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'' 22 men chase a ball for three weeks then the Germans go home with the trophy !! ''
Not the thoughts of Chairman Eck but a quote by Sir Gary of Lineker made some ten years ago. How prophetic Gaz and you are not far wrong !
Germany were slow starters at Brazil 2014 but they came good when it mattered most in the knockout stages, seeing off the upstarts of Algeria in the last 16, then in the Quarter finals they were expert in taking out dark horses of France by a single goal and many pundits stick on favourites Brazil in the semi finals by that never-to-be-forgotten scoreline of seven goals to one.
In the final the Germans were more cagey against Argentina but came through in the end 1-0 after extra time.
Germany [formerly West Germany] win their 4th World Cup in their 8th final since the tournament began in 1930 but who was the team of the tournament, who gets into the Eklipse Sports Radio WorldCup XI ?... here's who I picked on behalf of Team Eklipse.
1.Manuel Neuer
The German ' sweeper keeper ' who won the Golden Glove trophy for best custodian in the 2014 tournament will join the pantheon of great World Cup goalkeepers like Zoff, Banks. Maier and Yashin after his towering performance between the sticks for Joachim Low's side in the Brazilian sunshine. Brave, arrogant and athletic Neuer was the defensive rock the German A Team built their triumph on.
2. Phillipp Lahm
The German captain was solid and confident at the back and was no slouch going forward either in the final versus Argentina and all through the knockout stages after the Germans won a first round group in Brazil which consisited of the USA, Ghana and Ronaldo's Portugal.
3. Jerome Boetang
Man of the match in the World Cup final and the third reason the German's kept a clean sheet against Messi and Co in that match in Rio. Quick and calm his performances in Brazil 2014 were a revelation.
4. Ezequiel Garay
Largely responsible for his side's three previous shut-outs before the final the Argentinian was an obvious choice for the Team Eklipse World Cup XI. He might even have claimed man of the match if Argentina had won the final in extra time.
5. Bastian Schweinsteiger
Unmoved and unaffected by a late foul in the final which saw him bleeding heavily from the face the Bayern Munich stalwart who won the World Cup is a player any top team would walk over broken glass to have in their team. His World Cup medal will more than make up for that Champions League defeat by Chelsea a couple of years ago.
6. Vincent Kompany
The Manchester City star and Belgium captain failed to guide his national team to the last four of Brazil 2014 after they were eliminated by Argentina but his solid performances make him a must for the centre of our World Cup XI
7. James Rodriguez
Colombia's main man and top scorer at Brazil 2014 was unavailable to pick up his award directly after the final but he will forever be remembered for two particularly sweet strikes in the tournament that sent the South American commentators into raptures.
8. Thomas Muller
He may wear Gerd Muller's number 13 on his back but this German has surpassed even ' Der Bomber ' and all the rest infact, including Brazil's Ronaldo, to become the top scorer in the tournament's history with 16 goals.
9. Lionel Messi
Player of the tournament 2014 but that will be scant consolation for the maestro from Barcelona who lit up all the stages of the competition with his individual skill. Sadly for him, there was to be no personal moment of magic in the final against the all conquering Germans.
10. Arjen Robben
Helped the Dutch to third place in the World Cup in Brazil and when he was not trying to win penalties and free kicks with some dubious diving he lit up the tournament in the orange, and sometimes dark blue, jersey of The Netherlands.
11. Neymar
Might have been influential in Brazil at least getting to the final if an injury against Colombia had not put him out of the tournament. More to come from the young Brazilian genius but his time can come again at Russia 2018.
That's the Team Eklipse World Cup XI for Brazil 2014... Now onto Russia 2018. Can Scotland make the finals in four years ?
We continue to live in hope.
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Alex Horsburgh