The First 'Braeburn World Cup Awards'!
Having posted regular blogs throughout the World Cup now is the moment for me to get a few things off my chest. Welcome to the first (and probably last) ever Braeburn World Cup Awards.
Twat 'o' the tournament - Neymar Jr.
A World Cup gives players from all across the globe the chance to enhance or decrease their reputation, sadly Neymar Jr has done the latter. Come on mate, you are without doubt one of the five best footballers on the planet so why sully yourself with diving, play acting and basically cheating. Perhaps, if you had spent less time rolling about 'injured' and more time trying to score goals Brazil may have made it past the quarter-finals.
The Schadenfreude award for putting a smile on my face - Manuel Neuer.
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Without a doubt, Manuel Neuer is one of the greats of the game so his complete brain freeze for South Korea's second goal was a moment to behold. If you want to play rush goalies that is fine but why the hell are you in advance of the entire German defence and half the midfield? It was going to happen one day and the fact that it confirmed Germany's demise only made it all the sweeter.
The holding your nerve when all about you are losing theirs award - Harry Kane.
You are captain of England. Your nation has not won a World Cup knockout fixture for twelve years. In the 57th minute your team is awarded a penalty. Then, for three minutes, all hell breaks loose. Players from both sides are arguing with the referee, the opposition are deliberately trying to scuff and generally denigrate the penalty spot. You though are cool as a cucumber. You stand with the ball under your arm and despite all the nonsense you stay calm and when the melee is over tuck away the penalty like it is a training session. I knew that Harry Kane was good but this moment elevated him to something special, that boy got cojones.
The keep it simple stupid award for overcomplication - Joint winners, Lionel Messi and Argentina.
If you have got one of the greatest players of all time in your team then there are some pretty straightforward do's and don'ts.
DO - Play him in the same position in which he has scored 383 goals for Barcelona.
DO - Surround him in that position with your other world class players, Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero, perhaps.
DON'T - Let him choose the formation of the team, his own position within it and the tactics.
DON'T - Leave one of the greatest finishers the game has ever seen on the bench for huge swathes of must-win games, Sergio Aguero, for instance.
Yes, Argentina might not have been the best group of players overall but with the talent at their disposal they should have done better. This is a warning against the cult of superstardom, in modern football, nothing can surpass the value of 'the team' in a team sport.
The close but no cigar award for technological advancements - VAR.
It gave us one of the moments of the tournament. None who saw it will forget the excitement they felt as the referee marched towards Ronaldo after a lengthy consultation with his TV. It was a delicious drama that could only exist in a world of VAR. Likewise, the correct allowing of the wrongly disallowed goal for South Korea versus Germany was a thing of beauty. VAR got 95% of decisions correct but in the final it let Croatia and the tournament down. We should not be talking about bad game-changing decisions when the technology is in place to avoid them.
Best head of state award - Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Just pipping everybody's favourite bare-chested, horseback riding HoS Vlad Putin to this one is Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. To be honest I hadn't been aware of her existence until the semi-finals but she emerges as one of the tournaments big stars. If only all head of states could be as generous, gracias in defeat, fun, vivacious and just downright brilliant as Kolinda. Can you even imagine Theresa May's sour, joyless face popping out of a replica England shirt? The UK should kidnap her and install her in number 10 Downing Street immediately. Absolutely fabulous.
The 'what the f...' surprise of the tournament award - Joint winners, Russia and England.
Russia were supposed to be the worst team ever to host the World Cup, their pre-tournament ranking of 70th was the lowest of the 32 competing nations. And yet somehow the team, powered by the goals of Denis Cheryshev, managed to negotiate the group stage and then eliminate Spain in the last-sixteen. That victory against the champions of 2010 was no fluke, it was down to hard work, dogged defending and team spirit. The journey ended against Croatia in the quarter-finals but not before a late equaliser in extra-time had given the nation a final glimmer of hope. Players, supporters and the Russian people should be proud, you had a good World Cup.
Let's get one thing straight, this was a great World Cup for England, reaching the last four counts as massive overachievement, almost nobody saw it coming. Gareth Southgate, calm and dignified, grew with every press conference and succeeded where so many others had failed before him. This was an England team that were 100% together, they liked each other, there were smiles on faces, they were a band of brothers off the pitch and that attitude was reflected by the performances on it. To come through the drama of that Columbia game was no mean feat. In tournaments gone by it would never have happened. The coolness of Harry Kane, the ability of the team to regroup after the last-minute kick in the swingers of that equaliser, the lack of a red card that the Columbian gamesmanship was desperate to provoke. Mostly of course, it is the penalty shoot-out that will be remembered longest on these shores. When Jordan Henderson's decent attempt was saved we all thought the worst, we had been here before, the game was surely up. Not this time though, the players were up to the task and when Eric Dier slotted the winner we rejoiced as though England had won the World Cup. A ghost was buried and the future looks brighter because of it.
The keep your feet on the ground award for having achieved nothing yet - England.
Yes, there was much to cheer but fans would be foolish to get carried away by England's performances, there is a long way for this team to travel despite the win against Columbia and progress to the semi-finals. For a start, the (much commented upon) over-reliance on goals from set-pieces, Croatia were on the ropes for the first half of the semi but England could not find a second. Only against Sweden did the team perform consistently for a full ninety minutes, and even then were grateful to Jordan Pickford for three outstanding saves. Too often matches were allowed to drift without Southgate making changes to the team. Against Croatia, for example, the game started going away from England just after the half-hour mark. Might a tweak of personnel at half-time changed the momentum? Ruben Loftus-Cheek? Fabian Delph? We were told that this squad was all capable of performing at the highest level but did the manager show enough faith in his substitutes? For once there is hope in defeat but let's not allow this World Cup to overburden the team with expectation in 2020.
Team of the tournament - France.
Not much to say here except well done to France. Their second World Cup win was achieved with a minimum of fuss and bother. The team was the youngest at the tournament and there is plenty of room for improvement, especially if Didier Deschamps allows his team to express themselves a little more with the ball. Europe should beware in 2020, this team looks way ahead of the competition and is going to take some beating.
That's it from me for the World Cup, thanks for reading, sharing and upvoting. I am sure you will agree that it has been a wild ride! Keep an eye on my blog for more sports and non-sports related content.
Keep on Steemin' you crazy mo-fo's :-)
Agreed on most of things, You should also check Matuidi's face after getting hurt by Hazard for the smile award.
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It last few seconds ^^
Was this meant to be a video?!?!?! Thanks for reading mate!
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Really enjoyed the read- thank you for sharing! Neymar's antics were so over-the-top, I love the award you gave to him lol. Agree with all of your picks - it was a fun read and great way to put the finishing touches on the World Cup.