AS Lionel Messi’s free-kick sailed high and wide, Germans and Brazilians breathed a sigh of relief.

Germans because that assured them of a fourth World Cup title and Brazil because they couldn’t see arch-rivals Argentina winning the World Cup at their own soil.

Moreover, not at their iconic Maracana Stadium — a venue which is overlooked by Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Christ de Redeemer’s statue which is perched atop the Corvocado mountain, and is their football cathedral.

It was a stunning goal by Mario Goetze which lit up the Maracana in the final — a goal worthy of winning any final — as Germany won their fourth Word Cup crown.

The final itself epitomised what the World Cup truly was — brilliantly entertaining.

Goetze chested a cross before volleying it past Sergio Romero in the 23rd minute of extra-time, leaving Argentina with little time to mount a comeback.

Messi, awarded the Golden Ball, had the chance to inscribe his name alongside legends like Diego Maradona, Pele, and Zinedine Zidane when he was fouled in the final minute of the game.

But the Barcelona forward’s kick didn’t even test Manuel Neuer, voted as the Golden Glove.

For a month-long party where football was played at its best, it was fitting that Goetze’s goal decided the contest.

Goetze’s goal was the 171st at the World Cup — a record Brazil 2014 now shares with France 1998.

“This was the most special World Cup for me,” FIFA president Sepp Blatter said in his closing press conference. “This World Cup had everything.”

Germany’s World Cup win was deserved for a side which had been knocking at the door for so long but yet falling at the final hurdle.

But for Argentina, Messi failed to show up, failed to do a Diego Maradona and guide them to their third World Cup.

Nonetheless, he was one of the superstars who lit up a group stage that sizzled with goals.

The World Cup kicked off on June 12 amid concerns at Brazil’s ability to host the tournament after the local organisng committee had taken its sweet time in delivering the venues and infrastructure to FIFA.

But Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo was a fitting venue for the opener.

And after Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leite had rocked the audience in the opening ceremony, Brazil’s main man Neymar took centre-stage.

He helped Brazilians shrug off the concerns that had dogged them ahead of the World Cup as they began with a 3-1 victory over Croatia.

For his countrymen protesting the $13 billion being spent on hosting the World Cup, it brought back their love of the game.

And only a day later, defending champions Spain were put to the sword after an incredible performance saw the Netherlands thrash them 5-1.

That set the tone for the most open World Cup in years.

There seemed no clear favourites as shock results came and went. Spain’s era of dominance came to an end with a group stage exit.

Their neighbours Portugal led by the World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo, also exited.

The big surprise, though, came in Group ‘D’ — the group of death — where tiny Costa Rica advanced from the group at the expense of England and Italy.

That group also saw Uruguay and Luis Suarez advance but the Liverpool striker caused the first big controversy of the World Cup.

His ‘bite’ on Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in their final group game saw him being handed a lengthy ban.

“I’m sorry for Suarez but he’s a great player and hopefully he’ll be back soon,” Blatter said.

Along with the goals, came tactical and technical nous.

Costa Rica were the surprise team of the tournament, reaching the quarter-finals where they held the Netherlands for 120 minutes before losing on penalties.

The other was Colombia. Led by James Rodriguez — the World Cup’s top-scorer with six goals, the Colombians too reached the quarter-finals before going down to Brazil.

During that win, Brazil lost Neymar to injury — and subsequently the Cup.

Without their main man, Brazil’s weaknesses were ruthlessly exposed by Germany in a 7-1 semi-final victory that stands as the most extraordinary result the tournament has ever seen.

The carnage in Belo Horizonte saw an incredible burst of four goals in six minutes as Joachim Loew’s side go 5-0 up inside 29 minutes.

Germany scored twice more to advance to the final, leaving Brazil to reflect on the worst defeat in their history.

Argentina’s main man during the group stages had been Messi but as the tournament progressed Javier Mascherano took a more crucial role as the Albiceleste rode on his defensive work to progress into the semis.

And after a goalless draw at the end of extra-time, they beat the Netherlands in the penalty shootout of their last-four clash to advance to the final.

As stunning as the defeat to Germany was to Brazil, the fact that their bitter enemies had the chance to win the World Cup at their own turf was unthinkable.

Tens of thousands of Argentines descended on Rio, camping out and driving in convoys to be in the party city for the final watched by hundreds of millions around the globe.

But Goetze ensured Brazil didn’t face the ignominy of watching their rivals lift the trophy at the Maracana.

Instead, the stadium filled by many Germany and Brazil supporters roared with excitement as Phillip Lahm went up the stairs to collect the World Cup trophy.

German chancellor Angela Merkel was there amongst a host of dignitaries for the final. So was Russian president Vladimir Putin whose country hosts the next World Cup in 2018.

Also present was International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, who’ll be keenly watching as Rio prepares for its next big sporting event — the 2016 Olympics.

“I think that the world has seen the organisational skills of Brazil in this World Cup,” Bach told reporters on the eve of the final. “Many were surprised, but you could see how well this went.”

There was no repeat of the giant public protests that unsettled last year’s warm-up tournament, the Confederations Cup, as the World Cup went smoothly despite grave concerns.

The stadiums were ready, the airports functioned without major problem and fans enjoyed the tournament with no significant incidents.

And the 2014 World Cup will be considered one of the best, if not the best World Cup ever. Over to you, Russia.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2014