The beautiful game sounds like a cliche. Okay, it is a cliche. But this summer in the Republic of South Africa the beauty of the FIFA World Cup and the 32 nations competing brought out the best in what the tournament is all about.

For the most part, it did not matter whether or not someone was an avid fan, a casual fan, or not a fan at all. The 2010 FIFA World Cup brought out the best in many nations, including the United States, Ghana, Holland, and champion Spain, just to name a few.

Beauty of course is often in the eye of the beholder. Yes another cliche, but every aspect of the game of soccer has some beautiful aspect.

The World Cup occurs every four years and often has different host countries. The games usually offer controversy, drama, heartbreak, and redemption.

Let’s first discuss some controversy, a beautiful part of the game.

The United States was playing European light weights Slovenia, formerly part of the Yugoslavia Republic. In a 2-2 game, a goal was disallowed on a phantom call by the referee causing uproar and even caused the head official in the game to be axed from the rest of the tournament.

Now, let’s talk about drama and redemption.

Landon Donovan scored the winning goal against Algeria in stoppage time to help advance the United States to round 16, where they eventually lost to Ghana in overtime. The buildup was picturesque for soccer fans young, old, new, and seasoned.

United States goalkeeper Tim Howard made an incredible save and then quickly distributed the ball to a teammate on the right flank at midfield. Eventually, the ball landed on the feet of 19-year-old striker, forward, Jozy Altidore who passed it to Clint Dempsey who then was taken out by the Algerian goalkeeper. Donovan, who has been dubbed one of the best American soccer players ever, finished the dramatic goal that some circles called the shot heard ‘round the world.

Now, let’s move to heartbreak. The Italian national team failed to win a game in their group and therefore was ridiculed by Italian press and politics alike. Who would have thought that the 2006 Champions would have not won a game?

These were just a few stories outlining one of the greatest games in the world. Where people from all around the globe stop whatever it is they are doing to either sit and watch their television, or pay exponential amounts of money to see the games live, in person.

Soccer, contrary to some circles, is a physical game, but it is also beautiful. The combination of skill, finesse, power, and tactics made for one of the best FIFA World Cups in decades.

If there is one positive thing to get from this four-year cycle, it would be that most players left everything on the field in the Republic of South Africa.

However, on a negative note, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea, having failed to win a single match were reprimanded by Korean leader Kim-Jong II, according to Asian news sources.

Despite the North Korean leader’s actions, it does not take away that this installment of the FIFA World Cup truly was beautiful. In the next eight to 12 years the World Cup could be played in America, where the United States is in the running.