Mercedes at war

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

The 2014 Formula One World Championship took another dramatic twist as the two title contenders from the same team collided at Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

Championship leader Nico Rosberg tried to overtake Britain’s Lewis Hamilton on the second circuit of the 44-lap race, but touched the back of his teammate (pictured below), puncturing a tyre on Hamilton’s car and forcing him to retire. Rosberg went on to finish second and extend his championship lead to a healthy 29 points, with seven races remaining.

The damage is done and Lewis Hamilton thinks this was done on purpose by Nico Rosberg

What followed was even more gobsmacking. Hamilton has since told the media that Rosberg admitted to deliberately crashing into him on purpose. So, with this story set to rumble on for the next fortnight, here is my take on the dire situation that has pushed the Mercedes team to war.

The build-up to the incident

Tension has been bubbling underneath the surface between Hamilton and Rosberg this season, with some barbed comments in the media and a few tense, but thrilling battles on-track. Hamilton often prevailed in these, leaving Rosberg behind in the wheel-to-wheel racing. His lead has been built on strong consistency, whilst Hamilton hasn’t had huge amounts of luck with car failures at the Australian and Canadian Grand Prix, along with two qualifying nightmares recently that have seen him at the back of the field on raceday.

In Hungary last time out, Hamilton ignored a team order to allow Rosberg through. It was an unnecessary instruction given out by the team, as they were on different strategies at the time. Rosberg was unimpressed by the handling of it and Hamilton’s refusal to work with the team. You sensed something was brewing before the summer break. As they arrived back in Spa, it became clear that body language was becoming strained and the previous friendship had all but been shattered.

Rosberg grabbed pole position in qualifying, but bogged down at the start on Sunday, handing the lead to his championship rival. What happened next was inevitable. On the second lap, Rosberg got into Hamilton’s slipstream and tried to pass around the outside of the Les Combes chicane. Hamilton gave him space, but was clearly ahead on turn-in. Rosberg had a chance to back out of the move, but didn’t. He left his front wing in the danger zone and clipped Hamilton, puncturing a tyre immediately on his rival. Despite needing a new nosecone at his first stop, Rosberg benefited hugely from it by still finishing second, but it has opened up the biggest story of the 2014 season.

Did he do it on purpose?

Looking at the onboard footage and the live action at the time and I don’t think you can say that Rosberg did what he did on purpose. If he did, then he did it extremely cleverly, so no-one would know. It wasn’t as clear-cut as when Nelson Piquet binned his car deliberately into the wall at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. You would expect Rosberg to be precise and not make things obvious.

If it is true that he did admit to crashing into Hamilton to prove a point, then it is unprofessional and totally unsporting. Effectively, he is cheating his way to the championship and if he wants it so badly, he can have it. However, we can only go from Hamilton’s version of what was said. It came in a post-race debrief when obviously tensions were high and emotions still pretty raw on the surface.

It is the kind of behaviour that we don’t want to see. Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher have both deliberately tried to take opposition out of an event to try and win championships. In Schumacher’s case (1997), he failed and his creditability took a battering for it.

I would say looking at the various angles and agree with many observers that it was a clumsy and unnecessary overtaking attempt, especially so early on by the championship leader but would put it down as a racing incident. If he did it on purpose, the book should be thrown at him, meaning severe penalties or even removal of his FIA super license because you can’t do that. Unfortunately, only Rosberg knows what he did and I don’t think he will be telling us in a hurry.

Hamilton is no saint

Hamilton is no saint either though. He hasn’t forgiven Rosberg for screwing him up in qualifying in Monaco, when Rosberg went down the escape road and caused yellow flags in the dying stages of Q3, preventing Hamilton from taking pole position. It is time he got over that and he admitted to the BBC yesterday that “Monaco was worse than this.”

He drove back to the pits like an absolute lunatic. I don’t know what speed he was trying to do through the flat-out Blanchimont corner on three wheels but it wrecked the bodywork and cause more damage to his aerodynamics. That made the car even more difficult to drive and led to inevitable retirement in the closing stages. If he had taken greater care in getting back to the pits, less damage would have been caused and he might have recovered to rescue some points.

From lap 20 onwards though, he was constantly moaning on the team radio about the need to save engine mileage and they should stop the car. Mercedes showed no leadership in this situation and should have told him to be quiet and just drive. For Hamilton to mentally show no heart in racing before half-distance and basically give up though lacks class. We want British sportsman to go down fighting, even if they come up short. He failed that test and you don’t see Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel say or do that, when you consider the limited machinery they have been given this season for all their talent.

Hamilton should take stock of the situation. Of course, he was unlucky in this scenario but react better to it all. By provoking reactions with what he said afterwards, he should have kept things in-house. Still, at least he hasn’t attacked his teammate on social media yet…free telemetry anyone!

He has a supporting family, a gorgeous girlfriend, a championship-winning racing car and earns millions of pounds through driving and various sponsorship endorsements, yet he still at times acts like a spoilt kid. Lewis turns 30 next year, and these tantrums should be long out of his system.

What happens now?

With seven races left, it will take a miracle for a Mercedes driver not to win the championship, although if they keep fighting amongst themselves, Daniel Ricciardo has the ability to sneak in and shock them, just like Kimi Raikkonen did to Hamilton and Alonso when they fell out as McLaren teammates in 2007.

It is important for racing to be the focus, and therefore, Mercedes need to try and regain some form of control. Getting their drivers to say absolutely nothing in the next nine days before the paddock reconvenes in Monza for the Italian Grand Prix would help for starters.

Then, they need to get their warring drivers to call an uneasy truce in the short-term, because if they carry on like they are and throw away this championship, you can be sure that someone will pay the price from the racing team. The board in Stuttgart should be concerned with what they witnessed.

After that, one of the drivers has to move on and with Rosberg tied down to a multi-year contract; Hamilton will probably have to leave. It is clear that he can’t work together with Rosberg. The relationship has broken down past repair on a long-term basis. With a new partnership about to start with Honda and Ron Dennis back at the helm, could a return back home to McLaren be looming? Do not rule that thought out...

Formula One in 2014 has been a quiet season in all forms. As only a casual viewer nowadays, what happened in Belgium yesterday though makes it box office material between now and the unpopular Abu Dhabi double points finale in November. 

Categories: 2014, Accidents, Belgium, Consistency, Formula One, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Nico Rosberg, Puncture, Tyres

What happened to the Today newspaper?

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

The newspaper industry has been through a rough time in the past three years and most of it is down to failures of simple practices. Struggles to match the demand for online content, combined with the phone-hacking scandal of 2011 has seen sales drop and the appeal to win people’s attention decrease. Indeed, in my case now, I am only likely to buy a newspaper when I’m on holiday out of the UK. The market just doesn’t seem to be there anymore, which is perhaps a good thing, considering the behaviour of some journalists and newspaper editors in recent times.

Phone-hacking came back into the public sphere in the summer when former news editor of the News of the World, Andy Coulson was jailed for his role in hacking the phones of celebrities. Another chief news editor of the defunct newspaper, Rebekah Brooks, was cleared on all charges. The News of the World isn’t the only paper though that has ceased to exist.

In fact, British newspapers do come and go. Whilst the red-top tabloids still dominate circulation figures, broadsheets are still around and provide a more accurate approach in comparison to some of the sensationalized reporting you’d often find in the Daily Mirror and the Daily Star. One paper that did revolutionise the British newspaper industry was Today.

It didn’t last a decade, but made its mark. So, whatever happened to the Today newspaper (logo pictured below)?

The Today newspaper made a short impact on journalism in the 1980s

Early struggles

Launching on 4^th March 1986, Today was seen as the honest tabloid, a newspaper that was a balance in the middle between left-wing and right-wing competitors. Seen as competing in the same market as the Daily Express and the Daily Mail, Today pioneered newspaper technology in the mid-1980s, by becoming the UK’s first complete colour newspaper. It was a time where computer photo-typesetting was still a new technology and many other papers stuck to the tried and trusted Linotype machines.

