Showering lavish praise on Germany, Indian football fraternity today said the best team won the FIFA World Cup but at the same time former and present India footballers sympathised for Lionel Messi and the "heartbreaking" Argentine loss.
Olympians PK Banerjee and Chuni Goswami said the result was not surprising as they were expecting the European powerhouse to win their fourth title and first as the unified nation.
"Right from the beginning we're expecting Germany to do well and they proved their worth in the biggest stage," Banerjee told PTI.
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Echoing the same sentiments, Goswami said: "It was not a surprising result. Germany had been the strong favourites since they tournament began and they have a wonderful side. Not only physically but they proved their mental toughness."
"From Argentina's point of view, Agnel D'Maria's absence proved to be the difference. His absence was felt greatly as Messi was handicapped and could not combine with somebody else," Goswami said.
Argentine winger Angel Di Maria could not recover from his thigh injury and missed the final.
Asked about Indian football, Goswami said: "No comparison with the Indian football which is still at very nascent stage and in a bad shape but we all are pleased to see the demonstration of good football. We saw very competitive football and all the teams were physically very strong."
On comparison between the former and present Argentine great Maradona and Messi, Goswami said: "It's difficult to single out any one player. I would put the players like Messi, Maradona and Pele in one bracket. They belong to different eras. I would rate them equally.
