Infamous XI of the 2014 World Cup

The World Cup is over and people will generally create their own team of the tournament and debate which players performed the best in the World Cup.

However, following up on my Infamous XI of 2010, I will also select XI players who were remembered for the wrong reasons at this World Cup in 2014.

Manager – Luiz Felipe Scolari – Brazil
His coaching CV looked pretty good, leading Brazil to win the World Cup in 2002, but it’s not often a World Cup victory will be forgotten due to a single defeat.

As Scolari stated, “I’m going to be remembered probably that I lost 7-1. But that was a risk I knew I was taking”.

“The catastrophic result can be shared with the whole group… but the results, the person responsible, is me.”

For that alone, Scolari will be the manager of this team as he will be forever remembered for managing Brazil to the worst defeat in their history, whether that is fair or not.

GK – Igor Akinfeev – Russia

He’s here for the worst goal keeping error of the tournament. The South Korean team were peppering the Russian side with long shot throughout the game, perhaps suspecting a weakness.

A speculative shot from Lee Keun-Ho went straight to Akinfeev for what seemed like a regulation save. Unfortunately Akinfeev fumbled and dived unsuccessfully as the ball went over the line. South Korea drew the match 1-1 and the dropped points were crucial in the early elimination of Russia.

LB – Benoit Assou-Ekotto – Cameroon

Cameroon was the worst team in the tournament, highlighted by instability and infighting. Pre-tournament there were problems with players arguing on bonuses being paid to the team and the players even strike refusing to leave the hotel when they were scheduled to fly to Brazil.

The disastrous 4-0 defeat to Croatia ended with the defining moment of their campaign when Benoit Assou-Ekotto head butted Benjamin Moukandjo and required teammates to separate them.

CB – Pepe – Portugal

Portugal entered the tournament as dark horses, with high hopes for them to at least make it to the knockout rounds. However, at 2-0 down, Pepe’s hand struck Thomas Mueller’s face and although the German attacker may have overreacted he went down hard. Pepe went up and head butted Mueller and was promptly send off.

This ended any possibility of a comeback and Portugal capitulated to a 4-0 defeat. Considering that Portugal was eliminated via goal difference, this was potentially the pivotal moment that ended their campaign.

CB – David Luiz (c) – Brazil

The story from hero to zero. After scoring a spectacular free kick against Colombia, David Luiz was celebrated by the Brazilian public and was the toast of the town. He was given the captaincy arm band after the suspension of Thiago Silva for the semi-finals, but what should have been one of his more proud moments soon turned sour.

He was heavily criticised for his performance, especially for making adventurous runs and leaving the midfield exposed. His poor marking for the first Germany goal, as well as his poor leadership and his inability to regain composure after the early goal was not good enough.

Afterwards he was a subject to mockery about his 50 million euro transfer to Paris-Saint Germain.

However, the defining image of the World Cup would be David Luiz’s post-match interview where he was in absolute tears, and it’s hard for even the biggest detractors to not feel sorry for him.

RB – Juan Zuniga – Colombia

The man that broke the back of Neymar and broke the heart of Brazil.

On the 87th minute, Juan Zuniga, in an act of negligence, kneed Neymar in the back. Neymar had to be stretchered off and it was revealed he had a fractured vertebrae. Neymar revealed that it was only a few inches of causing paralysis and was happy that he wasn’t in a wheelchair.

No card and no punishment was given for this act, which was quite surprising from an Australian perspective after seeing such controversy over spinal injuries in other codes.

Zuniga became the number one villain of the World Cup for the Brazilian public, where he received death threats and extra security had to provided for him and the rest of the Colombian team.

DM – Sergio Busquets – Spain

It’s not often when a defensive midfielder is given the tag of the worst miss of the tournament. Spain was 2-0 down and desperately needed a goal. When the ball arrived to Sergio Busquets he just needed a solid connection for him to tap into an open net.

He horribly mistimed it as the ball harmlessly went wide off the post and Busquets collapsed holding his face in shame. Spain, despite numerous chances, were unable to score and the defending champions were eliminated from the World Cup.

DM – Wilson Palacios – Honduras

Honduras were one of the most physical sides in the tournament and that was encapsulated by Wilson Palacios’ send off in the opening match against France.