Eddy Shah was the original owner of the paper. A Manchester-based businessman, Shah believed he could take on the might of Rupert Murdoch and Robert Maxwell, the two most dominating media moguls of the 1980s. It wasn’t long though before Today ran into financial difficulties.

Shah, who also owned six local newspapers, took on the trade unions well before the launch of Today. He was the first person to take on Margaret Thatcher’s anti-union laws and anyone who did that to the prime minister would often lose in those days. Within two years of setting up Today, he was gone, selling his empire and moving off into television production instead.

The paper changed ownership twice in its early inception. Tiny Rowland’s Lonrho bought the paper in the summer of 1986 and in 1987; it was eventually sold to Murdoch’s powerful News International brand. Once in Murdoch’s hands, he could control it and despite Today’s change in the way newspapers were printed, there were already signs that it was the beginning of the end.

Cancellations

Alongside the weekday version, a Sunday Today edition was launched but didn’t last long. It was closed early in 1987 as a cost-saving measure. At the same time, Today began an unsuccessful sponsorship of the English Football League. A three-year deal signed at the start of the 1986/87 season lasted just one campaign. For the record, Everton were the only winners of Today Football League Division One!

Murdoch kept Today going, but channelled most of his efforts into his other newspapers, including The Times and the new BSkyB venture, as he tried to turn Sky News into a creditable source of television news journalism. Despite years of decline, the paper survived until 1995 when it ceased publication. Murdoch was concerned that more intelligent people were still interested in the reporting in Today than in the other newspapers he owned.

A sour ending

Today’s most embarrassing story came in its final year. On 19^th April 1995, 168 people were killed in a domestic terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. In the aftermath, Today made a huge blunder.

The front page of the paper the next day showed a picture of a fireman carrying the body of a young girl with the headline printed “IN THE NAME OF ALLAH”. The editor, Richard Stott and his team believed Muslim terrorists were behind this atrocity. It later turned out that the perpetrators were American survivalists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. It left the senior executives quite red-faced.

Today became the first long-running daily newspaper in the UK to close down since the Daily Sketch fell in 1971. The final headline on Friday, 17 November 1995 was “GOODBYE, IT’S BEEN GREAT TO KNOW YOU.”

Today made a short impact and changed the way newspapers were printed in the 1980s. It had its audience, but too many changes in editors and owners meant it wasn’t to become a sustainable threat. 

Categories: 1986, 1995, Colour, Eddy Shah, Newspapers, Online, Ownership, Rupert Murdoch, Today, UK

Premier League Preview

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Just over a month has passed since the conclusion of the World Cup finals in Brazil and now the domestic season is about to begin for the top flight teams. The Barclays Premier League returns for its 23^rd campaign this weekend, as the elite prepare to do battle over the next nine months. And whether the club you support is likely to be in the mix for the title or the desperate scramble to survive, it is bound to provide plenty of drama and tension along the way.

The Premier League returns this weekend and the competition will be fierce

Here, I preview the 20 clubs taking part in the 2014/2015 season and rate their chances with a final finishing position.

ARSENAL

Prediction: 2^nd (Runners-Up)

Arsenal topped the table for a large portion of last season, but fell away in the final third of the campaign and crumbled spectacularly on away trips to Anfield and Stamford Bridge last season. However, Arsene Wenger did manage to end the silverware drought with an extra time win over Hull City in the FA Cup final. Now Community Shield holders too, the Gunners team looks a happy and settled camp. Alexis Sanchez adds to their firepower and is a quality signing whilst Calum Chambers’ time might come sooner than expected following the departure of skipper Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona. With Theo Walcott due back soon and Mesut Ozil bound to improve on a sticky first season on these shores, Arsenal look well placed for a strong title challenge. The squad looks still a bit short to fight on four fronts but I reckon they will end up as plucky and very close runners-up.

ASTON VILLA

Prediction: 18th (Relegated)

For many years now, Aston Villa have hugely underachieved and last season was another underwhelming campaign for the Villa Park faithful. Great wins away at Arsenal and at home to Chelsea were cancelled out by a string of appalling performances at the end of the season that saw them only finish 15^th for the second successive campaign. Roy Keane has joined the coaching staff and Randy Lerner wants to sell the club, but can’t find a prospective buyer and no wonder. Whoever scouted Philippe Senderos and told Paul Lambert he was a worthwhile signing should also be down the job centre; as Senderos is a car crash of a defender just waiting to happen. With star striker Christian Benteke out injured until October, it will be a tough start and the manager will do well to survive it. However, their Premier League ever-present status will be consigned to the history books by next May.

BURNLEY

Prediction: 20^th (Relegated)

Sean Dyche has done an incredible job and is one of the brightest young managers in the game. On a tight wage bill, he managed to achieve the improbable and get Burnley promoted back to the big time after a four-year absence. It is likely though that the Clarets will find the going extremely tough. Last season’s wonders have stayed together and whilst Matt Taylor and Steven Reid add valuable Premier League experience, you’d be hard pushed to see Burnley staying afloat. More signings are required and I know the manager will be working on strengthening the ranks. It will be a brave and valiant battle against the drop, but Burnley’s stay back in the top flight is expected to be just a one season wonder again.

CHELSEA

Prediction: 1^st (Champions)

Having not won any silverware in two years as a manager, Jose Mourinho has gone through a lean patch in his previously controversial but hugely successful career. Last season was about him redeeming himself after a tainted final year at Real Madrid. Now, he needs trophies because that is what owner Roman Abramovich is expecting. Goals were a struggle last season; although whether Diego Costa is the answer remains to be seen. Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole have gone but another club icon has returned in Didier Drogba and the acquisition of Cesc Fabregas is the best bit of business done this summer. If Costa can get 20 goals minimum and be still aided by the likes of Andre Schurrle, Drogba, Eden Hazard and Oscar to name a few, the ribbons on the trophy should be blue again next Spring.

CRYSTAL PALACE

Prediction: 17^th

Crystal Palace survived last season but start the new campaign in turmoil after LMA Manager of the Year, Tony Pulis, walked out on the club by mutual consent just 48 hours before the season begins. A frustrating summer transfer window for the Eagles has seen the Welshman call time on his fantastic short time in the Selhurst Park dugout. Brede Hangeland, Frazier Campbell and Martin Kelly have all joined and there is enough depth in the squad for them to stay afloat this time. Appointing the right man though is priority no.1 and Malky Mackay would be a wise choice, compared to other mentioned names, like Chris Hughton and David Moyes.

EVERTON

Prediction: 6^th

With a Premier League points record for the club and now, breaking their transfer record to sign Romelu Lukaku on a permanent basis, things are good if you are an Evertonian. Roberto Martinez has taken on the work that Moyes started onto a new level and the Toffees are one of the league’s most exciting teams to watch. Whilst they still lack a bit of squad depth, their starting XI is among the league’s best. Dealing with the Europa League will be a challenge but they should be able to handle it. Again, I think Martinez’s men will just fall short of a top four finish but another top six placing in the table will be seen as a strong season for the blue half of Merseyside.

HULL CITY

Prediction: 12^th

For Steve Bruce, last season was a year of redemption. After his profile took a battering with his disastrous spell as Sunderland manager, Bruce reminded everyone that he is a great managerial talent. Survival and an FA Cup final was great and it gives the fans the excitement of European football arriving at the KC Stadium for the first time in the club’s history. Losing Shane Long is a blow, but the £12m transfer fee should give Bruce enough time to find a strong replacement, whilst the midfield is full of quality – added by the arrivals of Tom Ince and Robert Snodgrass. If they enjoy the Europe experience and get out of it by Christmas, a strong lower mid-table finish is on the cards for the Tigers.

LEICESTER CITY

Prediction: 16^th

After a gap of 10 years outside the Premier League with even a year spent in the third tier as recently as 2009, Leicester City have finally returned back to the big time as champions of the Championship. There are high hopes to make the Foxes a stable member of the elite but it is all about survival this season for Nigel Pearson. He has added Leonardo Ulloa for a club record fee of £8m from Brighton but they have been noticeably quiet in the transfer market so far. It’s great to see them back and I think they will achieve their aims and stay up – although home form must be very strong for them to achieve it.

