not for me, though entertaining, I think it demonstrates that the standard is declining with the likes of Costa Rica and Algeria making it that far, rather than it being down to them genuinely making strides, although they both played well.
Too many top players now are struggling with injuries, maybe the game has become too athletic, the final was spoilt by Messi, Di Maria and Aguero all being crocked and knackered, and I also think the art of defending has been left behind. Yes it means we get more high scoring games, but can anyone really say they enjoyed the spectacle of Brazil being so awful? It just wasn't in the spirit of the World Cup, and we've lost so many top defenders from 10/15 years ago and they haven't been replaced, attacking teams should earn their goals through good football. I also don't think there was a star of the World Cup and there was no truly magical football, just plenty of poor defending and the difference between sides came down to penalty area bottle.
There were also too many squads with a couple of star players but the rest of the side held them back. I think that may been indicative of a move in academies to try and find star talent, especially at smaller clubs to sell on for a huge profit, rather than bringing teams through academies, which seems to be an art lost in the 90s, bar the odd exception. The standard of teams midfields, were generally poor, with little creativity, indeed reliant on #10s or tricky wingers which left games a bit one-dimensional. I think Barca pushed it too far one way, and the reaction is back to this quick, direct sort of style but it means that we've lost a bit of the magic imo, we need someone, hopefully City, to find a balance between the two.