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But they were anything but as their work ethic and good solid defense saw them through with wins over Cameroon and Denmark. It took a wonder goal from Luis Suarez of Uruguay in the dying moments of their Round of 16 game to prevent them from advancing to the quarterfinals. South Korea, who had slightly higher expectations coming in, overcame a resounding loss to Argentina to beat Greece and draw Nigeria, sneaking through on goal differential. South Korea and Japan both exceeded expectations and advanced from their groups with structured play and hard work. Japan was expected to to be the worst team in their group, easy wins for the Netherlands, Denmark, and Cameroon.

I know it’s part of the game, but something needs to be done about diving and writhing on the ground in pain. It’s getting out of control how many times players were fouled and acted as if it were the worst thing to ever happen to them. It is ruining the sport and inhibiting on-the-fence sport fans worldwide from getting interested in soccer. Remember the phantom elbow to the head of Spain’s Joan Capdevilla that drew a red card for Ricardo Costa of Portugal in the waning moments of the Round of 16 match? If you are fouled, you will get the call, so move on with the game and stop rolling around like you were shot. Most notably, the Ghanian players milking the clock against the USA in their Round of 16 match after scoring the go-ahead goal in extra-time.

FIFA has their heads so far up their own rear-ends that they don’t want to admit the need for change. They insist on using their own officials at the expense of using the best referees in the world (those employed by UEFA, by the British Premier League, and La Liga). Some of those red cards handed out, notably the red to Valon Behrami of Switzerland against Chile, to Yoann Gourcuff of France against South Africa, and Harry Kewell against Germany, were terrible calls that ruined the matched they were officiating.

I understand why people find vuvuzelas annoying. But anyone who has blown one knows how much fun it is. Ok here’s the deal. They are loud and when someone blows one in the vicinity of your ear it’s terrible. They have given an identity to this World Cup and for better or worse have embedded themselves in soccer for years to come. I guarantee it that vuvuzelas will be heard in club football throughout Europe this upcoming season.

The best in the world. GET OVER IT. But the players are exactly that, professionals. It feels like soccer players love to blame anyone but themselves — the ball, the refs, the noise, the opposing players. A line needs to drawn about these whiny players and a point needs to be reached where professionalism takes over. FIGURE IT OUT AND STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT IT. By now teams have been using them for up to three months. Maybe the Jabulani is a bad ball. Maybe it is half-an-ounce lighter than normal balls used by professionals.

Despite the fact none of them made it to this year’s final, three of the four teams showed why they are the traditional best. That record is even more astounding than Brazil’s. They have reached the semi-finals 12 times. Maybe the rest of the world is finally catching up. Brazil brought a team made for winning but one slip-up and loss of concentration cost them the chance to win a title on a fifth continent (Sweden 1958, Chile 1962, Mexico 1970, USA 1994, Korea/Japan 2002). It really shows the domination of those four teams over the years. But maybe the tides are changing. Germany, despite low expectations this year because of a key injury (captain Michel Ballack) and a young squad, proved they can never be counted out and why they have reached the Quarterfinals in 16 of 19 tournaments, including two that they did not participate in. When I heard this stat I couldn’t believe it.

Rooney, who dominated as the Manchester United hit-man all season, simply ran out of steam. These were the most highly anticipated goal scorers coming into the tournament and expectations were extremely high. For Messi, widely considered the best player in the world today, a successful tournament would have cemented him as one of the best ever. Torres had battled injuries throughout Liverpool’s campaign and despite regaining his fitness, he never regained the form that netted 72 times in all competitions over the past three years. Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Christiano Ronaldo, Frank Ribery, and Fernando Torres combined for ONE goal. Each one of them was coming off the back of an arduous club season, where they proved why they are the world’s best.

But for long swaths of crucial matches, the winger was nowhere to be seen. Ronaldo was set to provide his own case for world’s best but also disappointed, scoring only once. If Portugal was going to make the deep run they hoped for, Ronaldo needed to be at the form he has showed at club level for Manchester United and most recently for Real Madrid.

They infuse their athleticism and technical ability, and toughness into clubs and teams around the continent. But for whatever reason, African nations, chock-full of European superstars, so often disappoint and play poorly together. African players have become some of the best players in the world for their European club teams. Why is this?.

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