Ronaldo: I’m rooting for a Brazil-Germany final at Maracana

When one talks about a World Cup, it is difficult to draft lists of the best or the greatest.

It is an event that attracts the attention of the whole planet. If we say that there are 200 million coaches in Brazil – that is, everyone in the country thinks they are a football expert, – just imagine how many coaches there must be around the world at the time of a World Cup, each with their own opinion!

My five candidates to be the best player of the tournament are, in alphabetical order, Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Thomas Müller.

The first three were the top finishers in the race for the Ballon d’Or and need no further explanation.

Neymar is not yet part of that list, but he has everything it takes to get there soon. Moving to Europe has been good for him, even in a tough season at Barcelona. And no one should forget what he did at the Confederations Cup last year.

And Müller is one of the great names in a great Germany side. Besides being an excellent player, he was the top goalscorer in a World Cup at age 21 without being a centre-forward. That is something not everyone can manage.

I would like to recommend five games to watch during the World Cup, even though it is a very difficult choice because there are lots of potentially fantastic matches.

The draw made some teams happy, and others not quite. However, it is the fans who are the real winners.

Salvador’s Arena Fonte Nova is set to host a replay of the 2010 World Cup final, Spain-Netherlands, as well as a clash between Cristiano Ronaldo and German players at Bayern Munich in Portugal-Germany.

England-Italy in Manaus is also one of those games that will make the world stop in front of the TV, even more so since it is being played at a beautiful stadium that has been built in a city which is in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.

For me, and for Brazilian fans in general, the opening game is also set to be special. As a member of the organizing committee, I have closely followed all the work the country has done to host the World Cup. So when Brazil and Croatia come onto the pitch in the Sao Paulo neighbourhood of Itaquera for the first World Cup match held in Brazil in 64 years, it will be really exciting.

And the fifth game in the list? The final, of course. I have said it before, and I am saying it again: I am rooting to see Brazil and Germany at Maracana on July 13. With the Brazilian national team eventually winning that match in Rio de Janeiro, of course.

(dpa).