Franz Beckenbauer - World Cup Commentary II

This did happen with perhaps just a few teams, but the others? - The fast pace was still there and the offensive strategy as well. On top of it, there were many matches decided in the final minutes. And we saw five of the eight matches go into overtime! In two cases, it came down to a penalty shoot-out.

At past World Cups, the round of 16 established clear-cut lines and separated the wheat from the chaff. Today, countries like Costa Rica and Colombia reached the final 16 - and now they have advanced further. This can't be praised enough.

I still believe that the Latin American countries have prepared especially intensively for this tournament - so intensively, that even the usually dominant Brazil, after winning in a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Chile, must now watch out for Colombia. The Brazilians - above all Neymar -  cried tears of relief, emotion, and exhaustion after their win over Chile.

Before their quarter-final match against Colombia, the Brazilians should probably reconsider their playing style. Most of them are individualists, and Brazil does not live from its teamwork but rather from the great class of its individual players. But if you want to become world champions, then it is the class of the entire team, not the individuals, that is decisive. The enthusiasm of the home crowds remains huge, and that should also be a help. The Brazilians could clear the next hurdle - provided they clearly improve. And provided that James Rodriguez, Colombia's 22-year-old superstar, does not again show the kind of magic that he did with his artistic goal in the 2-0 win over Uruguay.

For the German team as well, the second-round match against Algeria was anything but easy. Against France, we cannot again afford to see so little running and so many balls given up the way we did in the first half against Algeria. In the second half the Germans got the match somewhat better under control and it was then just a question of time before the goals for Germany would start to come - even if it meant waiting until overtime.

Amid all the debate and hymns of praise for the German team, it is Bayern Munich keeper Manuel Neuer who is in the middle of it all. His actions far outside of the penalty area possibly even prevented Germany from falling behind. Some journalists are describing Neuer as a combination of Sepp Maier, our goalie at Bayern and in the West German team that won the 1974 world title, and myself. What they mean is that with Neuer, there has been a rebirth of the old libero, or sweeper, position.

I would rather put it this way: Neuer is a mop-up guy, an outstanding mop-up one at that. But not a libero, because that position also means performing tasks on offense. Oliver Kahn, a predecessor of Neuer's and with an outstanding showing at the 2002 World Cup declared the best player of the tournament, calls Neuer's actions a kind of hara-kiri. Well, on two occasions against Algeria things really did get dangerously close. If Neuer with his charging out of the penalty area had been a fraction of a second too late, he might have seen the red card. He really did have to be sure he would reach the ball before his opponent did.

Although France looks to be stronger than Algeria, I think the German team will have an easier time of it in the quarter-finals. It's because they know the French, and because from the first minute on, every player will be much more focussed than was the case in the matches before.

One is permitted to shed a few tears for the surprisingly strong Mexicans, who after group play had the same number of points as Brazil. They were unlucky in how the Netherlands turned the match around with goals in the final couple of minutes. The Dutch now have an opponent they should be able to handle in Costa Rica. In contrast to past tournaments, the Dutch are no longer intoxicating themselves with their own style, but instead are playing a considerably cooler, more pragmatic, more efficient, and more rational game.

Tears for Switzerland are also in order. The team under Ottmar Hitzfeld played well and fought fantastically in what became the last match for this great coach. And they came close to beating the Argentinians, among others because they kept Lionel Messi well under control. He had a hard time getting into the match. It hurts really bad when you are scored against in the 118th minute, and then the Swiss lacked that tiny bit of luck moments later when they hit the post, the kind of luck you need in such a tournament. For sure, Switzerland reaching the quarter-finals would have been a sensation, but it is something I really would have wished for Ottmar. Even if it would have meant having to postpone his retirement a bit longer.

 And the final tears for the USA. That was a great battle they put up against the technically-skilled Belgians. In the end, a 2-1 defeat for Team USA, but coach Juergen Klinsmann succeeded in getting the country of American football and basketball to watch soccer. Including President Barack Obama.