Well, the Brazilians are now Penatcampeao, and I must say, they are most deserving. They were clearly a class above the Germans, although they certainly exerted their influence well for much of the first half.

The game wasn't exactly the greatest... to say the least, but it rarely is. The firrst half was a "tactical" battle, controlled by the Germans -- although they didn't outplay Brazil, as the 6-1 shot advantage for the Samba Kings would attest -- and was really quite... bad. It wasn't much to watch, and brought forth the unfortunate circumstance that so often accompanies such important games: the key for many teams is to play a dour game, focused more on shutting the other team down than advancing their own chances, and hoping for the good bounce or singular breakdown to score.

Brazil, as a whole, had the better chances, and the story of Ronaldo over the past four years, starting in the hours before the '98 final in France, is made-for-TV docu-drama material. This is a man who had an unfortunate "incident" (some say a "seizure) just hours before that game in July '98, and shouldn't have played, but did. and ran like a zombie in France's 3-0 victory. He then missed almost 2 full years of play due to injuries, including a devastating knee injury, then re-injury, that very well couldv'e ended his career. Brazil was consdiered to be at somewhat of a nadir talent-wise entering this tournament, and the choice of Ronaldo as the main striker was controversial, to say the least, as he had only returned to action for Brazil in March. So what happened? Well, Ronaldo scored 8 goals, and Brazil was by far the most positive team in the competition, and have re-staked their claim as Kings of Football.

More impressions of the game:
1) Rivaldo is certainly a skilled player, and while it is often said of world-class strikers that "selfishness" is a good trait, he is clearly much to selfish. He needs to pass more, plain and simple.
2) I'm not sure why Brazilian left-mid/left-back/left-winger Roberto Carlos is so widely hailed. He strikes me as a David Beckham-type: clearly a very capable player, but far short of the "superstar" status he seems to enjoy.
3) Oliver Kahn was the MVP of the tournament, right up to the mess he made of the Rivaldo shot that Ronaldo jumped on for the 1-0 score. He was clearly in Ronaldo's head Before the game started, as every touch he had in the German Penalty area seemed timid and, well, almost disinterested. On a great through-ball pass that sent him in alone on Kahn, Ronaldo made about the lamest finsihing touch I have ever seen, a meek left-footer that went well wide. I wonder how this game would have played out if not for Kahn's one mighty error of the tournament.
4) Why the hell did ABC not show the award ceremony? They seemed in a big hurry to cut away. I was very disapointed.
5) Lets just say it: Miroslav Klose is a fluke. He can do nothing but finish crosses with his head. While he is among the best in the world at that, if not even The best, his incredible one-dimensionality will limit his impact on the soccer world.
6) What can you say about Pieluigi Collina that hasn't been said? The Michael Jordan of refereeing.

thoughts about the tournament in general.
1) In regards to the semifinal losers, Turkey and Korea (Turkey beat Korea 3-2 in a very entertaining 3rd-place match), and I must choose my words wisely here, is in 4 years, whe Germany 2006 is picking up, we will probably look back at Turkey has having been a break-through, while Korea was a... fluke. Lets face it, Korea enjoyed a spectacular home-field advantage (in an otherwise neutral-site tournament) and made the most of it. Turkey will continue to see it's players and clubs make an impact at the elite European levels, and showed us they have a great talent base. They were no fluke. I'm not saying Korea won't be on the scene in 4 years, but I wouldn't expect them to make any kind of an impact.
2) USA "soccer" is left with a tough choice: let the "kids" go to Europe and struggle for playing time on elite clubs, but perhaps promoting them to top-level international superstars, or try to keep them home in the MLS, and focus on domestic play, keeping them active with the National team as much as possible (as it is, the US Nat'l. team plays together as much as anyone in the world). The solution will remain somewhere in the middle, but finding the right balance is tricky. While the Donovan's, Beasely's, Mathis's, and O'Brien's would be best served in Europe, it is turn important for MLS to turn up it's international flair as well. They should reach into their coffers and try to sign some top Asian and African players (Europe would just be too hard to get into) and set themselves up to at least the level of South American leagues.
3) I'm repeating myself, but World Cup soccer is really about survival, and not always great or elite football. Brazil, at times, looked as though they may not qualify in South America, while Argentina cruised through. Holland, the "best side never to win" didn't even qualify. Portugal's "golden generation" failed miserably. France, who were Better on paper than in '98, were awful. the "World Cup," as it is known, a.k.a. that tournament wich just took place that involves 64 matches among 32 teams, is preceeded by 2 years of qualifying, involving neraly 200 nations playing over 800 matches. That the final two teams weren't seen as "the best" before the tournament is hardly a surprise. It reminds me, in a way, of college football, where you often see the same half-dozen or so teams in contention year after year, joined by a few of that year's "upstarts." Even when these established programs are having "down years" they still seems to make an impact, more aften than not.
4) I hate to say it, but there remains a chance the US will fail to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. As I've just said, this is brutal business. I consider those chances low, as the only other team in our region at our level is Mexico, but playing those qualifiers in Central America is always a grim task. We should remain optomistic about our chances over the next 4 years... but be prepared to take our lumps. It's the nature of this game.