Spain World Champion

Spain had until yesterday always been cursed by being the best nation to participate in a World Cup that had never won it. In fact, all they had was a meager semifinal in 1950 to talk about. After their triumph in the Euro 2008 Spain entered the World Cup as favourites and with enormous pressure to bring the long-awaited glory to Spain. It did not look well after opening with a loss to Switzerland (Spain is the first nation since 1978 to become world champion while losing a match on the way to the title), but that defeat may in fact have been Spain's luck: since that match the team seemed more aware of the task ahead, and looked at one match at a time.

Seen as a whole Spain were the best team of the tournament, and a deserved world champion in a final were the Dutch in particular did not win any friends, and where a terrible referee came close to losing the match for everyone by allowing the Dutch to play like animals.

That said, Spain have not been very efficient: eight goals in seven matches to take the title is not overly impressive, and although Spain has not been a defensive team there is no doutbt that the championship was won by their defence around Puyol and Piquet, and with the superb qualities of Xavi and Iniesta. There were seven Barcelona players in the starting lineup of Spain, and the influence of the Catalonian giants is clear in the Spanish style.

The Netherlands had been undefeated until this match (and with this result, only one team leaves the tournament as undefeated, namely New Zealand!), and losing the final for the third time is making it all seem like a curse. Spain on the other hand, now finally joins the ranks of European powers alongside Italy, Germany, France and England. All in all, it was a final with some historical remarks:

• First time Spain wins the World Cup
• First time a European side wins outside Europe.
• With Spain, a total of nine European countries have been in World Cup finals of the 12 nations that have ever had the honour.
• Second time a World Cup final ends with the score 1-0 (first one in 1990)
• First time since West Germany in 1974, that a defending European champion takes the world title.
• The first World Cup final ever that did not involve one of the following: Italy, Brazil, Germany or Argentina.

On a personal note, I have been very critical of Spain this year, but I am happy they won, mostly because of all my Spanish friends and family, who are surely still celebrating!

Viva España indeed!

Europe rules!!!

I have myself before talked about how this was in fact the worse tournament for European teams ever, as only three European sides made it to the quarterfinals. But the fact is that now, in the semifinals, all European sides advanced, easily pushing aside the South American sides that had been so talked about. Uruguay is the only non-European side in the tournament and I don't believe that they would have been there had they played any European side on their way to the semifinal (South Corea and Ghana would also have been swept aside by any European team). '

Truth is that European teams simply had an awful draw, running into each other in the last-16, but that they could plausibly have been in all the semifinal matches like it was in 2006!

Although three European giants, France, England and Italy performed poorly, the fact remains that Europe is the center of the world when it comes to football: the European championships are small world cups, and all the best football and players converges to the European leagues. When non-European players return to play for their home countries it is European styles and cultures they take with them, more so than they are giving it to European football!

In footballing terms, Europe rules the world, and it is perhaps also symbolic that the first World Cup on African soil will also be the first which is won by a European team outside Europe (no, Uruguay does not stand a chance), since Europeans brought football to Africa, and in spite of its popularity on the continent, football is as European as any other of the imperialist exports of the old continent.

In any case, no doubt that Europe rules the football world, and that this will continue for many years!

From disappointment to disappointment...

In any tournament, only one team can win, and it is most often never the team you support... I have the luxury of having many countries I support, but that has apparently not changed the fact that it is never the teams I support that win: Denmark went out early, Ghana dramatically, and yesterday Argentina crashed spectacularly against Germany (who are making good use of their psychic octopus...).

I watched the match in a bar on Place Luxembourg in Brussels. The place was full of fun Germans who of course were delighted at their team who have undoubtfully been the best team of the tournament, yesterday playing some world class counter-attacking football: Bastian Schweinsteiger was simply formidable, Thomas Müller again amazing (he will be greatly missed against Spain) and Miroslav Klose has now scored more world cup goals than Pelé... For the sake of football I believe that Germany is the team to support and for them to take the title.

In spite of the great respect for the Germans and the cool fans in the bar, I was heartbroken and left at Germany's third goal.

Now I know how it is to be English...

Argentina crashed spectacularly, but have been great to watch in this World Cup. Still, there will be much discussion on Maradona's choices, the weak defense and that Messi was another of the most spectacular flops of the tournament. Probably, Argentine football is only walking into yet another period of what it does most in its schizophrenic soul-searching.

As to me, some days full of disappointments, but as with everything in life, I have learned not to expect too much. I will have some beers, continue watching (although with some melancholy) and well, congratulate Germany, and hope they win the World Cup!

This is what a World Cup is about

The play-off matches are the best thing about a World Cup, as it is when all the legendary dramas that capture nations and the world take place. Such a drama took place yesterday between Ghana and Uruguay: Ghana was as close as possible to be the first African team in a World Cup semifinal, while Uruguay played to reach the glory of former times. Both teams were organised, careful, but the match flowed well with chances for both teams.

Uruguay was seriously weakened when Diego Logano had to go out with an injury, and only a few minutes later Sulley Muntari scored a great goal for Ghana.

In the second half none other than Diego Forlán, with the marvelous kick, scored an excellent equalizer for Uruguay, and the match had to go into an exciting extra time...

This was when the drama came...

In the last second of the match Luis Suarez saved a ball with the hands on the goalline. As is usual, he got the harshest punishment, a red card (direct red card, so he will not play any more in this tournament) and a penalty kick for Ghana that undoubtfully would have put Ghana in the semifinals, but Asamoah Gyan did not take advantage of the punishment for Uruguay, and missed a horrible penalty to the delight of the Uruguayans.

South American teams are excellent at penalty kicks, and Uruguay were no exception: a great goalkeeper and cold-blooded and skilled kickers gave Uruguay the victory and a place in the semifinals for the first time in 40 years for a team that has made history before.

It was truly heartbreaking for Ghana, and it took me a bit of time to get past the drama. But truly, this kind of matches is what a football World Cup is all about, and I would rather not have been without it!

Cheers for Uruguay and Ghana!

Dutch delight

I was at a training course for work as the match between Brazil and the Netherlands started. When the match was only some minutes old, I heard a loud cheer, and discreetely checked my phone to see Brazil had gone ahead. I left the course for the second half and went to a bar with a friend, and saw Netherlands play much better than a lame Brazilian side. After the Dutch equalized, and went ahead 2-1 by Wesley Sneijder, Brazil, who have otherwise been an awesome winning machine the last few years, completely lacked the creativity one often has connected with Brazilians. It was a poor Brazilian side, and the "not-so-Brazilian" style that Dunga has promoted over the last years will surely have to be reconsidered. A Brazil without stars and creativity fell disgracefully to a much more efficient Netherlands side who should now be considered favourites for the title.

I saw many happy Dutch fans, and I am happy for them!