World Cup final 2014 report: Germany 1-0 Argentina

It was the perfect finish, and not just in terms of the purity of Mario Goetze’s historic strike.

As the 22-year-old joyously turned the ball past Argentina’s Sergio Romero, there was so much more than 113 minutes of taxing football that went into Germany’s glorious crescendo, a time which made it the second latest World Cup-winning goal ever.

There were also six years of falling in behind Spain, eight years of near misses, 14 years of foundational work and five players from the starting line-up that won the 2009 under-21 European Championships. One of football’s most remarkable revolutions finally saw an evolution into winners.

Jogi Loew has been around for all of that, and certainly felt the anguish of all those recent failures. After so many questions about whether his team had the character to replicate all the German winners of the past, he now knows what the most prestigious victory in football feels like.

He also knows how much has gone into it.

“We’ve been together now for 55 days,” Loew said after this 1-0 win. “We started this project 10 years ago, so this is the result of many years’ work, beginning with Jurgen Klinsmann. We’ve continued that work and our strength has been our constant progress. We’d not made this ultimate step before, but champions do what they will do.

“We believed we’d win it and we worked a lot to achieve it. If anyone deserves it, then this team with Bastien Schweinsteiger, [Phillip] Lahm, [Lukas] Podolski, [Per] Mertesacker, they deserve it.”

Someone like Goetze, meanwhile, defines it. The decisive moment was almost a distillation of everything that German football has been about for the last decade. One of their most vibrant young talents absolutely maximised the ability that has been nurtured by the most sophisticated coaching structure in the world, ultimately providing true end product.

Such foundations and youth approaches also help their international sides develop a club-like cohesion beyond any other team except Spain. That was someway reflected in the more ragged way that Argentina had to work around Leo Messi’s central quality.

Of course, that’s not to say this hard-fought win was all just the inevitable and unstoppable consequence of infrastructural changes. The players and management still had to go and make it happen, which they more than did.

Germany learned from the last few tournaments, and applied the lessons throughout this one. The emotion involved in such a journey could be seen at the end, none more so than from Andre Schurrle, who was part of the Euro 2012 squad that went out of that tournament’s semi-finals in such underwhelming fashion. The Maracana offered quite the contrast. There were finally tears of joy.

“This is the best moment of my life,” Schurrle said. “I had to cry because I was so overcome. I couldn’t stop it. It was always a dream to become a world champion.”

That was also made reality because of certain moments that are more general to any winning team. Loew tried a little mind game when sending Goetze on after 88 minutes, as the manager revealed in his celebratory press conference.

“Okay, show the world you are better than Messi and can decide the World Cup,” he told the young forward.

The latter part definitely came true. The former obviously formed part of a managerial motivation, but ended up at least becoming true on the night.

Messi was not at his best in the Maracana, and could have decided the game long before Goetze did. Shortly after half-time, he was presented with the opportunity to put Argentina 1-0 up, only to put the ball just wide of Manuel Neuer’s post.

It was Gonzalo Higuain who provided the pass, but the forward himself who passed up an even better opportunity earlier on.

Those misses meant this World Cup’s most enduring storyline was not Messi replicating Diego Maradona by finally winning the trophy and thereby potentially surpassing his great predecessor. It became about Germany finally replacing Spain, and bringing a grand project to fruition.

Phillip Lahm has also been there for almost every step, and felt so many previous experiences had an effect.

“We stepped up time and again in the tournament, did not let ourselves get distracted by any disruption, went on our way.

“And at the end you stand there as world champions – an unbelievable feeling. The team has remained quiet and patient.”

The patience is true, although Loew was keen to reassert that.

“We’re looking back over 10 years of preparation and hard work. This team has developed a spirit which is unbelievable.”

The ultimate win was far from unbelievable. Far too much work had gone into it, and not just on the night.

***

In terms of an ending and a climax, the delivery just couldn’t be faulted.

Mario Goetze’s magnificent finish was entirely fitting of the type of goal that should win a World Cup, from the quality of the control to the athleticism of the turn through to the elegance of the strike.

