Worst tragedies

And while the likes of Spain and Messi - and his Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo - can delight and inspire, soccer can also cause untold suffering as events in Egypt and the Netherlands proved.

One of soccer's worst tragedies happened on Feb 1 in Port Said, when more than 70 Egyptian fans died following a riot at a league match between Al-Masry of Port Said and Al-Ahly of Cairo with many supporters, police and other officials knifed to death.

The riot was underpinned by extreme political tensions following the recent upheavals in the country and led to the Egyptian League being suspended.

More than 33,000 amateur games were also cancelled in the Netherlands this month following the death of a linesman who was beaten up and killed after giving a decision in a junior match. 

Another bleak problem is the rise of overt racism, most notably in eastern Europe, where Serbia's already tarnished reputation was further besmirched by racial chants in an Under-21 match against England.

UEFA's subsequent punishment against Serbia - a 80,000 euros($106,400) fine - less than they fined Danish striker Niklas Bendtner for showing a logo on his underpants at Euro 2012 - was widely condemned as being too lenient and racism is one problem UEFA still has to resolve.