German World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer has panned this year's tournament for a lack of quality and excitement.
Der Kaiser's criticism of the players and games at this summer's tournament can be seen in even more controversial light because he is the president of the World Cup organising committee.
The 60-year-old is more than qualified to give his opinion, having won the World Cup as a player in 1974 and as a coach in 1990, but his dissenters are sure to cite the host nation's dramatic exit to Italy and Argentina's cup run as contradictory evidence.
"There were not many bad games at the final, but there were no real thrillers," Beckenbauer told German sports agency SID.
"If I had my way the teams that play one striker would not be allowed into the tournament.
"It was a joke. I was seriously annoyed by the lack of courage from some teams - how afraid the coaches were.
"There were hardly any shots on goal and that explains the low goal quota."
While several of the world's greats failed to live up to expectations at the tournament, many fans would disagree with the former Bayern Munich man's assertion that no one had caught the eye.
"I have been on the panel to help pick out the best ten players at the tournament," he added.
"We could have picked a completely different ten. There were no stand-out players."
With just two games left in the competition, the German, Portuguese, French and Italian players have one more chance to prove Beckenbauer wrong, in the final and third-place play-off.
What a fvckin hypocrite he is! Teams were cautious but to say that there were no exciting games is a joke.France & Italy fielding one striker gave class performances.
Der Kaiser's criticism of the players and games at this summer's tournament can be seen in even more controversial light because he is the president of the World Cup organising committee.
The 60-year-old is more than qualified to give his opinion, having won the World Cup as a player in 1974 and as a coach in 1990, but his dissenters are sure to cite the host nation's dramatic exit to Italy and Argentina's cup run as contradictory evidence.
"There were not many bad games at the final, but there were no real thrillers," Beckenbauer told German sports agency SID.
"If I had my way the teams that play one striker would not be allowed into the tournament.
"It was a joke. I was seriously annoyed by the lack of courage from some teams - how afraid the coaches were.
"There were hardly any shots on goal and that explains the low goal quota."
While several of the world's greats failed to live up to expectations at the tournament, many fans would disagree with the former Bayern Munich man's assertion that no one had caught the eye.
"I have been on the panel to help pick out the best ten players at the tournament," he added.
"We could have picked a completely different ten. There were no stand-out players."
With just two games left in the competition, the German, Portuguese, French and Italian players have one more chance to prove Beckenbauer wrong, in the final and third-place play-off.
What a fvckin hypocrite he is! Teams were cautious but to say that there were no exciting games is a joke.France & Italy fielding one striker gave class performances.
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