The Championship Game
Germany vs. Argentina BBC - July 13, 2014
Most people pay attention to a championship game to see who are the best of the best. They may or may not have followed prior games but this always seems to drive the most energy. So here we are in the energies of a full moon in Capricorn - an Earth sign - soccer played on the ground. It all begins at 3 PM EDST.
Germany and Argentina in 20th-century history - takes us to the end of World War II when Nazi leaders escaped Germany and fled to Argentina. Germany lost the war but will they win today? I don't think so.
Germany vs Argentina is a day of split loyalties for the Vatican. Does God side with Argentine Pope Francis or German Pope Emeritus Benedict in this Papal Playoff? Read more ...
Only eight countries have won the World Cup, and with Germany and Argentina colliding in the title match Sunday at Maracana stadium, the club will remain locked to outsiders. The Germans are three-time champions, the Argentines have won twice. Almost half of the 20 championship games have involved one of them and, for the third time, they are facing one another. It is an old-school final, for sure, a clash of countries that have stocked soccer's archives with Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta, Franz Beckenbauer and Jurgen Klinsmann. Despite a bounty of trophies and accolades at their respective headquarters in Buenos Aires and Frankfurt, however, both squads have gone years without a major championship and, as a consequence, have grown ravenous for a fresh prize. Read more ...
Australians flee Copacabana as gunshots fired after Brazil loss
Brazil's World Cup humiliation smashes social media records PhysOrg - July 9, 2014
Brazil's record defeat at the hands of Germany in the World Cup semi-final sent social networks into overdrive, with Twitter and Facebook beating previous marks of activity for sporting events.
Stunning World Cup Loss Deals Heavy Blow to Brazil NBC - July 9, 2014
It's not just the darkest night in the history of Brazilian soccer - it's one of the darkest nights in Brazilian history. Soccer runs through the bloodstream of the country like it does through no other nation on earth. It defines the country. Soccer is what Brazil excels at. No other nation has won five World Cups. So to lose one of its most high-profile games in such an utterly humiliating way is a hammer blow to the country, and one from which it will struggle to recover.
At kickoff, there was hope and ambition in Brazil. By halftime, shock and grief prevailed in the nation hosting the 2014 World Cup. In between, Germany racked up all the goals it needed to book a spot in final.
Brazil's World Cup Exit: Worse Than 1950 Trauma? Discovery - July 9, 2014
Brazil's humiliating exit from the World Cup is as close as it gets to a national trauma in a football-mad nation whose identity is closely associated with its team. The country of 200 million people had hoped to win the title at home and erase memories of its 1950 World Cup defeat to Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro, the notorious "Maracanazo" at the Maracana Stadium. But instead Brazil suffered the worst defeat in its 100-year footballing history, falling 7-1 to Germany at the Mineirao Stadium in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte - now the infamous "Mineirazo."
