FIFA World Championship 2014

Which begs the question again, why did Messi win the golden ball? He certainly wasn't the best player in the tournament

Well done to Germany. I remember the last time they won the World Cup and it was a blast celebrating back in my German home town. Actually, I remember the German World Cup win before the last one as well. OMG, I'M OLD!!!!!!!!!!

Yelet

Congratz to Germany and the ofc to the supporter... very slim winning... but, at least they won the cup...

It is true that football is a TEAM game, but in a team, there is/are star/stars that assist the team.
Messi got a role actually in the tactic even though he seldomly got the ball. The argentine players purposely doing that coz Messi was guarded by more german players and they have a better chance in moving around.
If you observed, once Messi got the ball, always more than 1 german player around him or chasing him, making the other argentine players more space. technically speaking, he fulfill the objective nicely.

Even though i'm a germany supporter, i fully agree that Messi deserve the Golden Ball award. No other player on the field make me nervous once they touch the ball except him btw...

other teams might have one star on the field
but germany has 11 stars... each of them as good as a messi (or better)

best player in that match in my eyes was schweinsteiger
not only that he was constantly fouled in every match before and kept moving... he also was involved in the hardest foul of the last match... had this cut below his eye and still kept playing the match and fighting till the end
he ran more than 15km during the match and won 20 of 29 direct duels
thats what i call a good player

... not a guy that stands around the entire time waiting for the ball

I'm impressed from Schweinsteiger for that

Well, standing and waiting for the ball is the tactic by the way... hhehehehehe....

SWAT_OP-R8R: rofl now you made me laugh ... 11 as good as ... then I wonder why Germany did not won 12:0 over Argentina

... joking :), is hard to find agreement in something so much based on 'povs' like is best player and this not count only for football

didnt work

.... because there were better players than messi even playing for argentina aswell?

I look on this such way: there are some players with 'star reputation' and they are 'automatically' as prime target for other team. It dosn't much matter if this player have 'optimal form' he still attract more attention as any other player which is not so known and can have better 'actual form'. From my view is tactics when such 'star' do attack from sudden when was before almost invissible very clever. These guys are not for running from one side to another all the match. They also try avoid to be often demolished by other team defender which is imo also clever and they also often play all matches which need cleverly work with strength. It imo is very hard to play if you have on your back 'star mark'.

... Original wrote it nicely, once Messi got a ball, other side was on high alert.

nice dispute we have here

fits into the picture...
argentina was on high alert and running back all the time when a german player had the ball (except of messi of course who didnt move at all ^^)
thats no difference to how messi was treaten

what did Löw tell Götze?
"show the world that you are better than messi"
...and so he did.

pfffft ... top stars
if the rest of the team is weak then its easy to proclaim a "star"... maybe its even necessary, dunno.
But if a team is on a equally high level... the level of these so called Top Stars.... then teams with impressive football tradition like portugal will lose 4:0 or brazil will go down with 7:1.
These so called official "top stars" didnt perform good during the championship. Thats it.
That they get awarded just because of their name is a shame in my eyes.

Messi didnt deserve the award... and he didnt want it.
Awarding him is like giving the fairplay award to Suarez. Period!

haha ... why not

.... and yes, I agree that Messi not wanted this award. I only want note that Argentina played well from teams aspiring on 1st place. This final match could easily end in favor for them. Theirs play style was not nice (compared with Germany), but was working and for sure ways more attractive as defense style produced for example by Greece.

Yeah, it worked to bring them into the final. ... and also I agree on "...style not nice...".

There was a lot of euphemism in comments on "body emphazising" ot "athletic" style of gameplay,
but I felt more reminded on ice-kockey or rugby, than on soccer with their king of "body-check" gameplay :
"first the man, than the ball"
It seemed to me that some - not all - latinamerican got some "proper" training in kind of martial arts as well
as ball related gameplay to bring about :
broken backbones
bleeding skin cuts
middle brain concussion
(Kramer was tackled TWICE the same way until being unable to look straight anymore)

Yeah, it worked until they met a TEAM that was hard and STILL fair enough, even in their tackles, to stand up to this
with players like Schweinsteiger or Müller.

Kramer cant even remember the game anymore

its a matter of principle

yeah... that wouldnt surprise me actually

But for that Messi gave the "Golden Ball", he clearly does not deserve it all the machinations of FIFA marketing services ...

thats the best player with the biggest...."talents"