scoring a last minute winner against Brazil in the final.

I have enjoyed this World Cup immensley. There's been great football, especially in the first round, the big players have shone, not frozen, lots of excitement and passion and Brazil seems to be living up to it's name as the cradle of football civilization. So I will take a few tedious 0-0s. After all, in a week it will all be over for 4 years. But at least I'll have 4 years to plan how to get to Russia.

Patrick Kluivert, celebrating his 38th birthday with Van Persie.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nfQSCNfbzQ

All praise the round ball and those who kick it!

Day 23. What happened today in Brazil.

Somewhere in Brazil, maybe around the Maracana, there must be a sign that says, "Welcome to the Evangelical church of latter day Brazilian footballers. Come join us for praise and to give thanks on the morrow of every great Brazilian victory. Our Minister, Big Phil, will lead the joyous circle, while Preacher David Luiz offers the daily prayers" (and in small print) "our church was created to counter the negative influence on our youth left over from the fake positivity created by the over indulgence of those who believed they were above greatness, namely Socrates, Falcao, Zico, Cerezo and more".

Really, what is it with the Brazilian players and the constant, overly enthusiastic praise to the lord. Kaka used to reveal his I-love-Jesus shirt after he scored. Today we had Luiz and his two-hands-to-the-sky, on his knees, prayer after his goal and at the end. To each their own I say. If they believe, and that's their inspiration, good for them. But do we really believe that they believe? Many years ago David Bowie was part of the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in London. It was huge, and everybody was there. David Bowie came out on stage, and got down on one knee and asked the crowd to join him in reciting the lord's prayer, for Freddie, you know. The next day a journalist in an English newspaper wrote a wonderful article about the hypocrisy and fakeness of that moment. Who was to believe that Bowie, and the thousands and thousands of drunk and stoned fans, could really be genuine in asking the lord to take care of the very un-religious (through his behaviour) Freddie Mercury. The statement was not about the merits of religion, but the abuse, in a way, and convenience, of it's power. David Luiz....David Bowie.......

So Brazil are on their way to a semi final against Germany after beating Colombia 2-1. Again, it wasn't pretty, but there was a bit more drive about Brazil, which drove them to foul and foul and foul, in an attempt to stop Colombia showing them up for their own lack of creativity. And again, Hulk tried his hardest. He really did and with Neymar having an uninspiring day, it needed someone else to run at the Colombian defence. Fred was a again a mystery, so much so that I wonder what dirt he has on Big Phil, that has forced the coach to play him, or else all will be revealed. My favourite Fred moment today, on top of all the terrible touches, was when Maicon ran pretty much the length of the field down the wing, passed the ball to a teammate who quickly passed to Fred. Maicon had continued his run past Fred, but Fred decided to let the ball run through his legs, expecting Maicon to have stopped moving. The dummy tried the dummy and couldn't even get that right.

A sign of Brazil's reluctance, refusal even, to play good football was the second goal. Hulk was fouled by Rodriguez, not far from the Colombian penalty area. The ball rebounded to Fred just outside the penalty area and he had a clear run on, or shot at, goal. The referee stopped play for the foul rather than allowing a clear advantage for Fred. Not one Brazilian player complained. Why? Because, I bet they thought they had a better chance of scoring from a free kick than through Fred being one on one with the goalie. And so it was. David Luiz scored a beautiful goal from the free kick and Brazil looked home and dry, until a late Rodriguez penalty made for a nervy ending.

Of course, the terrible news for Brazil is that Neymar was kneed in the back, fractured a vertebra and is done, finished, no more World Cup. Thankfully, for him no surgery is required and the doctor says a few weeks of immobilization will see him recover. But for Brazil it is a disaster. Now the Brazilian team is going to have to form a circle around Neymar's bed and pray: Oh Great One! Now that we have lost the chosen one can you please help us by granting the chosen one's powers to another one who is only chosen by Big Phil because there is no other.

After all the players leave I can see Big Phil staying behind with Neymar.
Neymar: "It's ok, Big Phil, dont cry,"
Big Phil: "Oh Neymar what are we going to do? You were right, yes you were right. We cant do this with Uncle Fred and Cousin Jo and the Hulk"
Neymar: "but you heard the rest of the guys. The Great One will help us"
Big Phil "Neymar, even The Great One can't help us now. And I don't believe any of that anyway. It's only because of Fred, and, you know, how he found god....and the people....and....and......"
Neymar: "What Big phil, what is it?"
Big Phil: " Nothing, nothing...but he will play"
Neymar: "have faith"
Big Phil: "we are scewed, son, screwed.......