It was, without putting too fine a point on it, absolutely world-class.

It was also the perfect distillation of everything that ultimately won this World Cup for Germany: one of their most vibrant young players absolutely maximising the talent that the most sophisticated coaching structures had given him, to eventually provide true end product.

Again, you can’t fault the technical delivery of that ending.

As a consequence of all that, however, it wasn’t exactly the most unpredictable ending. There was a sense of inevitability aboutGermany’s deep infrastructural changes ultimately ensuring the team landed on the right result.

That affords a grand scale to this great victory, but doesn’t necessarily mean it was in-keeping with the repeatedly epic nature of this competition’s narratives.

This World Cup had arguably more stunning storylines than any other in history, but this was a break from that, at least in the sense of how expected that finish was.

In that regard, the winning goal did fit the final, because this was also more reminiscent of recent tournaments.

For all the unique grandeur of the Maracana as a special venue, it was not quite a special World Cup final.

It was rather mid-ranking in the history of these games.

Although nowhere near the negativity of 1990 or 2010, it didn’t come close to the coruscating crescendo of 1966 or 1986. The initial pace and openness gave way to tension and a gradual decline dynamism.

What made it stand out was the atmosphere and the setting, as well as the winning goal. Goetze was probably the only player who truly seized the final but it said much that he was a substitute, benefitting from fresher legs.

As he went on, manager Jogi Loew had a specific message for him.

“’Okay, show the world you are better than [Leo] Messi and can decide the world Cup.”

He certainly did the latter. And while the first part of Loew’s statement was clearly a stretch in order to provide motivation, it was certainly true that Goetze ended up more more decisive on the night.

Messi, after all, had the opportunity to put Argentina ahead long before game. That 47th minute represented another inversion of the tournament’s general trends. After a campaign in which the number-10 had maximised the smallest margins, he missed by inches when presented with acres of space for someone of his talent. It should really have been the moment.

Instead, having been put through by Gonzalo Higuain, Messi attempted to swerve the ball beyond Manuel Neuer’s reach but only succeeded in swerving it beyond the post.

It should not affect the legacy of one of the greats, but it is impossible to overlook the fact it affected this final and this tournament.

Rather than serve as the campaign in which Messi put forward a decisive argument in all the debate about the greatest player of all time, we saw another story.

Germany brought to fruition one of the greatest football projects of all time.

That also harked back to the trends of the last few tournaments.

With Spain finally deposed, Germany at last did what they long suggested. They replaced the Spanish at the pinnacle, finally stepping into a breach.

There was no more grand obstacle. They now represent the benchmark.

Of course, most of their players would rightfully balk at the idea that this was some kind of fait accompli. They worked hard for this, and that showed in every trying moment of this final.

“From the beginning we knew we would not have only 11 players on the pitch,” Loew said of what was such a taxing game. “We would need 14, so everyone had to be in top shape during the tournament. Everyone had to be ready. People can’t always play for 90 or 120 minutes at their maximum level. You saw that today. Argentina were becoming more and more tired, so we had players like [Thomas] Mueller and [Andre] Schurrle who could go deeper.”

The emotion certainly went deep, as Schurrle himself indicated.

“This is the best moment of my life. I had to cry because I was so overcome. I couldn’t stop it. It was always a dream to become a world champion.”

They have made it reality, and there is no denying they are a great champion.

The trajectory of this team makes that all too clear. A young side have learned along the way to crown a generation.

“We’ve been together now for 55 days,” Loew said. “We started this project 10 years ago, so this is the result of many years’ work: beginning with Jurgen Klinsmann. We’ve continued that work and our strength has been our constant progress. We’d not made this ultimate step before, but champions do what they will do. We believed we’d win it, and we worked a lot to achieve it. If anyone deserves it, then this team with Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Podolski, Mertesacker… they deserve it. This team deserves it. We showed the best performances for seven matches of all the team in this tournament, but we’re looking back over 10 years of preparation and hard work. This team has developed a spirit which is unbelievable.”

That made the ending, however, all too believable.

There was no unpredictability, only inevitability.