With the 2014 FIFA World Cup officially over, our footballing attention now turns to the various club competitions across the world.
From the English Premier League to La Liga, stars and villains of this World Cup will be forced to align themselves with various international opponents.
Meanwhile, we fans may well find ourselves cheering those we were just jeering. Such a transition poses the age-old footballing dilemma of what means more, playing for club or country?
After a dramatic and at times breath-taking World Cup that involved a humiliating exit for Brazil and a disheartening World Cup final loss for Argentina, footballing stars like Lionel Messi and Neymar are now left to pick up the pieces of their international disappointment. Recovery must be swift, with expectations to perform for club sides looking for glory on a slightly smaller scale.
Messi himself faces a tough time emotionally, having narrowly missed out on the one trophy that alludes him. He now faces four years of waiting during which he can at best repeat past successes, albeit enviable successes.
Messi’s countrymen Pablo Zabaleta and Martín Demichelis on the other hand are now able to combine their international misery positively for a Manchester City side coming off the back of EPL glory but keen to prove themselves on the European stage.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have three World Cup winners – Mesut Özil, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker. Off the back of such a feat, players may carry momentum into their club football. If this is the case, Bayern Munich appear to be in a prime position to experience further club success, boasting a ridiculous seven 2014 World Cup winning players.
But the World Cup doesn’t just affect players involved in the final; anyone involved in the tournament now faces a potentially difficult time readjusting to club football.
David Luiz, like most of the Brazilians, must put his team’s tragic World Cup end behind him and perform, particularly after a spate of recent criticisms resulting in the finger being pointed at him for Brazil’s defensive lapses.
Bought by Paris Saint-Germain just before the World Cup began for 50 million pounds, the most ever spent on a defender, Luiz has plenty to prove.
So too does Lius Suarez, but not necessarily in the same way. Again found guilty of biting in his team’s clash with Italy, Suarez was handed a four-month ban by FIFA and in turn sold by Liverpool to Barcelona for around 75 million pounds. When Suarez does eventually make his debut for Barca, the man not only needs to prove he was worth the hefty price tag, but also that he is capable of sane behaviour.
One more bite may cost him a lot more than just some sore teeth.
The limbo between football can be tough to handle, particularly after such a stellar World Cup. But for the players, it is a crucial time where they must distinguish between club and country – a distinction that may dictate the direction of club competitions around the world for seasons to come.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
It will be interesting to see how the Brazilian internationals fare after the confidence shattering experience they've been through.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Squads are also much bigger and sports science has improved enormously. Although the Germans have a more well structured and slightly shorter season, most of the team played over 45 games last season. The likes of Kroos, Muller, Lahm and Neuer played over 50 games and those who played fewer missed much of the season from injuries. I thought Ronaldo was very good in each of his three games, unfortunately the rest of his team were pretty rubbish.
Paul
Guest
There's just far too much football on these days. Previously, pre-seasons were modest and continental football was limited to the champions of each nation and took the form of a knockout competition. Players had opportunities to let their stress fractures and muscle tears heal - now they have no real opportunity with NT camps following the long, congested seasons and in some cases (eg: Cristiano Ronaldo) it shows.
AZ_RBB
Guest
A lot of manager wish their players didn't have to play in the off season at all. I know Sir Alex was always very reluctant to release players for international duty. Mourinho will be glad that his WC stars had short campaigns and will return to training early and fresh and possibly hungry to redeem themselves.
Tex Redmund
Guest
Jose Mourinho will have to work some magic. His Brazilian treble of Oscar, Ramires and Willian, as well as the Spanish Costa, Fabregas and Azpiclueta (not to mention Torres), will all be suffering. That's over half of his starting 11 named. Hazard played plenty of minutes with no real impact, a possible burnden on both legs and mind, whilst Lukaku's seemingly unshakable confidence may have been battered by his dropping from the Belgium starting 11. Only Schurrle and now reserve, Obi Mikel, arguably increased their standings during the tournament. At least he doesn't have David Luiz to worry about!