LIVERPOOL FC

Prediction: 8^th

Liverpool FC came so close, yet so far. The Premier League title that looked theirs for the taking after beating Manchester City in mid-April, slipped away almost quite literally in the final furlong. Top goalscorer Luis Suarez has got his dream move to Barcelona and whilst he will be missed by LFC fans, another bite on a professional footballer at the World Cup meant it was a step too far for the board at Anfield. Active in the transfer market, but Dejan Lovren aside – no player looks like they will make a big impact. Steven Gerrard is on the decline and question marks remain over a leaky backline. Some fans think the title is on but realistically, Brendan Rodgers’ side will get a wake-up call. I hope I’m wrong with my fears but mid-table mediocrity beckons.

MANCHESTER CITY

Prediction: 3^rd

It was a hugely successful debut season in England for Manuel Pellegrini. He guided Manchester City to a League Cup victory and that was backed up by a second Premier League title in three years, playing some of the best football seen in years in England. City did break Financial Fair Play rules, so they have had to be careful with their transfer business but added Porto pair Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando, along with a short-term loan move for Frank Lampard. Much will depend on whether Yaya Toure can regain his deadly form from last season and if Sergio Aguero can have a full campaign without injury disruption. I expect them to go further in Europe this time, but slip into a third-place finish in the league as the challenge from the capital grows.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Prediction: 4^th

So, ‘The Chosen One’ was ‘The Wrong One.’ After the failed David Moyes experiment, step forward Louis van Gaal. The Dutchman might have       questionable man-management style but he is a character and a born winner. His CV speaks for itself with domestic titles in Holland, Spain and Germany along with the Champions League with Ajax all the way back in 1995. Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera aside, last season’s average players are back for another go – although it will be interesting to see how the youngsters step up now that Ryan Giggs, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand have departed the playing staff. It will be a much better campaign for the Red Devils. I think Van Gaal will make winning the Capital One Cup a priority and if he achieves some silverware and a top-four finish, then it is a successful first season. Winning the league isn’t impossible but I do think there are three sides with better squads than what Manchester United have at their disposal.

NEWCASTLE UNITED

Prediction: 9^th

After 18 months of virtually no transfer activity, Alan Pardew has added eight players to the squad at St James’ Park. Last season was a story of two halves. Fighting for European qualification and in the top six on Christmas Day, the Magpies collapsed spectacularly in the second half of the season – winning just five of their last 19 matches. The manager also attracted bad headlines for his crazy head-butt into Hull’s David Meyler in March. Siem de Jong looks the pick of their signings but it will be another mediocre season for the Geordie faithful. 9^th place though would be a minor improvement and hopefully, a quieter year out of the spotlight on and off the pitch.

QPR

Prediction: 14^th

It is welcome back to Harry Redknapp and he will claim there is unfinished business in his managerial career. The man who likes being interviewed out of car windows might not be everyone’s cup of tea but he does attract headlines and often gets the best out of his teams. Redknapp has managed to attract Rio Ferdinand to Loftus Road whilst Steven Caulker and Jordon Mutch are very good additions. Loic Remy has stayed…for now at least and if he does, he’ll get the goals to keep QPR well clear of any relegation danger.

SOUTHAMPTON

Prediction: 15^th

Southampton have had a nightmare summer. Five key players have departed, their manager resigned for the Tottenham job and a star midfielder has told the club he wants to leave and is in no mental condition to play football! It is fair to say that Ronald Koeman seems to have a poisoned chalice on his hands. Saints have added Shane Long to their ranks, whilst Dusan Tadic could be one of the surprises of the season if he matches what he did at FC Twente last season. A drop down the table is anticipated and it is sad to see what has happened on the south coast this summer. They should have enough though to survive.

STOKE CITY

Prediction: 7^th

Having been as low as 17^th in late January, Stoke City went on an impressive run afterwards to finish in ninth place – their best in their Premier League history. Mark Hughes has shown that his QPR mere was just a blip in a fairly strong managerial career to date. The Potters have a tremendous wealth of striking options. Bojan and Mame Diouf join Peter Odemwingie, Peter Crouch and Marko Arnautovic and with a competitive midfield and a strong defensive unit that doesn’t concede many – it could be even better this time around. The fans at the Britannia can expect another strong campaign. Stoke are my dark horse tip.

SUNDERLAND

Prediction: 11^th

Gus Poyet worked miracles last season to keep Sunderland among the elite. They were bottom on Christmas Day and seven points adrift after a 5-1 defeat to Tottenham on 9^th April, yet still survived with unexpected wins over Manchester United and Chelsea helping them achieve the improbable. Poyet has ended Jack Rodwell’s rotten two years at Manchester City and added him to a talented midfield. They still lack a 10-15 goal machine in attack but that is all they need to challenge Newcastle to be top dogs in the Tyne & Wear battle over 38 games.

SWANSEA CITY

Prediction: 10^th

After steering Swansea clear of danger, Garry Monk has earned a full-time promotion to the manager’s hotseat. He has had a difficult summer with Jonathan de Guzman returning to Villarreal, Michu moving to Napoli on loan and Chico Flores, Ben Davies and Michel Vorm all moving onto pastures new too. Wilfried Bony has stayed on and if they start September with the Ivorian still in their ranks, Bony’s goals will keep Swansea well away from trouble. With no European distraction either, it should be a return to the top half for the Swans this time around.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Prediction: 5^th

Tottenham’s plan to buy a whole new team for Gareth Bale backfired. Christian Eriksen aside, none of the newcomers made much of an impact in a turbulent campaign that saw Andre Villas-Boas finished as a Premier League manager before Tim Sherwood’s colourful six months in charge. Now, the calm Mauricio Pochettino (who now speaks English with the media!) takes the helm with the aim of bringing Champions League football back to White Hart Lane. I don’t honestly know what to make of Tottenham if I’m being honest. It could be a season where they beat many of the top teams, then drop silly points to the lesser-quality teams. Fifth place will be the final position but is that enough for owner Daniel Levy? It probably won’t be if previous history goes to form.

WEST BROM

Prediction: 19^th (Relegated)

West Brom’s decision to hire Alan Irvine as manager in June was a big surprise. Having tried and failed with the Pepe Mel experiment, the Baggies look like a strange case of wanting more when it was unrealistic. I wonder how Steve Clarke is feeling now after his harsh and undeserving sacking before Christmas last season. Irvine deserves a chance to at this level but it will be an extremely tough challenge. I don’t think there is enough quality in the squad to survive. Albion used to be the yo-yo club between Premier League and Championship. I’d have to agree with many media outlets that have WBA down as a relegation favourite.

WEST HAM UNITED

Prediction: 13^th

Sam Allardyce kept his job after receiving the dreaded vote of confidence from the owners. David Sullivan and David Gold like Big Sam – even if the fans are growing tired of his fairly sterile tactics. The joint-chairman have insisted that Sam plays a more attacking brand of football but if pre-season formations are anything to go by; this is unlikely. Allardyce has his ways and it keeps teams afloat in the Premier League but it doesn’t fulfil huge progress. Much of the same for West Ham but it is imperative they stay in the Premier League. It would be a tragedy for their great fans to welcome the move to the Olympic Stadium in two years’ time without Premier League football to go with it.

So that’s what I think. Good luck to all 20 teams competing. It is bound to be a nail-biting and enjoyable season ahead.

Categories: Arsenal, Barclays, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Diego Costa, Football, Hull City, Liverpool, Premier League, Romelu Lukaku, Roy Keane

Every second counts

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

The month of July is full of milestones for me, both in a good and bad way. They range from the anniversary of my graduation to recently, completing a full year in my full-time role in the publishing industry.

