Viva South Africa and Spain!
Posted on July 13, 2010 - Filed Under Soccer | Leave a Comment
Spain begin as a clear favorite and emerged as the ultimate winner. Yet, the FIFA World Cup 2010 held in South Africa turned out to be a an unexpected event! Also, ‘La Roja’ were themselves responsible for several twists and turns in this dramatic tournament. Because Spain became the 1st team which won the trophy after losing hopelessly in the opening Group match. As both Netherlands and Spain played an risk-averse, defensive and tough final, the final match was a complete scrappy affair! The English referee, Howard Webb, showed a complete no-nonsense approach. The match played between the Netherlands and Spain witnessed a record number of yellow cards – 14 in total. Five yellow cards were shown to the Spaniards and nine for the Dutch.
Spain was sticking to their tried and tested method for the entire match: To dominate the possession in the midfield and patiently waiting for a good finish at the forward line. But in the end, Andres Iniesta’s attempt to score a goal in the 116th minute of the match paid off. Spain secured a well-deserved 1-0 victory. To set the records straight, Spain won the 4 knock-out matches by an identical margin. This is quite strange for an champion side.
It looked as if the Spaniards were more interested on playing among themselves rather than on scoring goals. But they didn’t have too much to worry about with their captain, Iker Casillas being present under the bar. He eventually won the Golden Glove award. In the entire tournament, Spain conceded only 2 goals which is a record for a winning team that they shared with Italy (2006)and France (1998).
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was not simply about the football. South Africa’s first attempt in hosting the World Cup was truly well-done. The hero of the closing ceremony of the tournament was Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid icon. He was uproariously greeted from fans in the Soccer City Stadium. This marks a beginning of new innings in the world of world football – an innings in which the African nations will hold an esteemed and prominent place with the South Americans and the Europeans.
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