It’s the most anticipated game of the year. Leaders, A-list celebrities, top athletes from most sports, and thousands of people gather at the stadium to watch it. And that just begins to describe the vast numbers who watch this game. Millions of people, the world over gather at their homes, restaurants, at public places, and even at local electronic stores in malls. This is the biggest stage of sport. On Sunday, Netherland and Spain battled for a gruelling and mind-testing 120 minutes. The game was annoyingly slow, at certain moments. Vicente del Bosque, Spain‘s coach, felt “It was a gruelling match, and quite frustrating at times. “ Around the 80th minute of play, you could even hear the restlessness in the crowd. The game was being played at a cautious pace. Players knew that if a mistake was to be made, your name could go down in infamy.
The game was also a physical contest. At the end of play, 14 yellow cards were handed out- 9 for the Dutch players and 5 for the Spaniards. 56 fouls in total was suffered by both sides. With all the yellow cards being handed out, one had the feeling that someone would surely get a second one, and be turned away from the game. This is what happened, with the Dutch’s, John Heitinga getting a second yellow in the 109th minute. For the rest of the game, the Oranje played with just 10 men.
With the Dutch down to 10 men, Spain began to increase its pressure even more. In the 116th minute, with the world wanting someone to score at least one goal, Andres Iniesta managed to give them that. The world screamed a joyful “GOAL!” You could even feel that in Spain, people were chanting “OLE, OLE.” From where I was sitting, I got a phone call telling me that people in our nearby mall began to scream at the sight of the goal. Iniesta would later say that “I’m just happy I managed to do my bit and score such an important goal for the national side.”
Netherlands would not get close to matching that goal. Spain would win. The players celebrated emphatically. The Dutch were brought down to tears and anguish. This day belonged to the Spaniards. Del Bosque, Spain‘s coach, commented “This is an unforgettable moment.”
For all its gruelling and frustrating aspects, the match did give us a winner. Spain controlled 57 percent of the possession, and was on the attack for much of the second half. The Dutch did have a couple of very good opportunities that was squashed by Spain. Arjen Robben had two breakaway chances to score. The first one was magnificently saved by the goalkeeper, Iker Casillas. But the second chance was controversial. Carlos Puyol, of Spain, could be seen grabbing onto Robben while the attack was on. The referee did not indicate foul play, and the game continued.
Celebrations of victory will continue for years. Spain has now gone down in history as a World Cup champion, and also the first team since West Germany to win both the Euro Cup and World Cup in subsequent years. The country of Spain has much to be proud of. Spain was at one point seen as perennial under-achievers. But now, the people of Spain can shed of that remark. Winning 2 major tournaments consecutively is not easy.
Now that the 2010 World Cup has ended, I’m sure many of us feel a little bit hollow. It’ll be another 4 more years before the next one. It will also give our favourite teams enough time to heal, rebuild, and prepare for the next one. For the country of Brazil, where the next World Cup will take place, the world will be ready to compete in 2014.