Of course, nothing’s ever perfect in life. Some aim for total perfection but it simply isn’t possible. And this particular month brings back some painful memories which will always remain forever.

It is an incident I don’t like to talk about, largely because it makes me emotional. After much deliberation, I have decided not to go into detail about what actually happened to me on the evening of 23 July 2009. What I will say though is it changed who I was and the proof that every second really does count in life.

Luck on my side

Those close to me personally will know what happened. It was an incident that really shook my confidence. On the night of Thursday, 23 July 2009 – my life could well have ended. I’m not exaggerating either. It was a truly terrifying ordeal and there wasn’t much I could have done when it was taking place. It is at these points and I’m not a religious person where you want the Lord to be looking down on you and ensuring no great harm is done.

I suffered relatively light injuries (that’s if you put a broken nose in that category). In the days afterwards, I had never felt so shaken up, terrified of what might happen next. I was in-between the transfer of finishing college to starting University. I was moving into Halls of Residence in Northampton in less than seven weeks’ time and here was a massive hurdle that was now in my way. I became tense and scared of even leaving home. So, the days afterwards were some of the hardest I’ve ever had to go through. Gradually though, it would get better.

I admit I am very lucky to even be here today. So, I know that but I’m encouraged to have progressed so much since.

That hasn’t come though without needing to make some changes.

No more risks

I think that what happened has made me more of a cautious individual, particularly when it comes to taking risks or a chance that could backfire. I have never been a massive risk-taker anyway but you don’t appreciate the consequences of what could happen if things go wrong. That’s just something that doesn’t need to be factored in.

It has perhaps made me more reluctant to commit to certain aspects of life but if it is what keeps me secure, then it is hardly a crime.

For sure, I became a safer person. There was a period where I would enjoy going out, hitting the nightclubs and having a few too many drinks. Then I would somehow stumble home and not quite remember how that happened. Now, I don’t take those chances anymore. I still like to go out, but I’m more likely to have a few drinks in a bar and have a giggle with some of my close friends rather than go clubbing. Those regular days ended with what happened and while there were still occasions of this at University – only the nights out in the Balestra nightclub in Northampton felt anything truly special. I would always go and have a good time, but remember to get home safe and know I’ve done that too. I’m happy I took this route – it was just a shame something bad had to happen for me to realise this.

The real life lesson

Five years is a long, long time and the fear that was built around me slowly started to come down as the end of summer 2009 approached. I’m thankful the University adventure was when it was. The move to Northampton came at the right time, a great opportunity to make a fresh start.

Physically, I’m okay and emotionally, it is tough to talk about it but when someone asks, I will give brief details. The days afterwards, I got some fantastic support from the people I valued and respected. Friendship is an important part of my life – right up there with family values and for me, much more than a relationship.

Mentally though, the scars of that night will probably always be there. It is not something that can totally be forgotten. It might be the case for 360 days of the year but in the week leading up to the date, it becomes a bit more difficult. I would be lying if I said the incident hasn’t been replayed in my head but luckily, that is only in rare circumstances.

The real life lesson out of it though was the general appreciation of what life is all about. It was something I told one of my closest friends from the college days around a fortnight afterwards and that was; ‘every second of my life is precious now.’

Make the most of the time available to you

And it has been too, both in the good memories and even the moments where things haven’t gone according to plan. Every second counts in life. Always cherish those special moments and make the most of what is available because no-one knows what is around the corner. The unexpected really is the unexpected.

Since then, I am a journalism graduate, a full-time worker in one of my preferred chosen fields, freelance journalist and successful blogger and been on many journeys since, from holidays in Fuerteventura to visits to the Olympic Park in Stratford, the home of British motorsport, Silverstone (twice) and a VIP tour of Wembley Stadium. And I know that if things had gone slightly different five years ago – none of that might have been possible.

So, every second is precious. Don’t waste time – who knows what will happen next.

Categories: 2009, Changes, Five, Friendship, Incidents, July, Life, Milestones, Risks, Seconds

World Cup 2014 review: German pride delivers

By Simon and Jason Wright – Follow us on Twitter @Siwri88 and @JDBWright91

After 64 years, the World Cup returned to one of its spiritual homes in Brazil. Despite all the concerns over protests, transport issues and lack of stadium planning, the 2014 FIFA World Cup will go down as one of the greatest ever.

The group stages saw the likes of Spain, Italy, England and Portugal all plan for early journeys home, whilst Costa Rica had won the hearts of many and Algeria and Greece were experiencing knockout football at the World Cup for the first time.

The second part of this review takes a look at the knockout stages, starting with some energetic round of 16 matches all the way to the final, where the pride of Germany would ultimately win through.

Round of 16

FINAL RESULTS: Brazil 1-1 Chile (Brazil win 3-2 on penalties), Colombia 2-0 Uruguay, Netherlands 2-1 Mexico, Costa Rica 1-1 Greece (Costa Rica win 5-3 on penalties), France 2-0 Nigeria, Germany 2-1 Algeria (AET), Argentina 1-0 Switzerland (AET), Belgium 2-1 USA (AET)

The last 16 matches began with a familiar encounter, as Brazil battled it out with Chile. The Chileans had frozen at this hurdle against their opposition in both France 98 and four years ago in South Africa, but the Chile class of 2014 was a far tougher nut to crack. The game in Belo Horizonte began at breakneck speed, as both teams showed immense passion and determination to come out on top. David Luiz scrambled the hosts infront from close range, but that lead was a short one, as new Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez smashed in an equaliser after Brazil was caught napping from a quick throw-in. As the game progressed, the pace slowed but both teams still had chances. Referee Howard Webb correctly ruled out Hulk’s second half goal after he chested the ball with the top of his arm, whilst Chile hit the crossbar in the closing stages of extra time. After two hours of gruelling action, the first penalty shootout beckoned. Chile’s first two penalties were saved by Julio Cesar, but Willian dragged his horribly wide and when Claudio Bravo’s mind games with Hulk saw him crack and hit his penalty straight at Bravo, the penalties were level at 2-2 after four kicks. As you would expect, Neymar made no mistake with his kick, which left Gonzalo Jara with the pressure to score to keep Chile in the World Cup. He couldn’t; striking the post and the hosts survived by the skin of their teeth. It was third time unlucky for Chile, but once again, they showed why they are considered as one of the world’s emerging elite.

If that had drama, the second clash in Rio lacked it. Colombia v Uruguay wasn’t quite the festival of attacking football expected, but it did produce a real moment of brilliance. 25 minutes were on the clock when James Rodriguez collected the ball from around 30 yards out. The midfield wizard took a deft look over his shoulder to see where the goal was, then turned around, collected the ball, lifted it into the air and struck an unstoppable volley which gave Fernando Muslera no hope of saving. Tim Cahill’s heart would have sank. His mesmerising goal against the Dutch in the group stages had just been bettered in some style. Rodriguez added a second early on after the restart to complete a routine 2-0 victory, sealing Colombia’s place in the quarter-finals for the first time. Uruguay’s tournament had been a rollercoaster, but ultimately a disappointment and they lost both matches the naughty boy Suarez didn’t feature. 

Sunday, 29 June began with Netherlands facing Mexico in sweltering temperatures in Fortaleza. So hot that this game made history in being the first World Cup match to institute “cooling breaks,” a decision reserved for matches that are played in temperatures exceeding 30°C. Giovani dos Santos gave the Mexicans the lead at the start of the second half but it all went wrong for the Azteca in the closing minutes. First, Wesley Sneijder struck an equaliser with two minutes to go before stoppage time saw Arjen Robben go to ground, suspiciously easily, to win a penalty for the Dutch, converted by Klass-Jan Huntelaar. The Dutch had survived an almighty scare to go through and for Mexico; it was last 16 and bust again for the sixth consecutive finals.

