World Cup finals don’t come much better than the one served up at the weekend. I think we all agree with that. I must admit that until the 70th minute however, I was bordering on being a bit, dare I say it, bored. The French were awful and like many others my mind began to wander, there was a virus in the camp, have they really been that unwell?

I had a virus the first week I was in Qatar and it was extremely debilitating, so that seemed to make some sense. They might also have been tired with all the games in such a short space of time, but it didn’t seem to be affecting the Argentineans as much. Had there been a tiff in the group? It looked like a possibility as they were that dull until three-quarters of the 90 minutes had passed.

In the end, it is all forgotten as the other quarter, the extra-time and the ensuing penalties had enough excitement for any self-respecting football nut. I wrote on this page the other day about Messi and his greatness. I wasn’t the only one thinking about his legacy before this game, but understandably everyone is after that match. In the end there were many things that happened in Qatar, good and bad, but it is Messi and his image in the final that will be the lasting memory above all others.

Top three or four

Pele had his wins, 1970 being the summit, and of course Diego Maradona in 1986 picked up the trophy and much of the rest of that tournament is nearly forgotten history by many, though apparently there was a little kerfuffle about a handball at some point. Johan Cruyff didn’t win the trophy after his Dutch side lost in the final in 1974 and maybe that is one of the reasons why he isn’t in the conversation about the greatest players ever. I tend to think he might be the most ‘important’ or most influential player that has graced the game, but as for best, he wasn’t quite in the top three or four.

I say that three or four, because the Cristiano Ronaldo debate may also be coloured by the fact that he has not won the big one, now that Pele, Diego and Lionel all have, so will history relegate him because of this? Only time will tell but I for one am happy that now, without question, Messi is in the discussion alongside the other two. It was the most fitting way for this World Cup not only to end, but also to be remembered and the same could be said for his career, though I hope he hangs around a while longer.

Maybe in time, we might also forget that this competition took place halfway through a season. I strongly hope we do not forget that though, and the problems it has caused and the problems that it will continue to cause throughout the season. The league campaigns have been squashed together too tightly because of it and the legacy will be felt by the players, through tiredness and more specifically injury as the season goes on. It also affects the value for money the real paying customer fans get, because their favourite players at their clubs may well be available less often this season due to the physical strains put on them.

The World Cup was too concertinaed as well, which certainly led to the smaller nations, the likes of Morocco, having a lesser chance to recover their players, which was not only unfair on them but also desperately sad for ‘us’ new Moroccan fans.

Good time for a break

Whatever the case, and Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic will be arguably stressed more than anyone else at Chelsea, it is time to look forward. Actually, I will dial back on the Hakim and Kova line a bit here. Both players have had periods out for a variety of reasons this season at Chelsea, so 152 league minutes for Hakim and 635 for Mateo means that they might just have needed a run of games.

Maybe the bigger concern should be for Thiago Silva. With over 1000, he has more league minutes than any other Chelsea player this season. He played most of the games for most of the time for Brazil before Kova and co. knocked them out in the quarter-finals after another gruelling game that went to extra time and penalties.

Another player affected in a more positive way could be Jorginho. Italy not qualifying while being European champions was a real shock but considering the games Jorginho has played in the past few years, maybe a bit of a break is what he needed more than most. I have great hopes for him returning in the best and sharpest shape he has been in for a while. With the likes of Reece James also getting the time to recover, there are a few positives to take on board.

To be fair, I think the break couldn’t have come at a better time for us. The form and the results had dipped and Graham Potter needed a bit of time to take stock after a brutally busy period since his arrival. His arrival may not be the one we are talking about most in the coming weeks as the transfer window looms into view.

If Chelsea do some business in January that will give us plenty to look forward to and discuss. In the meantime, there are still another seven days until we kick off against Bournemouth.

For me and most fans this is a painful wait and if you are a player that wasn’t at the World Cup, I suspect you will be getting very frustrated right now even if yes, the players who played deep into the tournament need a bit of rest and recovery time now.

We will survive even if I wasn’t sure I would when I came back and covered Aberdeen v Celtic for the Beeb. Yes it was as cold as you might imagine during this big freeze we have been having in the UK, especially after my last game the week before had been in Doha, which was just a little bit warmer!

It is a first-world problem and I am not complaining, other than that I can’t wait for the English Premier League to start again with hopefully the Blues back on form and ready to take advantage of the time off…well those who got some anyway.