July 13, 2014: Götze 1, "GOAT" 0

July 13, 2014: The World Cup Final is held at Estadio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, the most famous building on the continent of South America.

Hosts Brazil are not in it. In a game even more stunning than their loss to Uruguay at that stadium in the 1950 Final, Germany beat them in the Semifinal, 7-1. To make matters worse for the home country, the other Semifinal was won by their arch-rivals, Argentina, who beat the Netherlands on penalties in the Semifinal.

The Final was broadcast in America in English on ABC, and in Spanish on Univision. The opponents were Argentina and Germany, and the game is billed as Lionel Messi, "the GOAT" (as in, "the greatest of all time") vs. the classic football pantomime villains, "Ze Germans." Neither billing is particularly accurate.

Argentina were managed by Alejandro Sabella, a former star midfielder for Buenos Aires of River Plate and Estudiantes de La Plata, who managed Estudiantes to the South American club championship, the Copa Libertadores, in 2009.

In addition to Messi, who served as Captain, their starting lineup featured Sergio Romero, goalkeeper for Sampdoria in Genoa, Italy; Pablo Zabaleta and Martín Demichelis, right back and centreback, respectively, for English team Manchester City; Javier Mascherano, a centreback for Spanish giants FC Barcelona, who had previously starred in his homeland for River Plate and in England for Liverpool; Ezequiel Lavezzi, a forward for French team Paris Saint-Germain; and Gonzalo Higuaín, a forward for Napoli of Naples, Italy, who had starred for River Plate and Spanish giants Real Madrid.

This team was so good that Sergio Agüero, whose goal won the 2012 Premier League title for Man City, could only come off the bench; while Real Madrid midfielder Ángel Di María didn't get into the game at all.

Germany were managed by Joachim "Jogi" Löw, a midfielder for SC Freiburg, whose biggest title as a manager thus far had been the 2002 Austrian Bundesliga title, with Tirol Innsbruck. He had, however, managed Germany to 2nd place at Euro 2008 and 3rd at the 2010 World Cup.

As usual, Die Mannschaft were dominated by players from Bayern Munich: Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, right back and Captain Philipp Lahm, centreback Jérôme Boateng, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, midfielder Toni Kroos, midfielder Mario Götze, forward Thomas Müller,

Centreback Mats Hummels, then with Borussia Dortmund, and forward Miroslav Klose, then with Lazio of Rome, Italy, had previously played for Bayern. Defender Benedikt Höwedes played for Schalke 04.

Three members of the German team played for North London team Arsenal FC, whom I support. But only midfielder Mesut Özil started. Centreback Per Mertesacker only got in at the end of the game, and forward Lukas Podolski did not play at all.

The game kicked off at 4:00 PM, local time, and also Argentina time -- 9:00 in most of Europe, including Germany, and 3:00 U.S. Eastern. Attendance in a stadium that once had a capacity, including standing room, of 200,000, was an all-seated 74,738. The weather was good, and the grass dry.

Each team missed a couple of shots in the 1st half-hour. Early on, Higuaín mis-hit a ball that he should have put in the net. In the 30th minute, Higuaín did put the ball in the net, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside. Later Romero made a save. I am serious, and you can call the man who took the shot André Schürrle. He was a forward for West London team Chelsea FC. Messi had a shot blocked by Boateng. Just before the half, Höwedes hit the post, and was offside, anyway.

Argentina began the second half with Agüero replacing Lavezzi. Higuaín shot wide. Messi then had a one-on-one with the Neuer, but also shot wide. In the 56th minute, Neuer took down Higuaín in the penalty area, but no penalty was given, or even a card. Just before the hour, Klose had a shot that was caught by Romero. Messi had another miss in the 75th. Regular time ended, 0-0.

Early in extra time, Schürrle's close-range shot was stopped by Romero. Five minutes later, a lob by Rodrigo Palacio went just wide. In the 113th minute, Schürrle raced past 2 defenders on the left before crossing into the penalty area, where Götze controlled the ball on his chest, and then volleyed left-footed into the net. Germany were deservedly ahead.

Müller had a chance to double Germany's lead shortly afterward, but his shot went wide. With time running out, Messi, as if ordained by God, or "the football gods," or Fate, or FIFA, had a chance to be the hero, but he fired over the crossbar. That proved to be the last action of the game as the final whistle was blown, confirming Germany's 1–0 victory. It was their 4th win, matching Italy, trailing only Brazil with 5.