In the earlier game Germany beat France 1-0. I hate 1-0s, with a goal scored early on from set-piece, more than a 0-0. That's it? A header from a free- kick in the 12th minute and then shut up shop. At least with a 0-0, you know one team has to score at some point late in the game to win, or it will go to penalties. But this? Even France seemed to give up. I'm just surprised that the Bbc didn't call this game "turgid". It was close.

There's always football somewhere....Gibraltar?

Day 22. What happened today in Brazil.

Can I call yesterday Day 21 and today Day 22 when there was no football? My dilemma, do we count non-playing days as days of the World Cup? Not really a big a dilemma as: 1. how to watch both quarter finals tomorrow while stuck at work, with work that needs to be done, and 2. what to do on July 9th, second semi-final starts 4pm, Toronto time, me and family's flight leaves at 5.45pm. I could possibly be flying all night and not know the result. How will I write update on time?

Today feels like the World Cup is starting all over again. Two days of no play and now tomorrow and Saturday we get into the real nitty gritty. The wannabes are gone home and now the serious contenders are ready to do battle. Even Costa Rica have to be in that bracket. All credit to them, it was no fluke. Italy, Uruguay and England, and then the probably the hardest team to beat, Greece.....and they came through. Costa Rica....quarter final...I have to keep saying that to myself. Poor Holland, the pressure, what happens if they lose to the Ticos?

All the experts are busy predicting results. Who really knows? What's the difference between France and Germany, Argentina and Belgium.....Colombia and Brazil. Excuse the cliches, but really, who is going to step and shine. Who's going to do a Maradona, or Rossi. This is the time....Maradona against England in '86 and Rossi against Brazil in '82.

Meanwhile in the other football world, every Premiership club in England is checking their bank balances to see which World Cup star they can spend way too much money on. But in another football world, the one you may think starts happening in October, the Champions League and Europa League have started. Before players in the World Cup finish playing in the World Cup, and then go on vacation and then start pre-season training, there are clubs, who will not be able to afford any of those World Cup players, trying to get through qualifying rounds to get to the Holy Grail of the groups stage. Yesterday, after the excitement of Belgium-USA, in the Victoria stadium in Gibraltar, Lincoln, the Champions of Gibraltar, the first team from Gibraltar to play in European competitions, drew 1-1 with HB Tórshavn of the Faroe Islands. I wonder what Alex dos Santos, the Brazilian playing for HB Torshavn, thinks of Neymar and Fred and Jo. Countrymen, but a world apart.

The players rest...the fun never stops.

Day 21. What happened today in Brazil.

No play today but always action going on somewhere.

Tim Howard has become the hero in every American's eyes, for doing what he is supposed to do when standing between those 2 goalposts. So he made more saves than any goalkeeper in World Cup history (15) but that makes me, and other people who's comments I happily read online, think 2 things. One is, 15 shots? What was that defence, of who we've heard so much about how bravely they defended, doing? And I hope Belgium have some better finishing against Argentina.

Luis Suarez copied and pasted his apology from the last time he bit someone, the President of Barcelona thought it was a wonderful apology, Liverpool sighed a huge sigh of relief that somebody will pay ridiculous money to help them solve their moral issue, and today Barcelona and Liverpool started talking about a transfer.

Fifa are so impressed by the level of interest Americans are showing in football, that they think the US federation will make a bid for the 2026 world cup. Level of interest = huge market potential for Fifa.

Ottmar Hitzfield, coach of Switzerland, has gone one step further than some of the other coaches who resigned. He has quit football completely. Good for him. He's 65 and after everything he's won he deserves some peace and quiet. What does he plan to do in retirement? Work as a TV pundit. Very relaxing.

Fabio Capello, coach of Russia, has been called a thief by a couple of Russian politicians, for being paid 6 million pounds and achieving nothing. Bet he wishes he was back in England....or sitting alongside Hitzfield in a TV studio.

Fifa General Secretary Jerome Valcke said he is concerned by the high levels of drunkenness inside and outside stadiums in Brazil. This is the same man who was instrumental in getting the law in Brazil changed to allow beer to be sold in stadiums in Brazil.

Another rest day tomorrow....