South Africa did herself proud in hosting the FIFA World Cup 2010 from June 11 to July 11, 2010. Despite a few relatively minor hitches it was for the most part a well-run tourney, and the friendly people, wonderful scenery, and excellent competition all added up to a great World Cup. Spain went home the champions, but it was a long exciting road with many twists and turns, and deserves a revisit.
Spain's Road to the Finals
Since an opening game defeat to Switzerland in group play, coach Vicente Del Bosque’s team was forced to fight for its life in a series of tight matches. La Furia Roja did control most of the match in the round of 16 vs Portugal but only managed a 1-0 win. The quarterfinal match against Paraguay was another typical nail-biter for Spain, with both sides missing penalty shots in the second half, and the Spanish side only pulling out the win with David Villa's beautiful goal in the 82nd minute. Spain defeated Germany in another tight, hard-fought match in the semifinals, this time 1-0 on Carlos Puyol's goal in the 73rd minute.
The World Cup 2010 Final Match
It was an intense and exciting, if not pretty, World Cup Final match. Spain came out strong on offense and dominated the middle for the first few minutes of the game, including a good chance for Villa at 5 minutes in. Then the Dutch adjusted with some hard-nosed stops and it became all defense from there until Andres Iniesta scored with jut four minutes left in extra time. Although it was not a scintillating display of offensive prowess by any means (and honestly another somewhat disappointing World Cup final), it was yet another amazing display of determination and grit by the Spanish side, a grit that will be long remembered as it finally brought a World Cup Championship trophy home to Madrid.
Another Disappointing Defeat for the Dutch
The defeat was more than heartbreaking for the Dutch, who missed a couple of good opportunities early in extra time (Arjen Robben in particular missed a one on one opportunity with Spanish goalkeeper Casillas). After the game, several Netherlands players complained that the referee had been one-sided in his calls in the match. And given that they had six more yellow cards awarded to their side, perhaps their complaints are legitimate. It was the third World Cup final loss for the Netherlands including losses in 1974 and 1978. This loss was a doubly bitter pill to swallow as it also broke their 25 game unbeaten streak.
Golden Boot, Golden Ball and Golden Glove
Thomas Mueller of Germany won the Golden Boot for most goals with five goals and three assists. Diego Forlan won the Golden Ball for Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. And Iker Casillas of Spain won the Golden Glove for Best Goalee. Thomas Mueller also won the award for Best Young Player of the tournament.
Check out these links for more information on Spain and the FIFA World Cup 2010:
FIFA-Golden Boot to Thomas Mueller & Golden Ball to Diego Forlan
FIFA World Cup 2010 - Undefeated Netherlands in World Cup Final
FIFA World Cup 2010 - Villa and Sneidjer Chase the Golden Boot
FIFA World Cup 2010 - Germany 3 Uruguay 2-Germany 3rd in WC 2010
FIFA World Cup 2010 - Germany vs Spain Semifinal Preview
FIFA World Cup 2010 - Netherlands vs Uruguay Semifinal Preview
World Cup 2010 - Spain 1 Germany 0 - Spain to World Cup Finals!
Clayton Browne - Clayton Browne has a BA and an MS in Anthropology, and has been writing professionally since 1994. He worked for many years in both ...
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