In 125 minutes, counting stoppage time, "greatest of all time" Messi neither scored a goal nor assisted on one. People who believed him to be the "GOAT" would have to wait.

Kroos was born in Greifswald, East Germany in 1990, 2 months after the Berlin Wall came down, and 9 months before reunification. He was the only player born, raised, and trained to play soccer in East Germany who ever played on a World Cup-winning team.

UPDATE: An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 15th.

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July 13, 2014 was a Sunday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore, in a game shortened to 5 innings due to rain. Kevin Gausman, who usually pitches well against the Yankees, outpitched Chase Whitley. Chris Davis hit a home run for the O's. The Yankee run came on a homer by Brett Gardner. Derek Jeter, in his final season, went 1-for-2. Alex Rodriguez was suspended for the season.

* The New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins, 9-1 at Citi Field. Jacob deGrom was the winning pitcher.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Ryan Zimmerman and former Phillie Jayson Werth hit home runs for the Nats.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. David Price pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Jake McGee pitched a perfect 9th.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cleveland.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 10-7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Houston Astros, 11-0 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. This was when the Red Sox were defending World Champions, and the Astros were new to the American League and horrible, building up the draft picks that would, along with cheating, allow them to succeed the Red Sox as the AL's unfairly dominant team.

Clay Buchholz pitched a 3-hit shutout, striking out 12 and walking none. Astro starter Brad Peacock didn't get out of the 1st inning. The Red Sox got only 1 home run, from Brock Holt, who went 5-for-6. David Ortiz went 0-for-4, but drew 2 walks, and had RBIs on a bases-loaded walk and a groundout.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 10-7 at Globe Life Park in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Colorado Rockies, 13-5 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 1-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hyun Jim Ryu pitched 6 innings, allowing 2 hits and no walks, striking out 10. Three relievers completed a 4-hit, 2-walk, 12-strikeout shutout. The only run scored in the 6th, when Yasiel Puig singled Dee Strange-Gordon home.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-4 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-1 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

July 8, 2014: Brazil 1-7 Germany, the Mineiraço

I wonder if the old man in the upper right remembered 1950.

July 8, 2014: Even the most sadistic of Argentina fans could not have drawn up what happened to Brazil in the World Cup Semifinal.

This was the 2nd time Brazil had hosted the tournament. The 1st time, 1950, ended with a defeat that was treated as a national trauma. They thought they could do it this time. They had no idea they were staring at the most shocking game in World Cup history.

They certainly seemed like they had the lineup: Former Internazionale Milano stars Júlio César in goal, Maicon at left back and Hernanez in midfield; FC Barcelona stars Dani Alves at right back and Neymar up front; Paris Saint-Germain centerbacks Thiago Silva (team Captain) and Maxwell; Chelsea stars, centerback David Luiz, midfielders Oscar, Ramires and Willian; Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho; and Zenit St. Petersburg forward Givanildo Vieira de Sousa, known as Hulk due to an alleged resemblance to Lou Ferrigno, who played the Marvel Comics superhero on TV.

They opened the tournament on June 12, beating Croatia 3-1 at São Paulo. They were held to a 0-0 draw by a strong Mexico team at Fortaleza, before walloping Cameroon, 4-1 at Brasília. They needed penalties to beat Chile in the Round of 16, 3-2 after a 1-1 match in Belo Horizonte. On July 4, in the Quarterfinal, Brazil beat Colombia, 2-1 at Fortaleza. If they could beat Germany in the Semifinal, then everything would be set up for an epic Final against arch-rival Argentina.

Brazil and Germany took the pitch at Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte. No one on either side, player or fan, was thinking it would be easy. However, there were two bad signs for Brazil: Thiago Silva was suspended due to a compilation of yellow cards, and Neymar had been injured in the Quarterfinal, with a fractured vertebra in his back. If Brazil were to win this game, Thiago would be available for the Final, but Neymar, the country's brightest star, would not.

A crowd of 58,141 saw the kickoff at 5:00 PM local time -- 8:00 PM in Germany, and 3:00 PM on the U.S. East Coast. Just 11 minutes into the game, Thomas Müller of Bayern Munich scored off a corner. Miroslav Klose of Bayern scored in the 23rd, off a rebound when Júlio César could only deflect this shot, not stop it.

