World Cup from A to Z: Sinking feeling for Brazil and Luis Suarez but Mario Gotze rises above all

With the month-long tournament behind us, Gary Meenaghan, our man in Brazil, draws up a list of characters and moments that will have made this edition of football’s flagship event truly memorable.

Neymar, left, proved to be the star player for Brazil and the face of World Cup 2014. Adrian Dennis / AFP

A – Anthems

It started at the Confederations Cup and carried into this summer. Brazil – team and fans – used the national anthem to release their emotions. When the music stopped, everybody in the stadium kept singing. Last year, the players rode this wave of patriotism to victory. This year, the emotion seemed to overwhelm them.

B – Bills, bills, bills

Possibly the most ludicrous sight at the World Cup was a live TV feed of a convoy of cars transporting $3 million in cash from Brasilia airport to Ghana’s team camp. Following a dispute over appearance fees – which resulted in Kevin Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari being sent home – an ultimatum was delivered: pay up or we do not play. The money arrived, the players were seen kissing bricks of bills, and the team played – and lost.

C – Champions in crisis

Spain arrived as world champions and were widely expected to progress deep into the tournament, but that soon changed when they were humbled 5-1 by Holland in what must rate as one of the all-time World Cup performances. Things got worse when Spain were beaten by Chile, which ended their qualification hopes after just two games.

D – Dilma

Dilma Rousseff, the Brazilian president, is gearing up for an election campaign later this year. Popular among the working class, she was routinely booed by the majority middle class crowd during the opening ceremony, where she avoided making a speech, and was jeered when handing over the trophy at the final. Many political analysts believe Dilma’s future was dependent on the success of the Brazilian national team.

E – Extra-time

The additional 30 minutes at the end of regular time during Sunday’s final was the third successive World Cup final that went to extra-time. Mario Gotze’s goal prevented penalties, meaning the tournament only equalled rather than usurped the World Cup record of four games decided by shoot-out.

F – Failure

The Asian and African confederations provided nine teams at the World Cup, yet only two – Algeria and Nigeria – made it as far as the last 16. South Korea, Ghana, Iran and Japan all failed to win a match, while Cameroon and Australia failed to notch a single point. The performance of the two continents should not help in their bids to be awarded more slots at future tournaments.

G – Germany / Gotze

“The Miracle Boy” was how Joachim Loew described Mario Gotze, the German hero who netted his side’s trophy-winning goal in extra-time. The Bayern Munich midfielder is just one of a host of young and talented German players though. Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer and others all enhanced their reputations as Loew’s side lifted their first World Cup in 24 years.

H – Howard's heroics

In the United States’ last-16 tie with Belgium, Tim Howard, the US goalkeeper, was forced to make 16 saves, a new World Cup record. Having kept a clean sheet for 90 minutes, Howard was eventually beaten twice as Jurgen Klinsmann’s side were eliminated, but his shot-stopping was impressive enough to spark a series of memes and the hashtag #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave. Answers included: the dinosaurs, Titanic and the Kardashians love life.

I – Invasions

Fans invaded the pitch during the group stage match between Germany and Ghana as well as the last-16 tie between the United States and Belgium. Even in the final, security was breached as a man with the words “Natural Born Prankster” written on his chest appeared briefly on the pitch. Most concerning was when a group of 200 Chileans broke through security at the Maracana and ran through the media centre before they were arrested.

J – James

Colombia’s James Rodriguez was the star of the tournament, scoring six times in five games to take the Golden Boot and cement his reputation as one of the brightest young talents in world football. His strike against Uruguay was as fine a volley as the World Cup has ever seen, while Brazil reverted to kicking him in the quarter-final. He cost Monaco €40 million (Dh200m) last summer. This summer, should Real Madrid want to sign him, they will need to pay substantially more.

K – Klose

Miroslav Klose, the German striker, started the tournament with 14 World Cup goals. He finished it with 16 and in doing so usurped the record of the host country’s revered Ronaldo. The fact Klose netted his 16th in the 7-1 drubbing of Brazil was suitably fitting as the spiritual home of football realised its national team can no longer live off past achievements. The local fans gave Klose a standing ovation.

L – Luiz

David Luiz was one of several players Zico cited when explaining why Brazilians do not feel a bond with their national team. As a youth, the PSG defender hardly played in his home country and only found fame after going abroad. Yet he captured his nation’s heart this month, showing passion, and humility (as well as manners in the mixed zone). The photo of him consoling James after the Colombia match will be the quintessential image of this tournament.

