At the start of World Cup 2014, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff had promised a “Copa das Copas”, or Cup of Cups, against a backdrop of abusive chants inside the Arena Corinthians in São Paulo that recalled the protests in the tournament’s run-up over the estimated $14 billion cost to the hosts. The money, many Brazilians felt, could be better spent elsewhere, on endemic socio-economic problems. Brazil’s unconvincing victory in the opening match did not help. A month later, however, the consensus is that Brazil 2014 has been one of the most exciting world cups in recent memory. History was made on several fronts — from Brazilian football’s nadir, the 1-7 “Mineiraço”, to the fact that a European team has finally won the world cup in the Americas.
The signal that there would be a new champion had come early, when defending champions Spain suffered a 1-5 humiliation against the Netherlands, followed by a loss to Chile that ended the six-year-long Spanish era. Footballing domination comes in cycles, and the new champions, Germany — who have won their fourth world cup, their first in 24 years and their first after reunification — are set to inaugurate another era. Substitute Mario Goetze’s extra-time goal in the final is perhaps a sign of things to come, marking the culmination of 10 years of an exhaustive rebuilding of German football, much of it under coach Joachim Loew.
