10 key football records broken in 2014

When footballers, individually and collectively as a team, perform at a level that is incredible, both in terms of numbers, and in terms of style, we get to see old records broken and new ones set. These records, now, are incredibly hard to come by and the careers of most footballers pass by just dreaming of them, which gives us an indication of just how special these achievements are.2014 was a glorious year for football and we were lucky to witness some historic moments in the game. Records were made, broken and then some. It was truly spectacular. Here's a look at some of those moments which blazed forth in 2014 to make it a special year for the beautiful game.

#1 Lionel Messi becomes the all-time top scorer in Champions League

It was a tight race. Nobody could truly call it. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were like two swimmers in a tight race to the finish. The target was Raul's goal of 71 records, a record no mortal had previously come close to. It was a tight affair which ultimately ended in Messi's favour.

On November 25, 2014, Lionel Messi broke Raul's record, nay shattered it, with a spectacular hat-trick against group F rivals APOEL Nicosia. He surpassed the legendary Raul with his first goal of the game, but as is often the case with Messi, he didn't deem it to be enough for the occasion as he smashed in two more after half-time.

Ronaldo, who had been deemed favorite to break the record, was left trailing in the wake of such a destructive performance and has been behind Messi, on the charts, ever since.

#2 Ronaldo breaks the record for most number of hat tricks in La Liga

Telmo Zarra was again the victim of the goal scoring feats of a modern day legend, but he had an erstwhile legend to share his pain with this time, in Alfredo Di Stefano.

Cristiano Ronaldo capped off an impressive year by breaking this - again, long held - record by scoring the 23rd hat trick of his career against a hapless Celta Vigo whose defenders could do nothing but watch on as he sunk their team.

Both Zarra and Di Stefano, who held the record previously, spread their hat tricks over 15 years of their time in the Spanish league while Ronaldo has done it in a mere 5. His ambition for more success in the twilight of his career is pushing him to a level where he's never been before, and if all goes as is, he's sure to stretch the record to a level where it is unbeatable.

#3 Lionel Messi becomes all time top scorer in La Liga

Future generations are going to find it very hard to believe that on a cold November night, a pint-sized 27-year-old broke a 59-year-old record which took one of Spain's greatest strikers a lifetime to build. But it is true, every gloriously befuddling hard to explain part of it.

Lionel Messi tore the Sevilla defense apart to surpass Telmo Zarra as La Liga's top goalscorer, going past the 251 goal mark set by the Spaniard. This one too came in flamboyant fashion as he eased to another hat trick en route to this record.

Messi is considered to be a God, his achievements superhuman, so it may become hard to fathom how big of an achievement this is, but know it that it is. This is a record, that even the greatestin recent times, have failed to surpass or even come close to, and then there's Messi who has done it at the tender age of 27.

Afterwards, when he was hoisted on the shoulders of histeam-mates, he didn't look too chuffed or even aware of the enormity of his achievement, but now that it has sunk in, he'll probably cherish it the most ofhis countless other achievements.

#4 Miroslav Klose becomes all-time top scorer in World Cup history

After many attempts, Klose signed of his career by finally becoming the World Cup’s highest goal-scorer beating Ronaldo's record of 15 goals. Although he wasn’t able to contribute as much as he would have wanted to due to his age, he was still a crucial part of the squad.

Klose beat the record by scoring against Brazil in Germany’s 7-1 thrashing of the hosts in the semi-final. It was a fine way for him to reach the mark and a great achievement for the greatest German striker since Gerd Muller. Klose then called curtains on his career by retiring as a World Champion and as Germany's highest goal-scorer of all time with 71 goals.

#5 Tim Howard - Most saves in a World Cup game

In a World Cup that saw many heroic goalkeeping performances, Tim Howard's against Belgium stands out the most for his record-breaking endeavour. Chest, torso, palms, fingertips, face, thigh, feet were all called into action as Howard was plundered with ferocious shots from some of the most talented young players in the world.

