Golden Soccer ball

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Argentina star Lionel Messi did not have the planet Cup last that would have concluded any arguments against his standing as one of the most readily useful football players ever. It is not astonishing, then, that a prestigious prize performed little to lift their spirits after the match.

Moments following the last whistle of Germany's 1-0 triumph in extra time, Messi had been known the winner of this Golden Ball, the award provided to the planet Cup's top player. He couldn't appear specifically enthused to use the trophy:

Messi is not alone in winning the prize while losing the final. In fact, he causes it to be five straight players having won the Golden Ball without achieving full fame, with Brazil's Romario portion since the last dual World Cup and Golden Ball winner in 1994. The 2014 honor effortlessly might have visited many of the other nine finalists, but Messi had been the anticipated and deserving champion. He transported Argentina for the competition, scoring four of their eight goals, helping on two other individuals, and offering given that foundation of practically everything they did in assault. It really is arguable that no other player implied even more to your popularity of their part — except maybe Brazil's Neymar, another finalist, whose group crumbled in awkward fashion without him.

While champions Germany neglected to claim the planet Cup's top individual honor, they did grab among the significant trophies. Manuel Neuer took house the Golden Glove since the competition's most readily useful goalkeeper, joining countrymen Oliver Kahn (2002) on the list of honorees. Neuer finished with 24 saves in seven matches, 2nd into the event to Tim Howard associated with united states of america, who was simply surprisingly not known as among the list of three finalists for award despite making 27 saves in three a lot fewer suits. However a goalkeeper's efforts are not constantly explained best by save totals, and Neuer wowed fans and experts along with his sweeper-keeper activities inside knockout stage. Finalist Keylor Navas of Costa Rica would have been an excellent choice for the trophy, besides, but it's difficult to get too upset about Neuer's triumph.

In a prize that needed no voting, James Rodriguez, whom turned simply 23 years old on Saturday, nabbed the Golden Boot due to the fact World Cup's top goalscorer. Rodriguez scored six targets, locating the net in every one of their five suits and adding two helps for good measure. He had been also the breakout star of this competition, with a few amazing activities and one of the best targets associated with thirty days.

However Rodriguez ended up being too-old to win the whole world Cup's most useful younger Player Award, given to an athlete 21 many years or younger. Midfielder Paul Pogba of France, whom turned 21 in March, won the honor for their combination of powerful attacking and protective play inside the five suits. However, neither he nor another two finalists — French defender Raphael Varane and Memphis Depay for the Netherlands — seemed specially dominant. There was what's promising for France, however, due to the fact previous two winners of prize, Lukas Podolski (2006) and Thomas Muller (2010), both showcased for Germany in this World Cup.

In fact, the planet Cup's single team award — one decided solely by data — will be the most questionable. Colombia have-been because of the Fair Enjoy Award to discover the best disciplinary record into the event, having received only five yellow cards in their five suits. Yet Colombia were additionally associated with probably one of the most intense matches of tournament, the quarterfinal with Brazil that lead to the termination of Neymar's competition therefore the subsequent debacle for the semifinal with Germany. In reality, this match needs included a lot more yellowish cards — maybe even a red or two — for Colombia and Brazil. Similar to awards, it generally does not start to tell the total tale for the competition.