Among world cup fans across the globe, there is great tension between which country will lift the trophy in finals to be played at Rio’s s storied Maracanã among Germany and Argentina. Already, host nation Brazil is out of tournament. Brazilians have great love for this summer tournament.
The amour fou has been on display in the stadiums and on the streets, from the anti-Fifa protests to the players’ weeping fits and bouts of psychic trauma.
With all due credit to a German team that played the “joga bonito” Brazilians now only play on VHS, it was the host’s emotional volatility that turned a likely semifinal defeat — no shame in that — into a national tragedy.
Germany enters planning for the perfect encore. They know their marks and have, in spells, married the traditional Vorsprung durch Technik with Spain’s tiki-taka artistry to produce some of the most compelling performances of the past month.
Opposite team, Argentina and its tiny talisman Lionel Messi are vying for the country’s third World Cup title and first since Diego Maradona orchestrated a dramatic defeat of West Germany in the 1986 final. In order for the matchup to be anything more than an afterword in the story of this “Copa Das Copas,” the teams will have to craft something original and unique.
