All good World Cups must come to an end

Thirty-one teams came, 31 left. One never left home — heartbroken, yet proud after its… Thirty-one teams came, 31 left. One never left home — heartbroken, yet proud after its miraculous run.

A new, seamless ball knuckled and danced, finding nylon netting in brilliant fashion with heartbreaking consequence.

More than 300 yellow cards cautioned the air. Twenty-eight red cards dashed the hopes of nations. Card-showing records made soccer history, shattering previous tallies of cautions and ejections with four games left in the tournament.

Twenty-four nets wrinkled from the impact of a sphere. Angled, blasted, curved, driven, the white-and-black ball brought the world to a halt.

Nations declared holidays, half ones and whole ones. Banks dished out money to nationwide heroes. Continents cringed with every concession of a corner kick. Faces contorted with the caution of a superstar. Hopes rippled like the square-laced netting each time the goal line was crossed.

Fifty-six matches in 19 days. Breathe. Four games in 48 hours. Breathe. Two contests, two days. Breathe. One match, one winner — one game changed everything.

Glory captured, history made, legends created — the World Cup came and the World Cup went, but like every other great tournament before the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the memories will last forever.

It only took five minutes for the World Cup scoring to begin — a screaming, in-swinging bullet from the left flank found German soccer history in the blink of an eye. A Costa Rican goalie with upset on his mind saw a blur scorch by him and a quest begin.

The Germans scored first, but Italy scored last. From Philip Lahm’s 20-yard bomb to Fabio Grosso’s decider in the World Cup final, the beauty of the goals boasted top-of-the-line entertainment for a world consumed by soccer.

But the Cup didn’t fill up with just host-nation lore, not when the smallest nation in tournament history made the statement of the century.

Trinidad and Tobago, a nation of just 1.3 million citizens, sent shockwaves through the tournament with maiden-voyage madness. One tie made them legends back home, but their nitty-gritty effort against heavily favored England turned their page into a chapter, and their story into history.

The elevated Ecuador enchanted their opponents in qualifying with their high altitude venues and loud crowds. But they couldn’t win away from home, that is, until they arrived in Germany.

The South Americans’ first strike came just 22 minutes into their World Cup wonderland, crippling their Goliath — Poland — into submission before intermission. Sixty-eight minutes later, with the thrice-blown whistle, the Cinderella was bona fide — Ecuador won away from home, on a different continent, against a European favorite.

Our down-under mates with smiles on their faces and grit in their teeth clattered into the competition, casting no doubts about their toughness. Australia used brute force and a little bit of luck to stun the Japanese, rattle the Brazilians and nearly shock the Italians.

The Socceroos brought Australian soccer back from the dead, resurrecting a national passion for the world’s game.

Ghana galvanized their grief-stricken continent with every strong tackle, every blistering shot and every golden goal. They collected a broken Africa with their inspirational run, carrying a crippled people on their backs into the second round.

Propped-up promises from a brand-new powerhouse lost their way crossing the Atlantic, as the Americans slipped into a World Cup coma just five minutes into their first match. Like an iced-over tire on a New England highway, the Americans could never regain their grip on their World Cup dreams.

Major tournament favorites Brazil bounced out early, letting their laid-back style shatter their enormous expectations. The smiles and dancing made way for confusion and frustration as the five-time Cup winners scrambled to salvage their tournament.

But the French came through, making way for a better story — a story of passion, redemption and legendary resolve. With a retiring star making one last gasp for glory, the French overcame immense pressure from home to reach the final match of the World Cup.

After winning the 1998 World Cup on their home turf, the French left Japan after the 2002 World Cup without scoring a single goal, bounced out of the competition alarmingly early. Yet the French came back, recapturing the fire and soul that carried them to the first World Cup title in their nation’s history just eight years earlier.

The game’s inventors, the English, left Germany on a sour note. Another World Cup journey ended with the pain of penalties, leaving an island in peril for another four years.

But when the final whistle blew and Berlin’s Olympiastadion emptied, several things remained — stories, heroes, tears and triumphs. And the world will never be the same.