Spain lifts its first ever World Cup.
Netherlands 0-1 Spain
In a hyper-tense and chippy final Spain produced the one decisive move in extra time that was needed to secure the World Cup. Andres Iniesta capped off a great tournament by controlling and burying a nifty pass from Cesc Fabregas on the right side of the box. The goal handed Spain its first ever World Cup title and, having already won Euro 2008, cemented its place in the history books. It was a tightly, and many would say brutally contested match, but aside from the most die-hard Dutch fans, it is widely agreed that the best side won.
As the most important single sporting event in the world, with over 700 million viewers, the match is being picked over with a fine-toothed comb. With a record 15 yellow cards there is universal agreement that the final was nothing close to beautiful and that Dutch holding midfielder (and noted hatchet man) Nigel De Jong should have been sent off in the first half for his outrageous kung-fu kick spikes-up into the chest of Xabi Alonso. Van Bommel also could have been sent off in the first half for a nasty tackle on Iniesta. It is suggested that referee Howard Webb didn't want to have undue influence on the result by sending someone off that early, and to be fair, the Dutch made it very difficult for him. The Spanish are also being cited for diving, which certainly happened but was a natural consequence of Holland's dirty tactics. One only need look at the Spain v. Germany semifinal to know that there's a different and much more noble way to play a WC match.
As for those who say Spain's tiki-taka possession game of short passes has become tiresome to watch, I say this is because, after two years of international dominance, every one of their opponents is shifting into a highly defensive mode. No one is even attempting to play with them lest they be sliced and diced in the back. The only team to take an offensive approach to Spain in the WC was Chile and they ended up losing 2-0... and it could've been more. Spain's prowess is no longer a surprise and the result is these suffocating matches. In my eyes this does nothing to take away from their offensive brilliance and defensively they didn't allow a goal in the seven matches following their 1-0 loss to the Swiss. To those who say Germany are more exciting to watch because of the goals, I say maybe, but I'd like to see how many goals they would score if teams played them as defensively as the opposition played Spain. Remember that Germany lost 1-0 to Serbia.
Regardless, big time congratulations to Spain and their long suffering fans! They absolutely deserve to be world champs for the next four years. With the emergence of Germany and the newly hardened Dutch, Euro 2012 promises to be another great tournament... but until then...
¡Viva Espana!
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