Fall from grace Brazil Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has resigned following his country's failure to win the 2014 World Cup. Scolari, 65, won the tournament in 2002, but the hosts could only finish fourth at this year's event. Brazil were thrashed 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals, their joint-heaviest loss ever and first home competitive defeat for 39 years. They then lost 3-0 to the Netherlands in the play-off for third place. Scolari's contract was set to expire after the tournament. UOL News, a Brazilian website, is also reporting that Scolari has quit, quoting two CBF sources. During the defeat by the Netherlands, Scolari, in his second spell in charge of the national team, was booed every time his image appeared on the big screen inside the stadium in Brasilia. Scolari first took over the Brazil side in 2001 and guided them to World Cup success a year later, beating Germany 2-0 in the 2002 final in Yokohama, Japan. But after spells in charge of Portugal, Premier League side, Chelsea, Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan and Brazilian club, Palmeiras, he resumed control of the national team in 2012. Brazil hosted and won the Confederations Cup in 2013, beating Spain 3-0 in the final, and were favourites to win a sixth World Cup. They finished top of their group after two wins and a draw from their three matches, before edging past Chile on penalties in the last 16. Global stadium Brazil 2014 has proved to be a social, mobile World Cup as more than a billion fans were able to join in across FIFA's official digital platforms. Attendance in the Global Stadium exceeded one billion users by the final whistle of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, meaning that FIFA's digital live and social hub could fit the equivalent of 13,380 Maracanas inside. FIFA's Global Stadium has been the social, online and mobile hub for the World Cup matches where fans could follow the games live and engage with friends, worldwide fans, players, coaches and celebrities. Football fans from every country in the world went through the virtual turnstiles to experience more than 40 billion impressions of official World Cup digital content. FIFA's mobile and social platforms contributed to the record-breaking crowds who engaged with FIFA's digital platforms, with 107 million fans connecting to official website and app content on mobile devices. The official FIFA app recently became the biggest sports event app of all time with a record 28 million downloads. An impressive 451 million Facebook users were reached with official FIFA social content, while FIFA's Twitter followers surpassed the 16-million mark, with an average of ten new followers per second recorded on the opening match day. The official FIFA World Cup Instagram app increased from 42,000 to 0.8 million followers in 31 days, a growth rate of over 1,600 per cent. FIFA President Blatter commented: “This has been the first truly mobile and social World Cup. The official FIFA app became the biggest sports event app in the world and we have seen huge growth across our social accounts. The one billion attendance in the Global Stadium created the sense of togetherness the World Cup brings and the shared excitement that digital platforms offer.” Kings dethroned Few teams have defined an era quite like the Spain side, which, between 2008 and 2012, won three successive major tournaments. But all good things must come to an end and, for La Roja's golden generation, the curtain came down at Brazil 2014. It was a brutal, humbling conclusion to a captivating football story, with Vicente del Bosque's side consigned to early elimination after comprehensive defeats to the Netherlands and Chile. “In this World Cup, we have all failed,” was Del Bosque's candid verdict. “Blame it on all of us.” Ticos lead lesser lights Brazil 2014 may have ended with a battle for supremacy between Europe and South America, but this was a tournament in which other, less decorated continents also made history. Africa sent two teams through to the knockout stage for the first time in history, with Algeria in particular impressing — giving even the Germans a major scare — thanks to their quick, high-intensity style. But not even Les Fennecs could rival Costa Rica for the title of Brazil 2014's surprise packages. Los Ticos earned the hearts of neutrals everywhere, finishing ahead of England, Italy and Uruguay in a group in which no one had given them a chance, before a valiant quarter-final defeat on penalties to the Netherlands. Glory to the goalies A high-scoring World Cup might suggest that the standard of goalkeeping was less than spectacular. This was a tournament marked by outstanding performances from the men between the sticks, with the saves of men like Tim Howard, Keylor Navas, Guillermo Ochoa, Manuel Neuer and Sergio Romero as memorable as the goals of their outfield colleagues. Special mention should also go to Tim Krul, who came off the bench to inspire the Netherlands to shoot-out success in the quarter-finals, and Colombia's Faryd Mondragon, who became the oldest man to play at the World Cup three days after celebrating his 43rd birthday. Hero to villain The build-up to Uruguay's tournament was dominated by fears over Luis Suarez's fitness and, as soon as he took to the field, the striker showed why there had been such a fuss. Suarez was brilliant against England, scoring two outstanding goals to revive La Celeste's campaign after a defeat to Costa Rica in which his absence had been a telling factor. The next game, however, showcased the darker side to this hugely talented player, as Italy's Giorgio Chiellini became the latest player to fall victim to a Suarez bite. The consequences were predictably dire, with the player banned for nine matches and four months, and Uruguay — minus his dynamic influence — falling at the next hurdle against Colombia. Skill and sportsmanship Vision, trickery and spectacular goals ensured that, throughout his involvement in Brazil 2014, James Rodriguez was a joy to watch. Even when that involvement came to a tearful end against Brazil, it became apparent that the Colombia No.10 had not only captivated the fans, but earned the esteem of his peers. After all, in one of the most touching gestures of the tournament, David Luiz made a point of comforting his crestfallen rival and calling for the Fortaleza crowd, who readily responded, to acclaim a unique talent. Seleção's dream becomes a nightmare This was meant to be the World Cup in which Brazil banished ghosts of 1950 and the infamous Maracanazo. As it was, they merely succeeded in creating fresh, even more painful memories by losing successive home matches for the first time since 1940. And these were no ordinary defeats, with Germany inflicting a 7-1 semi-final thrashing — equalling A Seleção's heaviest-ever defeat — before the Netherlands cruised to a 3-0 win in the play-off for third place. It left the Brazilians, who had never conceded more than 11 in any of their previous World Cups, with 14 in the goals against column, ensuring that they became the first hosts to end with the tournament's worst defensive record. Glory for Goetze Brazil's 2014 campaign might have ended in ignominy, but only they can now claim to have won more World Cups than Germany, who equalled Italy's tally of four titles with their Rio de Janeiro triumph. But the margins by which Die Nationalmannschaft returned to the summit were predictably slim, with Argentina left to rue a trio of missed opportunities. Gonzalo Higuain, Lionel Messi and Rodrigo Palacio all found themselves clean through on goal at different stages and all three failed to find the target when a goal seemed likely. Goetze, by contrast, made the very most of what can best be described as a half-chance, providing a lesson in finishing to his Albiceleste counterparts and serving up a strike worthy of winning any Final. Status of the tournament 16 - The number of World Cup goals on which Miroslav Klose ended Brazil 2014, securing for himself the status of the tournament's all-time leading scorer. The 36-year-old found the net twice to eclipse the record set by Ronaldo at Germany 2006, and those goals — topped off by Goetze's Maracana winner — helped make this the joint-highest-scoring World Cup in history, equalling the record of 171 set at USA 1994.