That's when Brazil lost control of the game. Almost right after the kickoff, Germany got the ball back from Brazil, and a deflection from Philip Lamm, Captain of Bayern and Germany, went to Toni Kroos, about to be sold by Bayern to Real Madrid. He scored. Just 2 minutes later, Kroos caught Fernadinho in possession, and scored again. Just 2 minutes after that, Sami Khedira and his former Real Madrid teammate Mesut Özil, now with Arsenal, played a one-two, and Khedira scored.

In a span of 6 minutes, Germany had gone from 1-0 up to 5-0 up, and the game wasn't even half an hour old.

More scoring in the 2nd half? Surely, you can't be serious. I am serious, and it was André Schürrle, then with Chelsea, who scored in the 69th minute, and again in the 79th. Oscar scored in the 90th minute, but it was the smallest of consolations. Brazil walked off the pitch 7-1 losers, and the home crowd booed them off the pitch.

On Facebook, to people not familiar with how soccer goes, I wrote, "Yes, my fellow Americans: This was worse than the 43-8 shellacking the Seattle Seahawks gave to the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl the preceding February. The Brazilians got crushed on home soil at their sport."

Just as the 1950 Final defeat became known as the Maracanaço, "The Agony of Maracanã," so, too, did this one become known as the Mineiraço, "The Agony of Mineirão."

Four days later, Brazil lost the 3rd Place Playoff to the Netherlands. The day after that, Germany beat Argentina in the Final. No one from Brazil consoled themselves with the thought that they had been eliminated by the best team in the world.

All they cared about was that, for the 2nd time in a lifetime, 72 years, they had been humiliated, at their game, on their soil. Brazil have won 5 World Cups, more than any country; and hosted 2 World Cups, a record they share with Mexico, Italy, France and Germany; but they've never won one that they've hosted. It will be a long time before they're allowed to host another, and maybe they shouldn't seek to do so.

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July 8, 2014 was a Tuesday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, 5-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Trevor Bauer outpitched Masahiro Tanaka. Derek Jeter, in his final season, went 0-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-3 at Citi Field.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. David Ortiz went 0-for-4 with a walk. I guess the steroids weren't working.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Cincinnati Reds swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 and 6-5 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 14-5 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-7 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat their cross-State rivals, the Texas Rangers, 8-3 at Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 2-1 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels, 4-0 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. How many Toronto pitchers does it take to pitch a 5-hit shutout? In this case, 3: R.A. Dickey allowed 4 hits over 7, while Dustin McGowan allowed a hit in the 8th, and Aaron Loup didn't allow any in the 9th. Former Met José Reyes went 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The Oakland Athletics beat their cross-Bay rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 6-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the O.co Coliseum).

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Seattle Mariners, 2-0 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. Phil Hughes allowed no runs on 8 hits and no walks, striking out 8, over 7 1/3rd innings. Casey Fien finished the 8th and Glen Perkins pitched the 9th, allowing no more baserunners.

* And the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals, nearby Interleague rivals, were rained out at Nationals Park in Washington. The game was made up on August 4, and the Orioles won, 7-3.

June 24, 2014: Luis Suárez: Once, Twice, Three Times a Biter

June 24, 2014: You can't say Luis Suárez sucks. But he does bite.

Before him, there was another Luis Suárez who played for FC Barcelona. Luis Suárez Miramontes, born in Spain in 1935, helped them win Spain's La Liga in 1959 and 1960; then helped Internazionale Milano win Italy's Serie A in 1963, 1965 and 1966; and the 1964 and 1965 European Cup, the tournament now known as the UEFA Champions League; and led Spain to win the European Nations' Cup, the tournament now known as the UEFA Euro, in 1964. (UPDATE: He died in 2023, at the age of 88.)

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz was born in Uruguay in 1987, and led Nacional to that country's league title in 2006. He went to Europe, and won the Netherlands' Eredivisie with Ajax Amsterdam in 2011. England's Liverpool swooped in, expecting he would lead them to trophies, but, for reasons beyond his control (in spite of his constant diving), they only won the 2012 League Cup while he was there.

