‘Super Mario’ hailed after giving Germany 4th World Cup

Photo provided by Germany soccer federation DFB shows Germany’s Mario Goetze with the trophy during the party of the German soccer federation after Germany beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the soccer World Cup final to win its fourth title in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, July 13, 2014. AP PHOTO/DFB, MARKUS GILLIAR, POOL

BERLIN—Germany basked in the glory of their fourth World Cup on Monday after a nail-biting 1-0 victory against Argentina crowned them the first European team to win football’s top tournament held in South America.

Bleary-eyed fans awoke after late-night street parties, fireworks and honking motorcades across the country, with ecstatic fans singing ‘Oh, it’s beautiful!’ and chanting ‘Super Deutschland!’ into the early hours. Fireworks exploded across Berlin as more than 250,000 fans jumped for joy in the heart of the capital.

Bayern Munich star Mario Goetze struck in the 113th minute of a gripping battle at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium as Argentina superstar Lionel Messi’s hopes of emulating Diego Maradona ended in defeat.

“It’s unbelievable what we have achieved. Whether we have the best individual player doesn’t matter at all. You just need to have the best team,” said delighted Germany captain Philipp Lahm.

Newspapers hailed “Super Mario” Goetze as the country’s new “football god” and showered praise on the new national heroes, the first to win the title for a reunified Germany, who are due to be welcomed home on Tuesday at Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate.

“It Is True,” Die Welt daily headlined with the three words printed in the national colors of black, red and gold. “What a match, what a fight, what drama.”

Some 34.6 million Germans were glued to their TV sets to watch the game, an all-time record.

With four World Cups, the European powerhouses are now just one behind Brazil’s record tally of five.

Joy, tears, violence

The tournament earlier saw Germany crush Brazil by a humiliating 7-1, and the hosts lost Saturday’s game for third place 3-0 to the Netherlands, sealing the fate of national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, whose contract Brazil’s football confederation decided not to renew.

Germany’s win nonetheless sparked an explosion of joy in Brazil, which had been dreading the prospect of South American rivals Argentina winning the title on its territory.

Argentines reacted with tears, cheers and violence after the dream of a third World Cup title slipped through their fingers, as clashes between hooligans and police ended a massive Buenos Aires street party.

After several hours of partying, dozens of hardcore fans known as “barra bravas” started throwing rocks at riot police watching over the crowd, who responded by firing rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon.

The clashes sent families with children scurrying for refuge in restaurants or hotel lobbies. Most of the crowd dispersed as a haze of tear gas settled over the area, leaving just a few dozen fans who broke windows and set trash on fire, determined to provoke the police.

Goetze volleys home

The dramatic finale came after a monthlong football carnival widely regarded as one of the best World Cups ever.

Goetze’s winner equaled the record tally for goals at a 32-team World Cup. The 171 goals from 64 games equaled the number set in France in 1998.

Fittingly, Goetze’s strike was another memorable effort in a tournament brimming with spectacular individual goals.

Germany coach Joachim Loew revealed he had encouraged Goetze to eclipse Argentina star Messi when he came on as an 88th-minute substitute.

“I told Mario Goetze, ‘Go out and show the world you are better than Messi,’” he said.

A gripping final before 74,738 spectators, which included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, looked destined for penalties after both sides had failed to break through stubborn defending with the scores deadlocked at 0-0.

But with just seven minutes of extra-time remaining, Andre Schurrle burst clear down the left flank and crossed for Goetze.

The 22-year-old took the ball on his chest and then volleyed past Sergio Romero to spark delirium among Germans and Brazilians alike.

Messi disappointed

With seconds remaining, Messi had the chance to conjure an equalizer, but a difficult free-kick sailed high over the bar.

It was a bitterly disappointing end to the tournament for Messi, who was named player of the tournament despite the loss.

But the prize was scant consolation for the 27-year-old four-time World Player of the Year, who had been keen to emulate Maradona by guiding Argentina to World Cup glory.

“The truth is it doesn’t interest me at this moment,” Messi said of the award. “We wanted to win the World Cup for all the people in Argentina and we couldn’t do it.”

Messi had also missed a good chance early in the second half when he dragged a low shot wide of German shot-stopper Manuel Neuer’s goal.

It followed another gilt-edged chance wasted by Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain in the first half, when, clean through on goal, the Napoli scuffed his shot off-target.

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella was left ruing his team’s missed chances as he reflected on a final defeat that mirrored the South Americans 1-0 loss to West Germany in 1990.

“They had more possession, but we had more cutting edge, more chances,” Sabella lamented. “When there are chances in a game that is so evenly balanced, you have to take them. We lacked a bit of efficiency.”

Even so, Sabella defended the contribution of Messi, who failed to conclusively end the debate surrounding his position in the pantheon of football’s greats.

“It is a very demanding tournament and it drains everyone physically,” Sabella said. “He is already among the greatest of all time.”

Golden Boot

Messi’s failure to add to his tally of four goals in the first phase helped ensure that Colombia’s James Rodriguez finished the tournament as top-scorer to win the Golden Boot with six goals.

Germany’s Neuer won the Golden Glove award for the tournament’s best goalkeeper.

The 28-year-old Bayern Munich player was presented with the award moments after the final whistle.

“It is unbelievable, and an awesome experience,” Neuer said.

“Germany are world champions. I don’t know how long we will celebrate, but we will go about it with big grins.”