Palacios ended up stamping on Paul Pogba’s leg and then continued to kick him when Pogba was trying to retrieve the ball. Knowing he was in trouble, he then added a dive to the mix in trying to cover up his brutality.

Palacios was lucky not to be send off, and he only received a yellow card. Later on a rash challenge on Pogba that gave away a penalty completed his send-off. It was an act of stupidity and Honduras collapsed to a 3-0 defeat.

DM – Alexandre Song – Cameroon

When Cameroon was trailing 1-0 Alexandre Song elbowed Mario Mandzukic in a moment of madness. Playing with 10 men, Cameroon capitulated to an embarrassing 4-0 defeat.

However, there may be more to this event considering that Cameroon are being investigated for match fixing, with seven players being implicated when convicted fraudster Wilson Raj Perumal, accurately predicted the 4-0 result and the fact that a player would be sent off.

I can only hope that there isn’t anything more sinister to this send off then simply an uncharacteristic mind snap from Alexandre Song.

LM – Ante Rebic – Croatia

He probably only made this side due to lack of competition in this position, as this event happened when the match was already lost at 3-1. Ante Rebic came on as a substitute in the 69th minute to turn the game for Croatia. Instead, in the 89th minute, he dribbled inside the box and stuck his foot out in a dangerous tackle towards Carlos Peña and got himself an automatic red card.

RM – Arjen Robben – Netherlands
In some ways it’s harsh to put Robben on this list considering that the biggest controversy was the penalty decision that won the match for the Dutch, and replays show that he was actually fouled.

Nevertheless, Robben was diving throughout the match, and after the match he admitted to diving even if it wasn’t for the penalty.

However, whether he was a villain or not, Robben’s performance against Mexico sparked controversy and debate about diving in football, and he will be remembered for that in this World Cup. The following match he was continually booed every time he touched the ball by the Brazilian crowd and his reputation caught up to him when the referee ignored him being consistently fouled.

ST: Luis Suarez (vc) – Uruguay

The only player to made both my list in the infamous XI in 2010 and in 2014. Suarez created the biggest controversy of the tournament where he bit Giorgio Chiellini in the arm and then collapsed to the floor holding his teeth.

This was his third biting offence and the bizarre unrepentant attitude from him and the rest of the squad was deplorable. He was suspended for four months, which contributed to Uruguay’s defeat against Colombia.

Bench

Iker Casillas – Spain

He was dropped from Real Madrid in their league matches and was replaced by Diego Lopez and only played in Europe. A suspect performance in the UEFA Champions League final created question marks over whether his selection in the squad was due to sentiments rather than performance.

In the end those doubts were proved correct due to a poor tournament that was widely criticised for his performances against the Netherlands in the 5-1 defeat and against Chile in the 2-0 defeat.

However, he missed out on the first XI as his mistakes were made when Spain were already behind in the match. A sad end to a great career.

Marcelo – Brazil
Arguably the worst individual performance of the World Cup. Virtually all of the attacks went down the left back zone and the pattern of the play was Marcelo making a rampaging run down the left and then Germany taking advantages of the space. He probably had a hand in half of the goals Brazil conceded, although he wasn’t alone in that regard.

Maxi Pereira – Uruguay

The first red card of the tournament was due to an excellent volley from Maxi Pereira. Unfortunately it was to the shin of Joel Campbell instead of the ball.

Sulley Muntari – Ghana
The Ghanaian team were striking and threatened to boycott the deciding match against Portugal due to unpaid fees. However Sulley Muntari took the dispute to new levels when he committed an unprovoked physical attack on executive committee member of GFA Moses Armah, and he was sent home from the tournament.

Steven Defour – Belgium

Made a terrible two footed lunge on the shin of Kim Shin-Wook that earnt him a red card.

Antonio Valencia – Ecuador

A studs up challenge on Frenchman Lucas Digne that earnt him a straight red, Also notable that it was the second red in four games. He also saw red in the warm-up match against England after getting in a fight with Raheem Sterling.

Diego Costa – Spain
A flop of the tournament and played poorly. Created controversy with a questionable penalty and then head butted Bruno Martins Indi that wasn’t picked up by the referee. His manager promptly subbed him off though.