The Everton keeper perilously twisted his body about the box in a bid to keep his nation in the hunt for a quarter-final spot at the World Cup, in the process of which he saved an amazing 16 shots on goal.

His heroics, unfortunately, did not yield the result the United States sought, but it did yield him a man of the match recognition and a place in history.

#6 Most goals scored in a single World Cup

There is often a nagging doubt as to whether a highly anticipated tournament will be able to live up to its billing. Many a times it also happens that it fails to, but the disappointment is swiftly swept under the rug without a mention. This was also a concern for the 2014 World Cup. Fortunately, it put paid to those concerns from the off, making for a most memorable tournament.

The footballing extravaganza in Brazil lived up to its hype in its entirety, providing a tournament of thrills, upsets and most importantly, goals. The 2014 World Cup saw the highest number of goals scored in a single edition of the tournament, with 171 goals being plundered. This tied the record set in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, when the same number of goals were scored.

Germany scored the most of those goals with 18 and were followed by Netherlands and Colombia, with 12 each, and Brazil with 11.

#7 Faryd Mondragon became the oldest player to play in a World Cup

Faryd Mondragon became the oldest player to play in FIFA World Cup history when he came on as a substitute, in the 85th minute, in Colombia's 4-1 win against Japan in the group stage.

An emotional Mondragon took to the field to beat Roger Milla's record which had lasted 20 years. The previous record was set in the 1994 World Cup by the Cameroonian legend at the age of 42 years, 1 month and 8 days. Mondragon beat the record by taking to the field at the age of 43 and 3 days.

A visibly emotional Mondragon showed what it meant to him to be on the field at this late stage of his career and his demeanour showed how important it was for him to be able to break the record. Mondragon has represented Colombia in 6 World Cups, including qualifications, and has 58 caps for his country.

#8 Highest margin of defeat suffered by a host nation in a World Cup match

Maracana, the home of football, witnessed the bloodiest, most humiliating defeat to a host nation in the history of the world cup. That that the defeat came in the semi-final made it all the more difficult to digest.

The 7-1 drubbing, if it can even be termed a drubbing, at the hands of Germany, became Brazil's worst nightmare, eclipsing even the Maracanazo of 1950. Fans watched shell shocked as Germany ruthlessly beat the life out of a hapless Brazilian team.

The Brazilian squad invoked Neymar's name heavily in a bid to raise spirits prior to the match. What had been built up as a match in honour of their fallen hero soon become a blood sport for all the others to fall. Brazil paid a heavy price for their ineptness, one that will not be erased from the memory for a long time.

#9 Netherlands became the first full squad to appear in the World Cup finals

The Netherlands surprised everyone with their ambitious approach to the Cup and the way they managed to reach the semi-finals.

Louis van Gaal was tasked with overseeing a team whose spine was crippled with old age and the presence of very young players, who had not much experience to talk about. The feeling around the team was ambiguous and one got the feeling that they'd do well to get to the knock-out stages. A few months on and it looks like a massive achievement for the team to have reached the semi-final and it was done without overtly relying on a few shoulders.

Netherlands set a record, in that they used all 23 members of their squad en route to their semi-final appearance. No team in the World Cup, since its inception in the 1930s, had utilised all their players and the fact that Van Gaal showed this kind of confidence in his charges goes a long way to ascertaining his managerial nous.

#10 Most World Cup goals scored by a team

The all-conquering Germans not only humiliated Brazil in the semi-finals, they also became the team to have scored themost goals in all the World Cups combined.

The likes of Klose, Muller, Schurrle, Gotze, Ozil and Kroos contributed immensely to help Germany become the bestteam at the World Cup, and also deserved champions, but unbeknownst to them, they also helped their country surpass Brazil as the country with the most number of goals in World Cup history.

Brazil, the most successful team in World Cups, currently stand at 221 while Germany have scored 224 goals. What makes this achievement even more amazing is that Germany have participated in two fewer Cups than Brazil and have won it one less time. To add to that, this record wouldn't have been possible without the 7-1 win against Brazil.