"The darkest day in Brazilian football history!"
This was Brazil coach Scolari's precise description of the match.
The 8-1 scoreline shocked the entire world.
No one would have thought that the Samba Army, with the most World Cup titles, would suffer such a crushing defeat!
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And it was such a humiliation on home soil!
It's worth noting that the last time the Brazil Team conceded five or more goals in a single match was 76 years ago!
According to media reports, after the match, there were only a few people left in the carnival zone on Copacabana Beach.
Many threw their yellow and green jerseys, Brazil flags, and other items on the ground, crying inconsolably.
Outside the Mineirão Stadium, many emotional fans caused disturbances, with some even setting the Brazil flag on fire, their disappointment with the team evident!
Later that evening, riots even broke out in São Paulo state, resulting in at least eight cars being burned and several shops being looted...
The impact of this match was so significant that Brazil failed to recover for the next decade.
Of course, that was all in the future.
For Germany, crossing the 'strong opponent' of the host nation and reaching the final was something worth celebrating extensively.
However, Löw only gave his disciples half a day off.
In his view, the team reaching the final was just the beginning.
It wouldn't be too late to celebrate after defeating their opponent in the final and truly lifting the world cup trophy.
Regarding this, major German media outlets unanimously began to heap praise.
This match provided too much material for extensive publicity.
For example, "Löw is the true chosen one of German football!"
For example, "Klose broke Ronaldo's World Cup goal record!"
And for example, "Can Mark become the youngest Golden Boot winner in World Cup history, or will Müller become the first player to defend the Golden Boot?"
Among them, many German media also reported on this World Cup's "Golden Boot Race."
Currently, J-Rod leads the top scorer list with six goals, while Mark, also with six goals, is second due to fewer assists.
Müller, in third place, has scored five goals.
With both Mark and Müller reaching the final, the Golden Boot Race of this World Cup has entered its decisive moment.
If Mark can score in the final, he will surpass J-Rod and win the World Cup Golden Boot!
If Müller can score a brace in the final, and Mark does not score, then Müller will become the first player in World Cup history to defend the Golden Boot!
Of course, for both of them, the Golden Boot is not important.
What's important is to have the last laugh in the final!
It is worth mentioning that, due to his one goal and one assist in the match, and assisting Klose in breaking Ronaldo's goal record, Mark's social media comment section saw an influx of abusive comments from Brazil Team fans.
His direct messages even contained numerous death threats.
Of course, according to statistics, over 100,000 Brazil Team fans unfollowed him.
Fortunately, his dazzling dribbling skills on the left wing in that match also attracted many fans from other countries.
With gains offsetting losses, his social media followers actually increased quite a bit!
On the morning of their day off, Müller, Lahm, and Schweinsteiger, along with other Bayern players, chose to play golf.
For professional players, golf is definitely a good sport to relax their minds.
It only uses hands and is not easily injured, much safer than skiing, cycling, or boxing!
And Müller once again invited Mark.
With Mark's excellent performance in the World Cup, his teammates' attitudes towards this National Team rookie had changed considerably.
Everyone knew that with Mark's talent and skill, becoming a superstar was only a matter of time.
Especially after the media broke the news that Bayern was interested in Mark, the naturally friendly Müller would occasionally ask Mark privately if he wanted to come to Bayern to play together.
In Müller's view, although the team's Robben and Ribéry duo was still strong.
But with increasing age and injuries, their playing time was also affected.
Therefore, it was necessary to bring in young wingers to maintain the team's strong competitiveness.
And as a supernova who burst onto the scene this season, Mark's individual ability was widely recognized and had also undergone the baptism of the World Cup!
Such an outstanding talented player, if he could join Bayern, would certainly be a great strengthening of the team's power!
However, facing Müller's recruitment, Mark only smiled faintly and gave his reply:
"I will not leave Wolfsburg for now!"
As for the future, no one knows...
In the afternoon, Löw gathered everyone in the restaurant to watch the live broadcast of the other semi-final.