The tournament’s major surprise package Costa Rica played Greece in Recife. In a game that lacked attacking flair, Bryan Ruiz put Costa Rica infront before Oscar Duarte was sent off for a second bookable offence. Greece waited until stoppage time to take the extra man advantage, as Sokratis Papastathopoulos forced extra time. No goals in the extra 30 minutes meant a penalty shootout, in which both sides successfully scored their first three penalties before the Greeks missed their crucial fourth spot-kick, allowing Michael Umana to score and send Costa Rica to their first ever World Cup quarter-final. Greece coach Fernando Santos was sent to the stands before the shootout for arguing with the officials, ending his tenure of the team on a rather low note.

In Brasilia, France made heavy weather of the game against Nigeria. Both teams had fleeting opportunities, but it was the French who made it count in the last 15 minutes. The excellent Vincent Enyeama flapped at a corner, missed the ball and Paul Pogba gleefully did the rest. Antoine Griezmann thought he had got the second in injury time, although his goal later went down as an own goal off Joseph Yobo. France were through and looked set for a European showdown with old rivals Germany. Germany did complete that quarter-final, but only after dogged Algeria took them all the way in Porto Alegre. No goals after 90 minutes, as the Algerians had the best of the play, but weren’t clinical enough when it mattered. In the opening moments of extra time, Chelsea’s Andre Schurrle flicked in the opening goal – underlining his presence as an outstanding impact player. He also set-up the second too, crashed in by Mesut Ozil, masking the fact that he had an absolutely dreadful match. Algeria nicked a deserved consolation right at the end but bowed out bravely. Once again, the challenge from Africa hadn’t seriously materialised. Their wait goes on, as Germany reached the last eight again since quarter-finals were reintroduced into the format in 1986.

Tim Howard was in outstanding form against Belgium, but it wasn't quite enough

Both of the matches on the final day of the first knockout round needed to be settled in extra time. In Sao Paulo, Argentina were again pushed all the way by their opposition, as Switzerland simply refused to cave in. Eventually, Angel di Maria’s goal in the 118th minute kept the dream alive for Messi & co and ensured Ottmar Hitzfeld’s swansong as a coach would be a miserable one. The game in Salvador was to be more thrilling. After no goals in 90 minutes, both Belgium and USA went for hammer and ton in the following half-hour of play. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku put the Belgians 2-0 to the good, despite the heroics of Tim Howard (pictured above) who set a new record for amount of saves in a World Cup match. Howard’s performance was so good, even President Obama telephoned him a day later. Julian Green’s goal ensured a nervy final 13 minutes but Belgium held on for the win and progression to the quarter-finals. However the Americans had certainly won over plenty of new supporters for their never give up approach in all four of their matches. For the first time since 32 teams qualified in 1998, all eight group winners had progressed to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-Finals

FINAL RESULTS: France 0-1 Germany, Brazil 2-1 Colombia, Argentina 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 0-0 Costa Rica (Netherlands win 4-2 on penalties)

Less than 96 hours after finishing their Algerian examination, Germany were back in action in the first quarter-final against France in Rio. Mats Hummels returned after missing the last match through injury and the tall Borussia Dortmund defender proved to be the difference. His header in the 13^th minute settled a tight and tense encounter that didn’t quite live up to its expected billing. Benzema aside, France looked nervy and didn’t push players forward when they needed to the most. Nevertheless, Les Bleus’ standing as a strong international side has fully recovered and they will fancy their chances with more experience gained for Euro 2016, a tournament to be played on home soil. Germany marched into a fourth successive World Cup semi-final.

They would face Brazil, but it was to be a painful night for them despite beating Colombia 2-1 in Fortaleza. Skipper Thiago Silva gave them the best start with a tap-in after seven minutes and with around 20 minutes left, his centre-back partner, David Luiz hit a blockbuster of a free-kick to double their lead. Colombia pulled a goal back in the last 10 minutes. A foul by Julio Cesar led to a penalty, coolly dispatched by Rodriguez for his sixth goal of the finals which meant the 22-year-old was going to win the Golden Boot. The big story of this game came even later though. Camillo Zuniga’s crude challenge into the back of Neymar left Brazil’s golden boy in lots of pain on the field. He was stretchered off in tears and hours later, it was confirmed that his tournament was over with a fractured vertebra. With him out and Silva suspended for a needless yellow card in the second half, Germany would fancy their chances in their semi-final showdown. Colombia had entertained many but were going home without the silverware they believed they might have won.

Those in attendance for the Argentina v Belgium match-up in Brasilia would have been left feeling extremely short-changed. Argentina took the lead from an early Gonzalo Higuain strike and the game pretty much went downhill after that. Argentina had very few shots on target and typically didn’t take advantage of the ones they had whilst Belgium never registered a decent shot on goal in the entire match. The Argentines had once again scraped through and it ended Belgium’s rather hit and miss campaign. Though they had reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 1986, the absence of Christian Benteke certainly had a major impact on the team’s overall style of performance.

The last quarter-final pitted Netherlands against surprise package Costa Rica in Salvador. The Dutch were expected to make short work of their opponents and they did indeed dominate with the lion’s share of shots and ball possession. However, Costa Rica’s goalkeeper Keylor Navas was in top form, denying every single Dutch shot that came his way. With penalties looming, Dutch coach Louis van Gaal made a rather bizarre decision, by substituting number one goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen for Tim Krul, Newcastle’s regular GK. This was made because they believed Krul had an excellent penalty saving record, although he had only saved 2 from 20 in his Newcastle days. He turned out to be the hero though. Despite some unimpressive mind games, Krul saved two Costa Rican spot-kicks and the Dutch were through to another World Cup semi-final. Costa Rica though rightfully went back home as national heroes for their resilient efforts.

Semi-Finals

FINAL RESULTS: Brazil 1-7 Germany, Netherlands 0-0 Argentina (Argentina win 4-2 on penalties)

The quality of the final four was impeccable. What we got over two nights was one of the worst semi-finals the World Cup has ever seen, and one of the most extraordinary results in football history. First up, it was Brazil v Germany in a replay of the 2002 final.

Without Neymar and Thiago Silva, Brazil were perhaps slight underdogs, but no-one could have predicted what was to come. When Thomas Muller fired Germany ahead after 11 minutes, an interesting question was asked of the hosts. The answer they provided was to suffer a complete meltdown infront of millions of home fans and viewers across the globe. 

First, Miroslav Klose produced a bit of history. He made it 2-0 on 22 minutes, converting at the second attempt after Julio Cesar parried his first shot. That was Klose’s 16^th goal at World Cup finals, surpassing the record of the great Brazilian striker, Ronaldo. Moments later, it was 3-0 as Toni Kroos smashed in after the defending went walkabouts again. The game was as good as over but the ruthless Germans were not finished. Not even a minute later, Fernandinho was horribly caught in possession and Kroos helped himself to another. Then when David Luiz attempted to do a Usain Bolt and outrun his opposition, he was caught out and with no cover; Sami Khedira had an easy tap-in. In eight minutes, the scoreline had gone from 1-0 to 5-0! Words failed a lot of the journalists inside Belo Horizonte, as fans cried their eyes out. Some even left and started to humiliate their own teams, cheering the Germans ‘Ole’ when they kept possession. Substitute Schurrle added another two goals in the second half to make it 7-0! Luiz’s defensive performance must have given PSG’s owners concern – they’ve just paid Chelsea £50m for his services! Others like Fred and Hulk strolled around without a care in the world and Marcelo put in one of the worst performances ever seen by a full-back. Not even a late consolation from Oscar could cover over the cracks. It was the biggest ever defeat for Brazil (players pictured below) at a World Cup and also in any semi-final at a major international tournament. Germany were heading to the Maracana in real knockout form. Things though could get potentially worse for the Brazilians. Their long-standing rivals Argentina could now reach the final on their own backyard. To do so, they needed to get past the Dutch in Sao Paulo.

