Efficiency versus genius — perfect final

And here we are, back in time. Twenty-four years after Argentina and Germany competed and split back-to-back World Cup finals, the two giants of the beautiful game will light up a glamorous Sunday evening when they meet in the 2014 final.

There couldn’t have been a better finale - the world’s best player lining up against the world’s best team. The other subplot will be a South American country hoping to defend the continent from a Germany incursion.

The only South American country sure to give outright support to Germany will be hosts Brazil, who will not stomach the thought of Lionel Messi holding aloft the World Cup trophy at the Maracana.

In their nervy semi-final victory over Holland, many Brazilians sold their tickets to either Holland or Argentina fans. Their disappointment from the Tuesday mauling to Germany crushed them so hard they couldn’t see themselves in a stadium following a competition their country was no longer part of.

The few courageous ones, the football diehards, who made their way to Arena De Sao Paulo cheered Holland fervently. When Holland stroked around possession, there was applause for every pass. When Argentina had the ball, there were boos.

Argentina fans in retaliation basked in the historic mauling of Brazil. ‘7-1’ they chanted on a drizzling night. ‘Una, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete!’ (one, two, three, four, five, six, seven!) they screamed in ecstasy. Argentina fans took the mike out of Brazil’s misery from the stadium onto the trains and buses.

They were in bliss. You almost forgot that these were the same fans who a few minutes earlier had been biting their nails as they pensively watched their shootout against Holland.

FAVOURITE CHANT

On the train station from Corithians Itaquera to Luz, they sang their most favourite chant. “Brazil thank you very much for welcoming your father. Thank you very much Brazil. Thank you for organizing the tournament. Thank you for putting together this fantastic World Cup. But most importantly, thank you for keeping our trophy. We thank you for keeping it safely for us. And finally remember that Maradona is greater than Pele and Messi is better than Neymar.”

It was delirium for them, boundless joy. Their advancement to the finals and Brazil’s humiliating defeat were almost too good to be true. Brazilians hate Argentines and Argentines hate Brazilians. The misery of one is the joy of the other. Wednesday night was saddest for Brazilian fans seeing Argentines in jubilation on their soil and make merry.

Imagine what it would feel for a Brazilian if Argentina upset Germany in Maracana on Sunday. The solace for Brazil is that Argentina will be underdogs.

Germany have to be favourites. Beating Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and Brazil with an aggregate score of 11-1 is a sensational feat for any side in the game. The Germans did it and just maybe could have scored more goals in both matches. Gone are the days of German efficiency alone. Joachim Low’s side is a blend of efficiency, artistry and magnificence. In the annihilation, there were shades of jogobonito (the beautiful game) without step-overs.

Their team has been built over time and is collectively at a peak age, evergreen veteran Miroslav Klose being the exception. The midfield of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller has been second to none at the World Cup.