Watching Messi lead his team onto the field on TV, Little Draxler, sitting beside Mark, suddenly asked:
"Mark, just watching the game like this is a bit boring. How about we make a bet?"
"What?"
"Let's bet on who will reach the final! One hundred euros!"
Hearing this, Mark raised an eyebrow, then agreed:
"Okay, then I choose Argentina."
"Perfect, I prefer Netherlands. Their attacking power is too fierce."
At this moment, Schweinsteiger, who was on the other side, also spoke up:
"I'm in too!"
With Little Pig's inclusion, the bet grew larger, and the number of participants increased.
Soon, almost everyone, except for a few players who disliked betting, participated in the wager.
Only a small fraction, including Mark, supported Argentina, while over two-thirds supported Netherlands.
This was also normal.
After all, Netherlands and Germany are both European teams.
Moreover, Netherlands' star player Robben and many Bayern players are teammates and have good relationships.
However, what they didn't expect was that the two strong teams, the Pampas Eagles and the "Oranje," fought until the very last moment, with the winner only decided in a penalty shootout.
Argentina narrowly won and will face Germany in the final!
Netherlands could only compete in the third-place playoff for the bronze medal.
Thus, the finalists of the 2014 Brazil World Cup would be the German Team, the German Team, and the Pampas Eagles, Argentina!
And this match also earned Mark a small profit.
For Germany, facing Argentina in the final was better than facing Netherlands.
Compared to Netherlands, which had multiple scoring threats, Argentina's offense heavily relied on Messi, similar to Brazil.
As long as they formulated targeted defensive strategies, they could effectively curb Argentina's offense.
However, Argentina's defense was better than Netherlands', so it would depend on whether their attacking players could seize opportunities.
And as the team with the most potent attacking firepower and the most goal scorers in this World Cup, Germany's offensive prowess was absolutely reassuring!
As the final drew closer, media outlets from various countries analyzed the personnel lineups and tactical approaches of both sides.
Among them, the German media outlet Sport Bild also capitalized on the traffic, conducting a one-on-one comparison of the potential starting elevens for both teams.
First, in the goalkeeper position: Neuer vs. Romero:
Neuer was arguably the best goalkeeper in this World Cup. In the match against Algeria, he created a new role, the "sweeper-keeper," delivering a god-like performance. Beyond his diligent duties in front of goal, he could also help the team with ball distribution from the back.
Romero, Monaco's second-choice goalkeeper, was quite controversial, but he was in good form at the World Cup, becoming a penalty shootout hero in the semi-final. However, compared to Neuer, a strong contender for the world's best goalkeeper, he was still far behind.
Germany one to zero!
Then came the battle of the backline:
Lahm vs. Zabaleta: Guardiola praised Lahm as the smartest player he had ever seen. And after returning to his familiar right-back position, he performed excellently.
Zabaleta was an important pillar for Manchester City and Argentina. He defended toughly and occasionally pushed forward to assist, but compared to Lahm, there was still a difference between international and world-class.
Germany two to zero.
Jérôme Boateng vs. Garay: Whether at right-back or center-back, Jérôme Boateng performed excellently, showing great confidence in defense and shedding his previous rashness.
Garay was the leader of Argentina's defense, excellent in challenges, headers, and tackles, continuing his excellent club form at the World Cup.
Both were evenly matched.
Germany three to one.
Hummels vs. Demichelis: Hummels rediscovered his best form at the World Cup. Whether it was long passes or ball control, he was reliable in defense, especially in set-piece tactics where he had already scored two headers.
Demichelis was older, and his physical capabilities had significantly declined. However, his defensive experience was still excellent.
He was a fierce tackler, but still somewhat inferior compared to Hummels.
Germany four to one!
Höwedes vs. Rojo: Löw deployed Höwedes at left-back. Even though he wasn't a full-back with outstanding attacking abilities, he was very solid in defense. And in set pieces, his headers were also very threatening.
Rojo was originally a center-back and also brought stability to Argentina's defense on the left flank. He was active in running and frequently assisted, already having one goal and one assist.
Rojo won, Argentina pulled one back.
Germany four to two!
