With Germany beating Paraguay 1-0, my favorite player in the World Cup is now gone: Paraguayan goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert.

For those of us who have broken the 40 barrier and who are attracted to men and not boys ... Chilavert was the sex god of the tournament. He's not a hottie in the Michael Owen or the entire-d*mn-Danish team sort of way, but Chilavert is independent-minded, strong-willed and quotable. And a giant athletic talent, too. HE'S THE CHARLES BARKLEY OF INTERNATIONAL SOCCER!

Here are the highlights from his ESPN bio (and this is the embedded link):

-- In 1999, he refused to play in the Copa America which his country hosted, claiming public money should have been spent on hospitals and schools instead of football stadia.

-- Before a World Cup qualifier in Brazil this year, he provocatively told his hosts to hand back territory taken from his country during a brutal war in the 19th century.

-- At the end of the game in Brazil, he spat in the face of Roberto Carlos and was handed a four-match international ban. "I'd do it again because Roberto Carlos showed me his testicles and insulted my country."

So the lesson here: don't be showing Chilavert your testicles, OK? It's an insult to all of Paraguay. Too bad he didn't yet realize his ambition to score a goal in the World Cup ... as a goalie.

This Cup is going to get just a little less interesting.