Brazil 2014: Four Star

It ended with a bang. Extra time wound down and the cruel, tense resolution of penalties seemed likely. A shame that after a match as entertaining as this that luck should decide the victor. Thankfully, one last moment of skill remained. Mario Gotze stepped forward to claim his place in footballing history. Taking the ball …

Brazil 2014: The Boys from Brazil and the Men from Germany

I'm only human, and so sometimes I indulge in schadenfreude, but despite the German presence on Tuesday night it was impossible to relish too much in the misfortunes of Brazil's football team. I'd gone into the match predicting that Germany would emerge victorious against the hosts, as they'd been the stronger team so far, and …

Brazil 2014: Holland go full heel

It's weird but in football different countries have certain characteristics they become known for- the Brazilians are all about style and flair, Argentina are seen as a sort of dirty Brazil, Italy traditionally have the passion and flair and the Germans are known for ruthless efficiency. It doesn't matter what the current team does, that …

World Cup Whining

In a couple of days time the Brazil 2014 world cup will get under way and, as is customary, this means that every ad break is awash with footballers whoring for different companies- chocolate bars, beer, razors, crisps, I've seen all of them advertised so far. I can appreciate that for non-football fans this must …