Sombre Brazil applaud their support after their semi-final humiliation 

This game might have begun with attacking flair but as the minutes ticked on, it was a match where you would have struggled to stay awake. Both teams began putting cautious emphasis on their gameplay. As extra-time was needed, it was clear that this one was going to end goalless and go all the way to penalties, the first time since 1998 that a World Cup semi-final had to be settled that way. Back then, Netherlands lost to Brazil on penalties and on this occasion, lightning would strike twice. Without their skipper Robin van Persie, substituted during the game through illness, and having used all three of their subs, meaning Van Gaal was unable to make the goalkeeping change that won his side the quarter-final, it proved to go against the Dutch. Argentina’s goalie Sergio Romero saved two Dutch penalties from Ron Vlaar and Sneijder. Argentina scored all four of theirs, Maxi Rodriguez with the winning spot-kick. For the third time in World Cup history, Germany and Argentina would face each other in the final.

Third Place Play-Off

FINAL RESULT: Brazil 0-3 Netherlands

Netherlands’ latest penalty shootout loss left them to face a rather wounded Brazil in Brasilia to dispute the bronze medals of the tournament.

Brazil’s collapse in the semi-final seemed to continue in the early stages of this game. Thiago Silva was very lucky to stay on the pitch after fouling Robben inside of two minutes, with Van Persie converting the subsequent penalty. Then on 18 minutes, David Luiz made another terrible blunder. Instead of heading the ball out of play, he headed it back into the path of Daley Blind! Blind took his chance and made it 2-0. Though Brazil had chances, they came very few and far between, and their fate was sealed through Georgino Wijnaldum scoring a third for the Dutch in injury time. It was so easy, that third choice goalkeeper Michel Vorm got a chance to play for a minute or so at the end of the game. Netherlands took a deserving third place and if proof was needed, Brazil are just poor without Neymar’s presence, if this World Cup was in Europe they would have struggled to get out of the group stage. Since 1998, only three teams have conceded more than 10 goals at a World Cup. They are Saudi Arabia (2002), North Korea (2010) and now Brazil in 2014. Not the company they were hoping to keep when the finals began.

As Van Gaal heads for pastures new in trying to resurrect the fortunes of Manchester United, Luiz Felipe Scolari was heading for the job centre. He announced his resignation three days later, jumping before being pushed by the Brazilian Football Federation.

2014 WORLD CUP FINAL

FINAL RESULT: Germany 1-0 Argentina (AET)

So after 63 games, the World Cup final in 2014 was to be between Germany – the best team of the tournament against Argentina, led by one of the greatest players of his generation in Lionel Messi. Who was going to win out – the team or the individual?

There was an early blow for Germany when Khedira was injured in the warm-up. He was replaced by the unheralded Christoph Kramer, who had only made his national team debut in May. Kramer wouldn’t last too long though. He went off with concussion before the interval and was replaced by Schurrle.

Argentina matched their opponents throughout and had the best opening. Kroos’ misjudged back header put Higuain in on goal in the 20^th minute. He fluffed his lines though and missed the target comprehensively. There were no goals in the first half and as the second half wore on, a mistake or a moment of genius was going to be the difference. Messi was largely kept quiet but he did have a half chance after the restart that went narrowly wide. For Germany, Benedikt Howedes hit the post from a header but neither goalkeeper was being heavily overworked. There was good build-up play but the final ball or big chance was being denied by either great defending or woeful finishing.

0-0 after normal time, the 11^th time this occurred at the finals (a new record), extra time dawned. It might have lacked the style of the Mexico 86 final but was far better than the dismal showing the Italia 90 showpiece produced. Argentine substitute Rodrigo Palacio missed a great chance in the first period of extra time, before another sub, Sergio Aguero was lucky to stay on, after smashing Bastian Schweinsteiger in the face with an elbow. Time was beginning to run out until in the 112^th minute, Schurrle found some space, got a decent ball into the box and Mario Gotze (pictured) produced a brilliant finish. It was a moment that fitted the occasion – a piece of skill that deserved to win the World Cup.

Mario Gotze celebrates with his teammates after he scores the winner at the World Cup final

Argentina couldn’t muster anything in the final eight minutes. Messi ballooned a free-kick into the stands was their final opportunity. They had come up short against Germany again. After near-misses in Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012, this was Germany’s time again. It was their first major trophy in 18 years and their first World Cup in 24 years; a fourth in total which equals Italy’s number.

Messi was the rather strange selection of Player of the Tournament, whilst Manuel Neuer was a more overwhelming winner of the Golden Glove. Finally, it was left to the retiring skipper Philippe Lahm to join the likes of Zoff, Maradona, Moore, Matthäus and Cannavaro to hold aloft the greatest prize in football.

Congratulations Germany on a fitting triumph and thank you Brazil for producing a special World Cup that we will remember for years to come.  

Categories: 2014, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, David Luiz, FIFA, Germany, James Rodriguez, Lionel Messi, Mario Gotze, Netherlands, World Cup

World Cup 2014 review: Goals, glory & greatness in group stage

By Simon and Jason Wright – Follow us on Twitter @Siwri88 and @JDBWright91

After 64 years, the World Cup returned to one of its spiritual homes in Brazil. Despite all the concerns over protests, transport issues and lack of stadium planning, the 2014 FIFA World Cup will go down as one of the greatest ever.

We saw the end of the Spanish armada, Luis Suarez perform his traditional signature move, England’s worst ever showing on a global scale and the rise of the unfancied nations like Algeria and Costa Rica. There were 171 goals in total and whilst part two will focus on the gripping knockout stages, part one looks back at a memorable opening fortnight of the tournament as the games and stories never ended in the group stages.

Group A

FINAL POINTS: Brazil 7, Mexico 7, Croatia 3, Cameroon 0

After a strange opening ceremony, the festival of football began with the hosts opening up in Sao Paulo against Croatia. There would be an opening night win, but not without a huge slice of luck. The first goal of the 2014 tournament was an own goal, as Marcelo put through his own net after 11 minutes. It was left to Brazil’s golden boy to rescue them as Neymar (pictured below) scored twice, having been slightly fortunate to survive with a booking for a first half elbow into the face of Luka Modric. Seconds later, he had levelled the scores, and then converted from the penalty spot after a dubious spot-kick was given when Dejan Lovren ‘fouled’ Fred. A stoppage goal strike from Oscar sealed a positive, if slightly unconvincing start for Brazil.

Neymar starred on opening night as Brazil nervously topped Group A

On day two, Mexico beat Cameroon in a deluge in Natal. Oribe Peralta scoring the only goal midway through the second half as Mexico dominated; the scoreline only finishing 1-0 after two efforts from Giovani dos Santos in the first half were controversially ruled out for offside. Fresh from that success, Mexico managed to frustrate Brazil in their second match. A magnificent goalkeeping performance from Guillermo Ochoa kept the Brazilians out. It finished 0-0. Over in the Amazonia rainforest, Croatia eliminated Cameroon with an easy 4-0 stroll as the Africans lost control. Alex Song was stupidly sent off for swiping out at Mario Mandzukic off-the-ball and Benoit Assou-Ekotto head-butted one of his own teammates close to the end. Since then, the Cameroon FA are investigating this game, with seven players being accused of possible match-fixing, although the outcome of this is not clear at the time of writing.  

Going into the final round of matches and Brazil still needed a point; always looked achievable against a desperately poor Cameroon side. Neymar added another double in a 4-1 rout and even Fred managed to score. Cameroon’s tournament was nothing more than desperate. So, that left Croatia and Mexico to scrap it out for second spot. The Croats started well but wilted in the humid temperatures of Recife. Mexico scored three times in the space of 15 second half minutes to win 3-1 and joined Brazil in the last 16.  

Group B

FINAL POINTS: Netherlands 9, Chile 6, Spain 3, Australia 0

Reigning champions Spain began the defence of their title against beaten finalists from 2010, Netherlands in Salvador. A Xabi Alonso penalty gave Spain the lead just before half an hour of play. However, Holland equalised on the stroke of half-time, when Daley Blind played a long ball to Robin van Persie and he executed a magical diving header to score. Arjen Robben then put the Dutch into the lead eight minutes into the restart and Spain slowly began to collapse. Stefan de Vrij made it three from a Wesley Sneijder free-kick before Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas was horribly caught in possession, allowing Van Persie to score his second. The 5-1 rout was complete when Robben punished the lax Spanish defence to score his second. It was a result that stunned world football.

