It didn’t take a red plumber hat and overalls on an Italian-American to save Germany from another defeat on football’s biggest stage.
Yet it did take a Super Mario for Germany to get the 1-Up over Argentina and eventually be crowned World Cup champions.
In the 113th minute of Sunday’s World Cup final, German substitute Mario Gotze broke the scoreless silent game with a beautiful chest-volley to the right side of the net past Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero.
Germany held on to take the 1-0 win and become world champions for the first time since 1990.
Although the game finished 0-0 after 90 minutes, the scoreboard didn’t give justice to a good back-and-forth match.
The two teams provided the world with two different styles of play that clashed to make a beautiful game.
Germany had been a dominant force the entire tourney. Picked to be the champions on many World Cup brackets, it came at no surprise to see the Germans lifting the trophy at the end of the day.
The Germans headed into the final looking as powerful as ever, coming off a 7-1 defeat over host nation Brazil in the semifinal.
Early on, Germany set the tempo of the match and kept it from the first whistle to the final.
At the end of the 120 minutes, Germany had won on possession 60-40 and had ripped seven shots on goal, five more than their opponent.
The Germans looked unbreakable.
Argentina played well, but could never make the most up top. When Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain missed an open shot on goal, it set the story for Argentina’s offense: missed opportunities.
All over the attacking-third and exposing the German defense with balls over the top, Argentina had it’s chances to rip one past German goalkeeper Matt Neuer, but they could never find a shot to really trouble him.
Arguably the world’s best player, Lionel Messi had all eyes plugged on him to see if he could really be the world’s best player. But he failed once again to lift the World Cup trophy for his country, causing critics to continue to query his ranks among the game’s best, such as Pele and Diego Maradona.
Although he was awarded the Golden Ball award, an award given to the tournament’s best player, it was no consolation for a mediocre performance that leaves him still without a World Cup trophy.
At the end of it all, the Germans didn’t need a Super Star to be the superstars of the 2014 World Cup.