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RIO DE JANEIRO: The last time a team had played in white in a World Cup final at the Maracana - Brazil against Uruguay in 1950 - it had been left scarred for good. The white had been discarded as unlucky, unholy. On Sunday, Germany buried all that. Mario Goetze shook off the recent ghosts that had engulfed him midway during this World Cup to give Germany its fourth World Cup here at the Maracana.

Against Lionel Messi’s Argentina, in a daunting World Cup final where it had seemed neither side had a way out, he slipped in a Andre Schuerrle cross past the outstretched arms of Sergio Romero, who had till then, arms outstretched like Rio’s Christ the Redeemer stopped everything that the Germans threw his way. The strike came at a time - in the 113th minute -- when neither team would have had the will to try to change the outcome.

It showed, as a minute before the end, Messi, who had begun increasingly cutting a lonely figure as the game edged towards the penalties, shot a well-placed free kick high and wide into the crowd. Then, head bowed, shoulders slumped, he withdrew towards the centre circle, knowing it was all over. The Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament was poor consolation. Once again, he had failed to emulate Diego Maradona. It could have been so different. Rodrigo Palacio missed the chance of the World Cup five minutes into extra time when his attempted lob over German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, went wide and with it the chances of the final not going into penalties.
 
But what a night it proved for young Goetze. A confirmed starter for Germany right through the initial stages, the second round game against Algeria seemed to have hurt Goetze’s confidence as he took the bench in the subsequent bench, relinquishing his spot to Sami Khedira who grabbed the opportunity with great relish. Khedira injured himself during the warm-ups ahead of the final, but manager Joachim Loew still think it fit to re-draft Goetze again. Instead, Goetze had to wait till Miroslav Klose stepped aside late in regulation time and then he got his chance. Mueller, constantly chipping away in his gawky inelegant manner, crossed one low and deceptive and Goetze, at the near post, made most of the offering.

Germany earned a much-deserved World Cup, finally topping a wonderful era for this generation, who had lived the past eight years in the shadow of Spain’s imperious reign. It was a fitting passing of the baton. Germany also became the first European country to win a world title in the Americas, and only the second country after Brazil (1958, 2002) to win a World Cup outside their respective continent.
 
Earlier, when the final went into extra-time, after fast-paced but fruitless regulation time, it looked in only reaffirming that this had been a goalkeeper’s World Cup all along. After a frenetic first half, Messi broke free of his marker and shot wide in the first minute of the second half. It was proving an afternoon of close misses for Argentina, while at the other end, Romero was stopping anything Miroslav Klose, Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller were throwing at him. By the time the first half ended, Romero had made at least a half-dozen close, snap saves and continued it doing so into the second session.

Argentina, on the other hand, were just watching their efforts go agonizingly wide. Gonzalo Higuain missed a great shot at immortality when he missed a 20th minute sitter. With Manuel Neuer at his mercy after the German defence had headed the ball back into Higuain’s path, he had a strange attack of goalmouth nerves and swept it wide. It was proving a strange afternoon for the Argentine striker. As early as the third minute of the game, he had broken free along the right and cut in parallel to Manuel Neuer’s goal, but had shot wide.
 
Then he had a goal ruled for offside - probably the best move of the match, which began with a Romero intervention off a German break, which found Higuain who Messi. Messi found Ezequiel Lavezzi on the far right, who fed the men in the middle. Higuain made no mistake this time, except that in his eagerness to put things right, was miles offside.
 
Then another, just before Messi’s close attempt, he was offside again in a move that involved Sergio Aguero, second-half substitute for
 
With just about quarter of an hour left, Higuain was put of his misery when he was replaced by Rodrigo Palacio. But things, for Argentina, did not end there with Palacio failing to latch on to a special Messi offering, which would have been a sure goal off his first touch of the ball.
 
It was daunting stuff, but not one that you couldn’t tear your eyes away from.
 
Germany seemed more slick and assured in their build-up, an otherwise automatic aspect to them, but on Sunday, it did not come easy. For one, they were hampered by the warm-up injury to Sami Khedira, who made way for Christoph Kramer. Kramer himself had a rather short stay in the final, getting himself injured and limping out for Andre Schuerrle to replace him. Schuerrle, in keeping with the tenor of the evening, only contributed further to missing more chances.
 
The first half whizzed by as if it had never happened. The second was the same story, only a tad slower. Then it was time for Goetze’s special moment.