Australia had been expected to be the whipping boys of the group, but they showed a lot of courage to push Chile all the way after falling two goals behind in the first 15 minutes. Tim Cahill pulled a goal back before the Chileans were able to seal a 3-1 win in second half stoppage time. The Aussies then gave Netherlands a close game, Cahill cancelled out Robben’s opener within sixty seconds with a sensational volley from the edge of the box. It was one of the goals of the tournament. Mile Jedinak gave the Socceroos the lead from the spot before goals from Van Persie and Memphis Depay saw the Dutch recover to win 3-2.

At the Maracana, a wounded Spain faced a determined Chile. Within 20 minutes, the defending champions were behind again through Eduardo Vargas’ neat finish. Then just before half-time, Casillas bizarrely parried an Alexis Sanchez free-kick back into danger and it gave Charles Aranguiz a simple tap-in to make it 2-0. Spain suffered the indignity of being the first ever holders to be the first team to be eliminated at subsequent World Cup finals. The result also confirmed Australia’s exit as well and in a dead rubber encounter between the two sides, Spain won 3-0 to save some grace, with David Villa scoring in his last ever international match.

Netherlands and Chile thus met to settle top spot in the group. Second half goals from Leroy Fer and Depay sealed a 2-0 win for the Dutch ensuring they went through as top dogs. Meanwhile, the Spanish were left to quietly exit for home, their reputation ruined, their era of domination over.

Group C

FINAL POINTS: Colombia 9, Greece 4, Ivory Coast 3, Japan 1

Group C always looked like another tough group to predict, with all four sides having achievable aims of progressing past the group phase. Colombia were seen as narrow favourites considering their high FIFA ranking and they proved their worth with some attractive performances.

The South Americans had little trouble in dispatching all three group opponents to grab maximum points and allow others to sit up and take notice of their presence. They beat Greece 3-0 in their opener, edged out Ivory Coast 2-1 and then turned on the style in a 4-1 win over Japan.

The Blue Samarai had been considered potential dark horses by many but they disappointed. After a narrow defeat to the Ivory Coast in a 2am UK kick-off, they failed to beat a 10-man Greece in a forgettable goalless draw. The hefty loss to Colombia ensured their early passage home with just a single point to their name. That left the Greeks and the Africans to fight it out for second spot in Fortaleza.

The Africans only required a point and looked like they were going to achieve it when Wilfried Bony grabbed an equaliser to cancel out Andreas Samaris’ first half effort. The big drama came in stoppage time.

Giovanni Sio caught the standing foot of Georgios Samaras in the box in the 90^th minute and a penalty was awarded. Samaras, now a free agent after leaving Celtic, kept his cool in high pressure circumstances and calmly dispatched the spot-kick to take Greece into the last 16 for the first time in their history. For Ivory Coast, it was another competition they had flattered to deceive.

In Colombia and James Rodriguez, who had scored in every game, a new force in world football was starting to emerge.

Group D

FINAL POINTS: Costa Rica 7, Uruguay 6, Italy 3, England 1

The ‘Group of Death’ brought together former champions Uruguay, England and Italy, along with so-called misfits Costa Rica. What happened in this group was to astound everyone.

Without star striker Luis Suarez for their first match against Costa Rica, Uruguay struggled badly. Edinson Cavani did give them the lead from the penalty spot but second half goals from Joel Campbell, Oscar Duarte and Marco Urena gave Costa Rica a shock 3-1 win. Uruguay’s problems worsened when Maxi Pereira was sent off at the end of the match for a reckless foul on Campbell.

Meanwhile, England and Italy faced off in Manaus. Both sides exchanged early chances before Claudio Marchisio fired Italy infront on 35 minutes. England quickly responded with Daniel Sturridge equalising two minutes later. Sturridge’s goal though was overshadowed by a nasty injury to England physio Gary Lewin in the celebrations. A dislocated ankle ended his involvement in the tournament. Five minutes after the restart, Mario Balotelli put the Italians back ahead and they held on to win 2-1.

Despite the loss, England’s performance was encouraging, so confidence was still high against a Uruguay side that had looked very suspect without Suarez. As predicted, the ex-Liverpool striker returned from injury to the Uruguay fold in Sao Paulo, and as widely feared by the English media, he ran England ragged, giving Uruguay the lead in the 39th minute. 15 minutes from the end, Wayne Rooney finally scored his first goal at a World Cup finals but it wasn’t meant to be. Five minutes from time, Steven Gerrard’s horrendous header played Suarez in. He made no mistake to give Uruguay all three points. The next day, a goal from Bryan Ruiz gave Costa Rica a marvellous 1-0 success over Italy, sending them through to the last 16 and confirming England’s painful exit.

The final round of group games saw Costa Rica and England play out a dull 0-0 draw in Belo Horizonte. England coach Roy Hodgson fielded a reserve side for the game and it wasn’t a great spectacle. Costa Rica had the best of the few chances but opted to play cautiously; knowing their place in the knockout stage was safe. The main drama though was over in Natal.

A draw for Italy would be enough for them to go through whilst Uruguay needed to win. Diego Godin’s header with nine minutes to go settled a bad tempered encounter in favour of the South Americans. Marchisio was sent off for Italy but the headlines were dominated by another moment of madness. Shortly before Godin’s winner, Suarez and Giorgio Chiellini collided in the box. It was only when Chiellini’s protests to the referee and close-up TV replays confirmed what had happened. Suarez had bitten into the Italian’s shoulder. The referee, Mexico’s Marco Rodriguez, missed the incident but it was rightfully referred to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee. Suarez was fined $119,000, thrown out of the tournament immediately, banned for nine international matches, and furthermore, suspended from all football-related activity for four months, including entry into any stadium. It would take a further week before Suarez confessed to his disgraceful actions. Recently, he left a disgusted Liverpool, completing a £74m switch to Barcelona.

Cahill, Baines and Gerrard ponder an early flight home after more England tournament misery

Costa Rica had defied the odds to not only qualify but as group winners, Uruguay had more questions to answer now that the bad boy was gone but it was hugely disappointing for two European heavyweights. Italy left to reflect on their shortcomings, with boss Cesare Prandelli tendering his resignation to the Italian FA following the Uruguay match. For England, Brazil 2014 will go down as their worst performance at a major tournament since the 1988 European Championships and their worst ever showing at a World Cup. The result was not surprising, as it was always going to be a difficult group but it was the manner of how it happened that had shocked and appalled everyone. There is a lot of work ahead for Hodgson and co (pictured above) after another major tournament failure.

Group E

FINAL POINTS: France 7, Switzerland 6, Ecuador 4, Honduras 0

Group E was expected to be a cruise for France, but following their meltdown four years ago in South Africa, nothing was ever certain.

Due to their consistency in friendlies and top eight FIFA ranking, it was actually Switzerland who were top seeds in this group and they began with a nervy 2-1 triumph over Ecuador in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia. Substitutes Admir Mehmedi and Haris Seferovic made the difference after the interval, both scoring to prove legendary coach Ottmar Hitzfeld still had plenty of class in what was his managerial swansong.

In the cool temperatures of Porto Alegre, a storm brewed up between France and Honduras. Paul Pogba was lucky to stay on after lashing out at Wilson Palacios. Palacios got his marching orders before half-time and then, goal-line technology made its first mark at this tournament when Karim Benzema’s early second half effort hit the post but crossed the line according to officials. TV replays shortly afterwards indicated his shot hadn’t crossed the line, but the ball bounced off the back of Honduran goalkeeper Noel Valladares and across the line. It was the right call, but the initial ‘No Goal’ Aston left some confused and flabbergasted. Benzema did get the other two in a routine 3-0 victory.