M – Mineirazao

“Humiliation” was how one Brazilian newspaper described the host nation’s historical and heartbreaking 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semi-finals. Held at the Estadio Mineiro in Belo Horizonte, the loss – the worst in the team’s 10-year history – was quickly likened to Brazil’s shock 1950 defeat to Uruguay at the Maracana. Tears flowed and scuffles broke out as the country most famous for football failed so emphatically on the world’s biggest stage

N – Neymar

The Brazilian was the poster boy of his country’s tournament and lived up to the billing, providing Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side’s sole spark of flair and netting four times in the group stages. His influence was psychological as well as physical and when he fractured a vertebra, the following few days felt like a period of mourning on national TV.

O – Officiating

Goal-line technology made its World Cup debut, but it did not rid the game of controversy. From the very first game, the standard of refereeing was questioned, with Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura giving Brazil a soft penalty against Croatia. As the tournament progressed it became clear that referees had been ordered to be more lenient.

P – Pitbull

The Latin American rapper’s World Cup anthem We Are One might not have proven as catchy as Shakira’s Waka Waka of 2010, but it did not prevent it from being played constantly at all 64 matches.

Q – Queen

Mario Balotelli, the maverick Italian striker, did not enjoy the best World Cup, but he showed good humour ahead of his country’s group stage match with Uruguay. The former Manchester City striker, aware that England needed Italy to win if they were to have any hope of progressing, tweeted: “If we beat Costa Rica I want a kiss, obviously on the cheek, from the UK Queen.”

R – Recife rains

American fans descended upon the city in Brazil’s north-east coast ahead of the US match with Germany. When they woke up on match day, biblical rains had flooded the streets. With roads under water and public transport crippled, several thousand missed kick-off, while others missed the game entirely. Fifa’s decision not to delay the start of the match was absurd.

S – Suarez

Who knows how far Uruguay might have progressed if only Luis Suarez could keep his teeth in his mouth? The striker single-handedly shot down England, but against Italy in the final group stage match was caught on camera biting Giorgio Chiellini. Fifa subsequently banned him from all football activity for four months and issued a nine-match suspension. Uruguay were eliminated in the next round.

T – Ticos

Costa Rica, drawn in a group with three former World Cup champions, were supposed to be the whipping boys yet topped their group courtesy of solid defending and speedy counter-attacking. Their opening game victory over Uruguay was deemed a shock, but then they bettered it with a hard-fought win over Italy. Los Ticos made history to reach the quarter-finals, before being knocked out on penalties.

U – Under arrest

Match services is Fifa’s main provider for hospitality packages. Ray Whelan, who is the figure head of the company, was arrested briefly before being released on bail for allegedly being part of a 10-person ticket touting ring. When Rio police returned to arrest him, he had disappeared leading to him being labelled “a fugitive”, which Match vehemently denied.

V – Vanishing spray

The introduction of vanishing spray – or, for alliteration lovers, felony foam – resulted in referees marking the ground where a free kick should be taken as well as where the wall should stand. It stops rebellious players creeping forward and disappears after a minute or so. Excellent.

W – Water breaks

Introduced at the Fifa Under 17 World Cup in the UAE, enforced rehydration periods were common this past month as six of Brazil’s 12 host cities, despite being winter in the southern hemisphere, endured searing temperatures. Although teams stopped for breaks, the first official Fifa-approved break came in the Netherlands, Mexico match in Fortaleza.

X – Xherdan Shakiri

The Switzerland midfielder bagged a fine hat-trick against Honduras during the group stages. It was the 50th World Cup hat-trick – and the second of the tournament after Thomas Muller netted three against Portugal in Germany’s opening game – and the last of the tournament as teams were wary of pushing too far forward in the knockout games in case they conceded and were eliminated.

Y – Yellow

The host country embraced the tournament absolutely, with everything, including roads, painted yellow and green, and colourful ticker tape strung up everywhere. Brazil played seven matches and each one prompted the entire country to turn canary yellow.

Z – Zuniga

Near the end of an ugly quarter-final clash between Colombia and Brazil, Juan Zuniga crashed his knee into the back of local superstar Neymar. The aggressive challenge fractured a vertebra in the Brazilian’s spine and ended his World Cup campaign, casting Zuniga as a national villain. Brazil demanded Fifa retrospectively punish the Colombian defender, but the governing body refused.

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