2010 will see a brand new World Cup Champion. And it will be the first time since the second ever edition in 1934 that neither one of the teams in the final have won the title before.
Will it be Spain, the perennial underachievers and defending European champions who share the international world record with Brazil for consecutive victories in 35?
Or will it be the Netherlands, considered to be the best team never to win the World Cup?
La Furia Roja have undoubtedly seen a more difficult route to the final, defeating the likes of Portugal, Paraguay and then Germany, while Holland had to face Slovakia, Brazil and Uruguay.
Spain were clearly the better team today, and therefore the young German side never really looked contentious against the pristine passing of the Spanish.
Spain have reached the finals for the first time ever, while Holland have been there twice before, losing to West Germany in 1974 and Argentina in 1978.
In all of their matches in South Africa, the Oranje have never seemed to be fully extended.
So how good are the Netherlands? That question will be answered on Sunday, while Wesley Sneijder and David Villa vie for the Golden Boot.
With both teams vying to play the possession game, it will be interesting to see who can get the better of whom. Spain, especially Villa, have proven to be absolutely deadly on the breakaway, while Holland have shown uncanny ability to shoot, and score, from 20-30 yards out.
One thing is for sure, this game will be a cracker.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
The World Cup would have been even better if it weren't for these...
At every major sporting event, there are always a few people or things that don’t live up to the hype they received prior to the tournment. I have highlighted what I feel to be the top five of these from this rendition of the World Cup thus far.
In order to make this list, the person could have somehow had tournament altering effects on his respective team and therefore leaving a bitter taste in the country’s respective fans. Call them the biggest flops, or the biggest disappointments, but these things definitely sucked.
1) Christiano Ronaldo
In a group with Brazil, and then facing Spain in the first knockout round, the Portuguese side needed their 80 million pound playmaker to do more than simply put on a uniform. For a side that conceded one goal the entire tournament, and it was ultimately the goal that sent them packing, the Portugal defense was beyond solid, however, they needed more than that to proceed. Aside form a 7-0 victory over a self-destructing North Korea side, which most of the goals came from severe Korean errors anyways, the Portuguese squad desperately needed their star striker. Apparently he was still counting his transfer money.
2) Wayne Rooney
He definitely failed to capture his club form for his country, even seeming disinterested at times. Rooney went great lengths of time without even touching the ball and often missing passes he would normally have nailed. Such great expectations surrounded Rooney prior to the World Cup for him to lead his country to success in South Africa. However, it wasn’t entirely Rooney’s fault, for if the rest of the English squad had stopped picking daisies long enough to realize the World Cup had started and only happens once every four years, it might have been a different story. His passion would definitely have helped to motivate England.
3) Lionel Messi
This selection might get me some flack, but it’s my blog and my opinions count. The wonder kid failed to score a goal in the world cup, and while he had some nice runs during the group stage, Argentina really didn’t face much opposition in their group. I think he failed to live up to the expectations everyone had for him, and now Argentina are heading home. Not that that’s a coincidence, but a few goals from the FIFA World Player of the year would probably have helped.
4) The referees
I’m pretty sure everything that can be said about this has been said, so I’m not going to repeat it. There were just too many goals disallowed that should have been goals; goals that were clearly offside that counted and far too many unnecessary cards of both colours.
5) The Vuvuzelas
These things are super annoying, and whether they are a part of South African or not (rumours are unclear about whether a Chinese entrepreneur just invented them or not) measures should have been taken to ensure they don’t interfere with the play on the pitch. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be allowed, just why the heck are they so loud??
In order to make this list, the person could have somehow had tournament altering effects on his respective team and therefore leaving a bitter taste in the country’s respective fans. Call them the biggest flops, or the biggest disappointments, but these things definitely sucked.
1) Christiano Ronaldo
In a group with Brazil, and then facing Spain in the first knockout round, the Portuguese side needed their 80 million pound playmaker to do more than simply put on a uniform. For a side that conceded one goal the entire tournament, and it was ultimately the goal that sent them packing, the Portugal defense was beyond solid, however, they needed more than that to proceed. Aside form a 7-0 victory over a self-destructing North Korea side, which most of the goals came from severe Korean errors anyways, the Portuguese squad desperately needed their star striker. Apparently he was still counting his transfer money.
2) Wayne Rooney
He definitely failed to capture his club form for his country, even seeming disinterested at times. Rooney went great lengths of time without even touching the ball and often missing passes he would normally have nailed. Such great expectations surrounded Rooney prior to the World Cup for him to lead his country to success in South Africa. However, it wasn’t entirely Rooney’s fault, for if the rest of the English squad had stopped picking daisies long enough to realize the World Cup had started and only happens once every four years, it might have been a different story. His passion would definitely have helped to motivate England.
3) Lionel Messi
This selection might get me some flack, but it’s my blog and my opinions count. The wonder kid failed to score a goal in the world cup, and while he had some nice runs during the group stage, Argentina really didn’t face much opposition in their group. I think he failed to live up to the expectations everyone had for him, and now Argentina are heading home. Not that that’s a coincidence, but a few goals from the FIFA World Player of the year would probably have helped.
4) The referees
I’m pretty sure everything that can be said about this has been said, so I’m not going to repeat it. There were just too many goals disallowed that should have been goals; goals that were clearly offside that counted and far too many unnecessary cards of both colours.
5) The Vuvuzelas
These things are super annoying, and whether they are a part of South African or not (rumours are unclear about whether a Chinese entrepreneur just invented them or not) measures should have been taken to ensure they don’t interfere with the play on the pitch. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be allowed, just why the heck are they so loud??
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