Goals galore get Brazil 2014 off to great start

DPA/Rio de Janeiro

“A start with a record number of goals,” was the front-page headline of the newspaper O Globo yesterday after Germany’s 4-0 rout of Portugal and the 2-1 US win against Ghana had raised the tally to 44 from 14 games.

The goals, ranging from Robin van Persie’s wonderful diving header to the unfortunate own goal by Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares - the first determined via goal-line technology - have made a huge impact in the football community and beyond.

“There has been a fantastic number of goals. I hope it continues.

Coaches have adapted the philosophy to score first and then defend.  You go out there to win and score,” former Brazilian playmaker Zico said.

Lionel Messi has already found the net, Brazilian icon Neymar joins van Persie, Arjen Robben and Karim Benzema with two goals, and Germany’s Thomas Mueller is the first hat-trick hero of Brazil 2014.

With just four teams left to make their debut, an average of 3.14 goals per game is the best ratio in the past five World Cups after 14 games and puts an end to fears that the difficult climate conditions in Brazil would make teams cautious rather than adventurous.

Such a ratio would be the seventh-best overall if it stays until the end.

The record 5.38 goals from 1954 remain unsurpassed but Brazil 2014 could end up with the most goals in the 32-team format since 1998.

The large number of strikes also helps television ratings soar to new heights because goals remain the essence of the game.

“We have a lot of non-football fans. Most people want to see goals.  Goals are always very good for the audience,” said Niclas Ericson, director of FIFA TV.

Others rather see the technical side of it all, such as former Liverpool coach Gerard Houllier who is on the FIFA technical study group for the tournament.

Houllier sees several reasons for the flurry of goals, ranging from player fitness to the quality of forwards and team tactics.

“Many goals are scored from fast, quick attacks. The teams are taking more risks. Now both full-backs go up at the same time. Full-backs are playing an important part, and also the transition play is quicker,” he said.

However, it also depends on the team.

For the Dutch, a 5-3-2 formation instead of their normal 4-3-3 worked perfectly in the 5-1 demolition of holders Spain. Argentina had exactly the opposite experience as Messi only got enough support when they reverted back to 4-3-3 at half-time in their 2-1 win against Bosnia.

Houllier also noted that some teams are returning to a two-striker line-up. But that concept didn’t work out for Spain, who had David Villa and Diego Costa up front, only to concede just one goal less in 90 minutes than in the 19 games en route to the Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 titles.

The last trophy came without a proper forward, a system the Germans are now copying, with Mueller acting as false nine to perfection against Portugal and possibly ending a fierce debate on proper strikers in a country that has produced the likes of Gerd Mueller, Juergen Klinsmann, Rudi Voeller and Miroslav Klose.

“Many people talk about a false nine and don’t know what that means. We have moving strikers. I am a striker who wants to score goals,” Mueller said after his Monday heroics.

Countryman Ralf Rangnick, meanwhile, takes a completely different approach, naming poor defending as the reason for the goals.

“It would be logical that there would be few goals, considering the heat and humidity, because teams act cautiously. But many teams seem to have forgotten the basic rules of defending over this,” Rangnick said.

“The goals show how badly teams are defending, that players are moving back in a passive way or just standing around.”

Whatever the reason, the goals are electrifying teams and fans, and in the case of Messi’s delightful strike, have an added dimension because it came in the mythical Maracana.

“Maracana deserved a goal like the one he scored,” Zico said.