Spain Wins the Holy Grail of Football
Posted on July 12, 2010 - Filed Under Soccer | Leave a Comment
Viva Espania! For the 1st time in their history of football, Spain lifted the World Cup on sunday and added a feather to their meteoric uprise in grandeur. Spanish midfielder, Andres Iniesta scored the winning, single goal in the 2nd half of the extra time. Spain defeated the Dark Horses, Netherlands by 1-0 at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. In the history of World Cup, they become the 8th world champion and joined the ranks with France, England, Uruguay, Argentina, Germany, Italy and Brazil.
However, there was no hint of the amazing display of team spirit and close passing that helped ‘La Roja’ to clinch and win the European championship title two years ago. On the contrary, Vicente del Bosque’s team ruled in an ill-tempered match. This match saw 14 players shown yellow card. From Holland’s side, John Heitinga was sent off the field.
This many number of cards has created an undesirable record for a World Cup final. Although, this didn’t bother Spanish captain, Iker Casillas when he lifted the 2010 FIFA World Cup trophy from the President of South Africa Jacob Zuma and FIFA head Joseph Blatter.
This victory lead Spain to be the first team right after Germany (1972-1974) to add a world crown to a European title consecutively. But, things were not looking fine for Spain after they lost the opening match against Switzerland by 1-0. The heart of the Spanish squad was the magnificent midfield trio of Barcelona players Sergio Busquets, match-winner Andres Iniesta and Xavi.
The Spanish team’s progress to 2010 World Cup glory has helped in bridging the distance between Catalans and Basques. This led many to look above their regional differences and cheer in unison for their team.
Franz Beckenbauer, German football icon, gushed that Spain is the best team in the world at the moment. At last, creative and beautiful football has paid due dividends!
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