Honduras did score against Ecuador; their first World Cup goal in 32 years when Carlo Costly scored but two goals from the impressive West Ham-bound striker Enner Valencia ensured an emotional win for the Ecuadorians, playing in the memory of their star striker Christian Benitez who had sadly died last summer from a cardiac arrest whilst playing in the Middle East. Earlier that evening, France blitzed Switzerland in another memorable encounter in Salvador. The French stormed into an unbelievable 5-0 lead, before Switzerland gained some respectability on the scoreline with a couple of late efforts. Benzema was unplayable. He scored once, had another disallowed, missed a penalty and played a part in two other goals. English-based Olivier Giroud and Moussa Sissoko were among the Les Bleus scorers.

So, Switzerland had to win in Manaus to stand any chance of overhauling Ecuador. Luckily, they were playing a dismal Honduras team. Xherdan Shaqiri scored a hat-trick on a great night for him, but it won’t be remembered too fondly by many looking back at the competition. The 3-0 win took the Swiss through, as Ecuador failed to break down France in Rio. The goalless stalemate ended the South Americans’ competition. France had shown plenty of potential though for this tournament and beyond.

Group F

FINAL POINTS: Argentina 9, Nigeria 4, Bosnia-Herzegovina 3, Iran 1

If France had got an easy draw, it seemed Argentina received the same treatment. Matches against Iran and Nigeria were to come, but they kicked off proceedings inside the Maracana, as tournament newcomers Bosnia-Herzegovina began with a huge baptism of fire.

After conceding an early own goal, the Bosnians more than matched Argentina but ultimately, the encounter was settled by a moment of brilliance from Lionel Messi. A late Bosnian goal served only as a consolation as the Argentinians clung on to win 2-1. The following night saw Iran and Nigeria play out a dreary goalless draw.

Lionel Messi broke Iran's resistance with a stunning late winner in Belo Horizonte

Argentina were of course expected to make short work of Iran, though under the management of former Portuguese boss Carlos Queiroz, they had been tipped to be a potential surprise package. A great result was nearly pulled off, before Messi (pictured above) popped up yet again in injury time to deny the Iranians a famous draw in an evenly fought contest. Sadly, Bosnia’s debut World Cup was to be brief. A 1-0 win for Nigeria, their first at a World Cup since 1998, sent them packing though Edin Dzeko had a goal wrongfully disallowed for offside which would have kept them in the tournament.

A point for Nigeria in their final game against Argentina would see them through, although they could also advance if they lost and Iran failed to beat Bosnia. An entertaining encounter in Porto Alegre ended 3-2 in Argentina’s favour as Messi again stated his intentions for star billing in the competition with another two goals. In the end, the defeat still sent Nigeria through, as Iran were beaten 3-1 by Bosnia.

So despite making rather heavy work at times, Argentina had got through with the expected maximum points, Nigeria progressed out of the group stage for the first time since 1998. Bosnia and Iran were left to reflect on what might have been.

Group G

FINAL POINTS: Germany 7, USA 4, Portugal 4, Ghana 1

Considered as one of the favourites to win the entire World Cup, Germany started brilliantly in Salvador, on a day when Portugal hit the self-destruct button. Thomas Muller scored a hat-trick and a bullet Mats Hummels header helped the Germans to a dominant 4-0 win. It was a negative goal difference Portugal never recovered from. They lost Fabio Coentrao to a nasty calf injury, and Pepe was sent off for a stupid head-butt into the face of Muller who did make the most of it. Even Cristiano Ronaldo had an off-day.

The late night drama came between Ghana and USA in Natal. It took the Americans just 30 seconds to open the scoring as Clint Dempsey drilled home from close range. Ghana dominated the second half and drew level with Andre Ayew’s tidy equaliser but with four minutes left, centre-back John Anthony Brooks headed home from a corner to give Jurgen Klinsmann’s Stars and Stripes a popular win and claim partial revenge for elimination at the hands of the Ghanaians in 2010.

That gave the Americans plenty of confidence and also gave the fans masses of belief. In Manaus next against a scarred Portugal, another goal for Dempsey and a wonderful curling shot by Jermaine Jones had them 2-1 up going into stoppage time. With seconds left though, Ronaldo’s delicious cross was met by the head of Silvestre Varela to keep the Portuguese just about alive in the tournament. A day earlier, Miroslav Klose had scored his 15^th World Cup finals goal as Germany recovered from a shaky second half period to draw 2-2 in a pulsating contest with Ghana.

Going into the final round of matches, all four teams could still go through, although Germany and the US were hefty favourites. They met in the rain of Recife where one goal from Muller settled an unattractive match ruined by the conditions. Ghana’s tournament went into chaos when Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng were sent home on the eve of the Portugal game for incidents at the team’s training base. Portugal went on to win 2-1, with Ronaldo grabbing the winner. However, their negative goal difference counted against them, meaning despite the loss in Recife to his homeland nation, Klinsmann could rejoice in USA escaping this tricky group.

Germany and USA advanced then. For the world’s greatest player, Brazil 2014 would go on without him. Ronaldo probably wishing he hadn’t even bothered as the lack of contribution from his lower quality teammates spelt Portugal’s downfall at this World Cup.

Group H

FINAL POINTS: Belgium 9, Algeria 4, Russia 2, South Korea 1

Group H was favoured to fancy Belgium. After being in the doldrums through much of the past decade, Marc Wilmots had a squad full of emerging young talent, many of whom play their trade in the Premier League.

The absence of star striker Christian Benteke was partially felt in their first game against Algeria. They fell behind to an Algerian penalty, converted by Sofiane Feghouli, the Algerians first World Cup goal in 28 years after failing to hit the net back in 2010. Belgium had to rely on substitutes Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens to bail them out to a 2-1 victory.

Having won a tight qualifying group, Russia, under the management of ex-England coach Fabio Capello, were expected to make a good impression. The first match though against South Korea didn’t go to plan. Russia’s goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev committed (pictured below), for a man of his experienced calibre, a horrendous howler. Parrying a weak shot from Lee Keun-Ho, the ball slid over his gloves and went over the line before he could control it. Embarrassing! Aleksandr Kerzhakov was able to rescue a point for the below-par Russians.

Igor Akinfeev committed a blunder of the first magnitude against South Korea

The distinctly average performances from both Belgium and Russia were carried through into their meeting against one another. Very few scoring chances were created before Divock Origi, a second half substitute for the out-of-form Romelu Lukaku, sealed a 1-0 win for the Belgians, enough to secure their last 16 berth. If that match lacked entertainment, South Korea v Algeria defied all expectations in Porto Alegre. A six-goal thriller was settled 4-2 in Algeria’s favour, putting them in pole position for progression to the knockout stages for the first time.

Belgium managed to progress from the group stages with maximum points after Jan Vertonghen’s second half strike was enough to see off South Korea 1-0. Algeria and Russia met to dispute who would take the final last 16 place. For a while, it looked to be going to Russia, with an early goal from Aleksandr Kokorin but on the hour mark, Islam Slimani equalised for Algeria but the goal came in controversial circumstances. TV replays showed Akinfeev being distracted by a laser pen being shone in his eyes before the free-kick was taken. The goal was allowed to stand and Akinfeev won himself no friends by throwing a tantrum like a schoolboy. Russia squandered more opportunities and Algeria were able to hold on for the draw required to secure qualification to the knockout stages, making up for it being taken cruelly away from their own hands back in 1982.  

Belgium hadn’t played brilliantly at all but had seen off their meagre opponents whilst Algeria had definitely defied expectations. It had been a miserable tournament for Asia, compounded by South Korea’s exit. In fact, the Korean team bore the brunt of the nation’s anger, as they were pelted with toffee sweets on their return home! As for Russia, Capello underlined his determination to make all World Cup matches involving him just dire. He did even worse than four years ago with England and has been called by Russia’s sporting powers to explain their failings in South America.

So, 48 games down and 16 left. The group stages had been truly magnificent and the knockout rounds were to produce more incredible drama.

Categories: 2014, Algeria, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cristiano Ronaldo, England, Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar, Spain, World Cup