He was signed by Barcelona, and from 2014 to 2019, he helped them win 4 La Liga titles and the 2015 UEFA Champions League. He won La Liga again in 2021 with Atlético Madrid, before returning to South America, winning the Uruguayan Primera División with Nacional in 2022. He helped his country reach the Semifinal of the 2010 World Cup, and win the Copa América, South America's continental tournament for national teams, in 2011.

But that's not what he will be known for. He will be known for his cheating. His diving for penalties. His handballs. And for biting his opponents.

That's "opponents." Plural. Luis Suárez has sunk his teeth into not one, not two, but three different opposing players during the course of his professional career. Through the 2021-22 season, he has played 848 career games for club and country, meaning the chances of Suarez biting another player are one in every 282 matches. For context, the odds of getting bitten by a shark are 1 in 3.7 million.

During his time as Ajax captain, Suarez was caught biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal's shoulder on November 20, 2010. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf (The Telegraph) called him "the Cannibal of Ajax," and it was a nickname that stuck through his career.

The referee missed it, but the KNVB, the governing body for Dutch soccer, banned him retroactively for 7 games, and it proved to be his last appearance for the Eredivisie giants (still receiving an Eredivisie winner's medal), before being sold to Liverpool.

On October 15, 2011, Suárez was accused of racial abuse by Patrice Evra, a black defender for Manchester United, during their 1-1 draw with Liverpool. The Football Association's investigation found in Evra's favor, and Suárez was suspended for 8 domestic matches and fined £40,000.

Evra was also a known diver, and, like most Manchester United players, was hated by just about every soccer fan in the world who supported a team other than Man U. Suárez had done the impossible: He made Evra a sympathetic figure.

On April 21, 2013, Suarez struck again, with Branislav Ivanovic his next victim, during a 2-2 draw between Liverpool and West London team Chelsea FC. Again, the incident was missed by the referee and, to add insult to injury, Suarez scored a later equalizer to rescue a point for the Reds. The FA slapped him with a 10-game ban this time, which crucially carried over into the start of the 2013-14 campaign, in which Liverpool went onto lose the Premier League title by 2 points. One loss, or two draws, turned into wins would have made them Champions.

And then, on June 24, 2014, during the World Cup, at Arena das Dunas in Natal, Brazil, he left bite marks on the shoulder of Italy's Giorgio Chiellini. Yet again, the referee missed the incident at the time. Diego Godín scored in the 81st minute, and Uruguay won, 1-0, guaranteeing their advancement out of Group D to the knockout stage, and preventing Italy from advancing.

But FIFA, the governing body for world soccer, stepped in after the game, and suspended Suarez from all football-related activity for 4 months. He was additionally banned for nine international games. Without him, Uruguay were knocked out by Colombia in the Round of 16.

Earlier in the game, there was another call that the officials missed, a handball committed by Suárez. I saw somebody on Twitter combine the two offenses, and call him "Handball Lecter." Now, the fictional cannibal and serial killer Hannibal Lecter might be willing to engage in deception to get what he wants. But for all his sociopathy, Dr. Lecter had class. He would be appalled by Suárez's character and manners -- the only thing against which Lecter would discriminate, as opposed to Suárez's unrepentant racism.

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June 24, 2014 was a Tuesday. Other games played in the World Cup that day:

* England and Costa Rica played to a draw, 0-0 at Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte. Costa Rica also advanced out of Group D, while England finished 4th and last. Not the most ignominious defeat England had ever suffered in a World Cup match in Belo Horizonte -- see 1950 -- but bad enough.

* Colombia beat Japan, 4-1 at Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá.

* And Greece beat the Ivory Coast, 2-1 at Estádio Castelão in Fortaleza.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-6 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The Yankees were down 6-0 after 5 innings, tied it in the 7th. But a bunt by ex-Yankee Melky Cabrera led to an error by Yankee 3rd baseman Yangervis Solarte, and ex-Met José Reyes scoring the winning run. Adam Warren was the losing pitcher. Derek Jeter, in his final season, hit a home run.

* The New York Mets beat the Oakland Athletics, 10-1 at Citi Field.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins, 7-4 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Ryan Zimmerman hit a home run in the top of the 16th inning.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Clayton Kershaw pitched 8 innings of 6-hit shutout ball, before Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect 9th.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers, 8-2 at Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 3-2 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-5 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-8 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Aaron Hill singled Gerardo Parra home with the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-6 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-2 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-2 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.