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Has this been the best World Cup ever? Or has it been a purely dramatic one, full of tension and excitement and some not overly impressive defending?
The latter was the assessment of former Dutch enforcer Edgar Davids, who in some widely publicised radio remarks called the 2014 FIFA World Cup “a bit mediocre.”
It might seem like a strange thing to say about one of the most exciting World Cups in recent memory, but scratch the surface and you can see where Davids is coming from.
The defending hasn’t been great, and when defenders have actually put their name in lights, it’s usually been at the opposite end of the pitch.
There was plenty of scrutiny on defenders in Brazil’s action-packed 2-1 quarter-final win over Colombia, not least because centre-backs Thiago Silva and David Luiz scored a goal apiece for the Brazilians.
Luiz’s long-range free-kick was as stunning as it was technically curious – he essentially side-footed home from distance – while skipper Silva went the more conventional centre-back’s route of bundling home with whatever body part was on hand.
Yet it was Colombia defender Juan Zuniga’s tackle on Neymar which made headlines around the world.
A widely respected full-back with Napoli in Italy, Zuniga reportedly sent Neymar a letter of apology after ending the Brazilian’s tournament with a knee to the back.
And while Zuniga may not have intentionally intended to hurt Neymar with his reckless challenge, it’s hard not to imagine that the Colombians may not have been quite so ferocious had Silva, Luiz and co not attempted to kick James Rodriguez off the park in the first place.
It’s been a bit like that for most of the tournament, with creative talents – Argentine superstar Lionel Messi excluded – largely having to defer to their strikers for goals and inspiration.
And when the goalkeepers have been called upon, they’ve responded with some match-winning performances of their own.
It was strange to see criticism of Dutch substitute Tim Krul after the Newcastle United shot-stopper came off the bench as a 120th-minute substitute and promptly saved two penalties in the shoot-out against Costa Rica.
A few online critics questioned Krul’s attempts to ‘psych out’ the Costa Rican penalty takers, but isn’t that precisely his job?
At any rate, it’s not like the spot-kicks that Krul saved were well hit, so it’s hard to see how the Costa Ricans were hard done on the back of what was otherwise a superb tournament for the Central Americans.
There’s been plenty of drama throughout, but with Brazil taking on Germany in one semi-final and The Netherlands progressing to face Argentina in the other, there’s certainly a case for stating this could be the best World Cup of all time.
Plenty already think it is, but there’s one man in particular who will be desperate to write his name into the record books.
Argentina’s impish maestro Messi is, in my opinion, the most talented footballer on the planet.
Not only twice the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is, but a player so ingenious he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as his countryman Diego Maradona and Brazil’s home-made hero Pele.
Yet, rightly or wrongly, Messi will never be considered the greatest player of all time unless he wins a World Cup.
He’s been in decent form so far, scoring four goals in the group stage, but he’ll need to step up a gear if the Argentines are to overcome a re-energised Dutch outfit.
The stage is set for a world-class player to stamp his authority on this World Cup and with Neymar watching on from the sidelines, Messi will be doubly determined it’s him.
But even if the attacking impresario fires his team to a third World Cup crown, will it really have been the best tournament of all time?
Perhaps only time will tell, as we gear up for a couple of heavyweight semi-finals.