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Post by Admin on Jul 10, 2014 14:38:39 GMT
 Sergio Romero came back to haunt Louis van Gaal as Argentina beat Netherlands on penalties to reach the FIFA World Cup Final™. Argentina will face Germany in Sunday's showdown thanks to the exploits of Romero, who saved from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder in the 4-2 penalty win, which came after a scoreless 120 minutes in Sao Paulo. Van Gaal's team were favourites to win the penalty shoot-out. The Oranje did not miss from 12 yards in their quarter-final shoot-out against Costa Rica. But Van Gaal struggled to find enough players to take the spot-kicks in Sao Paulo, which surprised him greatly. "It should give you confidence. We took those penalties in an incredible way against Costa Rica," Van Gaal said.  "But the issue is you score the first one and I asked two players to take the first ball before ending up with Vlaar. I thought he was the best player on the pitch so should have a lot of confidence. It just goes to show it's not easy scoring in a penalty shoot-out. It's the most terrible scenario, to lose on penalties: at the very least we were equal with them, if not the better team. It's a big disappointment."  Tim Krul was the penalty hero for Holland against Costa Rica, coming off the bench to save two penalties. But this time Van Gaal kept faith with Jasper Cillessen, who has never saved a penalty before. When asked why he did not swap Cillessen for Krul, Van Gaal replied bluntly: "I'd already used three substitutes, so I couldn't." Holland breezed through the group stages and defeated Mexico before overcoming Costa Rica. Van Gaal was happy with his team's overall performance in Brazil. "We played a fantastic tournament," he said. "No one had expected us to make it through to the next phase, so as group winners we moved on and, after that, defeated Mexico - a team who are not easy to beat and are solid in terms of their organisation. Argentina are a top country with top players. We didn't lose against them, but the penalties are down to luck."  |
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Post by Admin on Jul 11, 2014 15:01:20 GMT
Brazilian striker Neymar tearfully claimed to reporters he could have been paralysed after his World Cup injury. An emotional Neymar broke down as he spoke of Colombian Juan Zuniga's challenge, saying, "If it had been another two centimetres I could be in a wheelchair today."  "The challenge and what happened was unacceptable. I'm not going to say it was vicious and there was malice or intent because I can't speak for him but everybody who understands football, everybody, knows that was not a normal challenge," he said. "I feel was blessed because it wasn't more serious," the footballer added. Neymar revealed he will be supporting Argentina in Sunday's World Cup final against Germany. Neymar told reporters Zuniga had called him to apologise for the knee in the back that initially left him unable to feel his legs. "Zuniga called me a few days later to apologise and to tell me that he did not intend to hurt me," Neymar said. "I accept his apology, but I cannot consider that a normal action. I cannot say whether it was intentional, but everyone knows it wasn't normal. The way he came in, behind me, I couldn't defend myself. I thank God for helping me, because if that blow had been a few inches lower I would have risked being paralysed."  "If you look at each player, you see sadness, frustration. I hope we get back to smiling as soon as possible. It made me happy to see people applauding us and shouting our names [today] after an ugly loss. I thank everyone who came. We take the responsibility for losing the game, but life goes on. For me, like all of you, it was unbelievable. I cannot explain it. It was a blackout. We conceded goals and it was difficult to get our bearings - I know what it's like to be on the pitch when that happens: you can't organise, you can't pass, you can't do anything. I spoke to the players, asked them what happened. They didn't know how to explain it." |
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Post by Admin on Jul 13, 2014 15:23:06 GMT
The Netherlands secured the consolation of third place at the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ courtesy of a straightforward 3-0 victory over Brazil at the Estadio Nacional. Recording a third consecutive clean sheet, Louis van Gaal’s charges therefore depart for home – and in the coach’s case, new employment in club football at Manchester United – having avoided defeat in standard or extra time. For Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men, though, there was little to celebrate.  Perhaps the sharpest of edges to the spine-tingling renditions of the Brazilian anthem was missing, but voices were raised pre-match as A Seleção sought redemption. Yet hopes of banishing lingering memories of their semi-final dismantling by Germany were dashed within 90 seconds of kick-off in Brasilia. Robin van Persie’s slide-rule pass inside the left channel of the hosts’ defence married with a blisteringly fast Arjen Robben dash in from right. The winger was then pulled down at pace by returning captain Thiago Silva as he surged dangerously within shooting distance. A penalty was the verdict of the referee, and Van Persie found the top corner with aplomb.  