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• Brazil avoided a repeat of last year's Confederations Cup when violent protests broke out in several cities and more than a million people took to the streets on just one night to demand the government spend on improvements for education and other public services instead of soccer. But the absence of conflict during the World Cup came less from dissipated anger than attention being glued to the games and police cracking down on even small demonstrations.
• Paulo Cavalcante, a 50-year-old public servant, shouted himself hoarse during last year's protests, even bringing his teenage daughter along on the marches. But during the World Cup, like many other Brazilians, he chose to stay home.
• "The police had orders to break the demonstrators," he said, referring to the early days of the monthlong tournament when officers turned tear gas and powerful stun guns on even small crowds of protesters. "I couldn't put my family in harm's way."
• For Sunday's final between Argentina and Germany in Rio de Janeiro, authorities ordered the deployment of more than 25,000 officers and soldiers, the largest security detail in Brazil's history. On Saturday, police arrested 19 people suspected of vandalism and seized gas masks, fireworks and firearms, according to local media reports.
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