RIO DE JANEIRO – After 32 days of competition, Germany was hands down the best of the 32 teams and a fitting World Cup champion, and as the confetti rained down after Sunday's 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina, coach Joachim Loew finally stood with his national team legacy intact and a decade-long mission complete after returning German football to the top of the sport.

Brazil fans joined the celebration at Maracana Stadium, too. Their national nightmare – rival Argentina raising the trophy on the most sacred of Brazilian soccer grounds – had been averted, and they let their South American adversaries to the southwest know about their satisfaction with full-throated songs of derision.

But when it comes to the World Cup, there is never a bigger winner than FIFA.

In the end, soccer's governing body got everything it wanted – beautiful new stadiums, surprisingly efficient transportation, high-scoring matches, record TV ratings and a perpetual stream of images of fans having the time of their lives plastered all over social media. An even more significant victory was the muting of the protests that overshadowed last year's Confederations Cup. They were nowhere to be seen, at least not within view of the international media's cameras, as the focus remained squarely on the football much to the delight of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and Brazil president Dilma Rousseff.

But after traveling around the country and seeing the situation up close, it was clear that the outspoken proponents of improved services and functioning infrastructure were the biggest losers. Whether it was roads in desperate need of maintenance outside Natal or the abject poverty not far from Arena de Sao Paulo, you could understand why people here would gather and scream at the top of their lungs about $500 million spent on Maracana's second renovation in seven years or the $300 million used to build a world-class soccer stadium in Manaus, an Amazonian jungle city with no top-tier soccer team and little use for a 40,000-seat venue requiring millions more to maintain.

Yes, in many ways the 2014 World Cup can be considered a success. But it can also be regarded as a failure – a failure to recognize and prioritize what matters most.

As for the events on the pitch, here is how the big-picture win-loss column stacked up.

Winner: James Rodriguez

No player stands to cash in more on the World Cup than the 23-year-old Colombian, the tournament's breakthrough star with the cover boy good looks. It's just a matter of time before the Golden Boot winner as the tournament's top scorer (six goals) makes the big-money move from French club Monaco to Spanish power and European champion Real Madrid. Rodriguez was so good that another famous James (LeBron) had to share the sports spotlight.

Loser: Lionel Messi

The Golden Ball winner as the tournament's top player did everything he could to lead Argentina to the World Cup final. But he fell short in willing his country to its third world title, and for that indiscretion he will continue to be regarded just a notch below Argentine legend Diego Maradona.

The 27-year-old Messi may not get another chance to escape Maradona's shadow and add the one thing missing from a glorious résumé already befitting of all-time great status. But life, and soccer, is not fair that way.