MOTM: #NED's Arjen Robben was the standout performer in today's #WorldCup play-off for third place #BRANED On 17 minutes, it was 2-0. Jonathan de Guzman, a late inclusion in Van Gaal’s line-up following an injury to Wesley Sneijder during the warm-up, collected a Robben pass and drove to the byline. Once there, he lofted a seemingly harmless cross into the area only for David Luiz to head his attempted clearance straight to Daley Blind, who took one touch to control, another to set and then calmly found the roof of the net.  Oscar struck a long-range drive into the palms of Jasper Cillessen, De Guzman clipped too high from a central position after being set up by more incisive work from Robben, and Georginio Wijnaldum had to position himself perfectly at the back post to glance away a troublesome free-kick that was travelling kindly towards Paulinho. Yet another devilish Oscar set-piece then somehow eluded his team-mates following a Luiz Gustavo flick-on. Brazil 0:3 Netherlands: Saturday, 12 July 2014 www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/highlights/match=300186502/index.html |
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Post by Admin on Jul 14, 2014 16:20:30 GMT
 Mario Goetze will definitely remember his first World Cup. Goetze, 22, scored the game-winning goal in extra time against Argentina, giving Germany a 1-0 victory in the final today.  The final was Goetze's 35th appearance for Germany, in which he scored his 11th international goal. He made his debut for Germany against Sweden in November 2010. Goetze is one of seven Germans who play their club soccer for Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga. His nerves didn't show ahead of the game either when he took a selfie.  The 22-year-old Götze infuriated Borussia Dortmund fans by moving to arch-rivals Bayern Munich 12 months ago. The 37 million euro deal made him Germany's most expensive player until Mesut Ozil's 50 million euro move to Arsenal. He has struggled to get a regular place with Bayern but still scored 10 league goals in 27 games in 2013-14. He joined Dortmund as an eight-year-old and was a key member of the Dortmund team that won the German title in 2010-11 and 2011-12. Götze is the first substitute to score the winning goal in a World Cup final. He has now scored 11 goals in 35 appearances for Die Mannschaft. Gotze made his first appearance for Germany in November 2010, coming on as a substitute in a goalless draw against Sweden. His first goal for Germany was on August 10, 2011 made him the joint youngest scorer for the country at 19 years and 68 days.  Götze had a relationship with James Bond girl Eva Green for two years and now is dating top model Ann Kathrin Brommel. Despite his glamor image, Götze insists he is not concerned about looking after his appearance. He told GQ in an interview: "Everyone is a little bit vain. I like to take care of my appearance just like Marco (Reus his close friend). But I don't concentrate on every detail, it's not that important to me."  Germany’s Mario Götze hugs his girlfriend, Ann Kathrin Brömmel, after extra time in the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. |
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Post by Admin on Jul 15, 2014 13:08:57 GMT
Germany’s soccer superstar Mario Götze got a huge kiss from his supermodel girlfriend Sunday after scoring the World Cup-winning goal — and some love from Rihanna. Götze, 22, and willowy gal pal Ann-Kathrin Brömmel, 24, shared a soulful stare on the sidelines before locking lips in front of thousands of fans in Rio’s Maracana stadium.  Brömmel acted for all of Germany when she raced over the second the final whistle blew to embrace the man who’d just become a national hero. The baby-faced Götze seemed too thrilled for words, and slightly dazed by his good luck — in love as well as soccer.  “It’s unbelievable. I scored but I didn’t really know what was happening . . . A dream has become a reality and we are going to have a great party. It is absolutely sensational,” he said later. He must have meant every word of it, because not too much later he was snapped with everybody’s favorite party girl, Rihanna. “The shooter aka my hitta #gotze #champions,” the sultry pop singer tweeted from the Sheraton in Rio. Rihanna, with her eyes closed and her hair loose, had one arm thrown casually around Götze.  The duo partied with the rest of the German team at the luxury hotel — but Götze never strayed too far from Brömmel. He was spotted posing for pictures with his lady love later in the night, both of them hefting the World Cup. Götze is a practicing Christian, but he hasn’t let his religion get in the way of a little fun. He and Brömmel came out as a couple in 2012, when photogs snapped them enjoying an intimate moment on a yacht in Ibiza, Spain. |
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