Next, it was the midfield battle:
Schweinsteiger vs. Mascherano: Little Pig was the German Team's conductor, less flashy than in the past, but contributing more to the team. He now relied more on anticipation than Speed on the field, and his form was slowly improving after recovering from injury.
Mascherano was a versatile defender, the leader of Argentina on the field, fierce in challenges, and covered a vast area.
Maradona once famously said: "My best eleven in the National Team is Mascherano plus 10 other players!"
The two were hard to separate.
Germany five to three, still leading.
Khedira vs. Biglia: Having regained his form after injury, Khedira had become an indispensable member of the current German Team. In the match against the Brazil Team, he was active in pressing high up the field and was involved in almost every German attack.
Biglia was not flashy on the field, very similar to Redondo, fierce in tackles, excellent in passing, and rarely made mistakes on the field, but Khedira was even better.
Germany six to three!
Kroos vs. Enzo Pérez: Kroos was very eye-catching in the Germany midfield, providing as many as four assists. He was an excellent passing machine and the engine of Germany's attack.
Enzo Pérez was merely a substitute for Di María, not even in the same league as Kroos.
Germany seven to three!
Müller vs. Messi: Like the 2010 World Cup, Müller had already scored five goals. His elusive runs and excellent poaching ability seemed very suitable for major tournaments like the World Cup. He was just two goals away from potentially becoming the first player to defend the Golden Boot.
Messi, on the other hand, was the hope of the Argentina Team. He had the ability to decide the outcome of a match single-handedly and was the strongest link in the Argentina Team. His ball control and dribbling were superior to Müller's, and Argentina pulled one back.
Germany seven to four!
Mark vs. Lavezzi: As the biggest discovery of this German Team and even the World Cup, Mark had scored in five consecutive matches, making him the team's top scorer and the World Cup's dribbling king. Apart from his age, Lavezzi could hardly compare with Mark in terms of Speed and footwork.
Germany scored another goal, eight to four.
Klose vs. Higuaín: Klose was the World Cup's all-time leading scorer. His heading ability was excellent, especially his role as a target man in the final third, making him an indispensable presence for the German Team.
Higuaín was a true striker, scoring seventeen goals in Serie A last season. In this comparison, he was barely on par with Klose.
The final result of the starting eleven comparison was Germany 9-5 over Argentina!
Of course, a football match cannot be decided by comparing individual positions.
Football is a team sport, and it depends on various factors such as whether the lineup plays as a cohesive unit, whether offense and defense are balanced, and whether the fighting spirit and morale on the field are high.
Based solely on paper strength, Germany was indeed stronger than Argentina.
However, Argentina possessed one of the best players on this planet, Messi, one of the strongest active superstars.
If he could win the match and lift the world cup trophy, Messi would be directly crowned king!
And the German Team was the only team that could stop him!
As the final approached, the German Team also conducted its final preparations.
The starters for other positions were already confirmed.
Only the left-winger position still left Löw somewhat hesitant.
For the semi-final against Brazil, Özil was originally scheduled to start.
But a hamstring strain during warm-ups forced him to make a personnel change.
Mark, who replaced him in the starting lineup, performed exceptionally well in the match, contributing one goal and one assist.
Especially his ability to dribble and break through on the wing, repeatedly tearing apart Brazil's defense and creating space for teammates, was precisely what this German Team lacked the most!
It can be said that out of the six goals in the first half, four were scored because he tied up the opponent's defense on the wing, creating larger gaps in the center, allowing midfielders like Kroos, Khedira, and Schweinsteiger to push forward and join the attack without restraint!
However, considering that both teams in the final would certainly be very cautious and fight for every inch, with huge physical demands.
This was destined to be a war of attrition.
Given Mark's stamina and playing style, if he were to engage in close combat with the opponent in the first half, his individual explosive ability would become less sharp when his stamina ran low in the second half.
After much deliberation, Löw still decided to start Özil first, and then place Mark on the bench as a substitute secret weapon.
Once the game reached a stalemate, he hoped Mark would be the one to break the deadlock!
...
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