The 19th FIFA World Cup ended yesterday in Johannesburg in a flurry of madness that we can only describe as “Viva la furia roja!”.
Spain and Netherlands
Crowds in Madrid, Spain gathered to watch the game on huge screens. They shouted afterwards with happiness over the 1-0 win over Netherlands.
The game, announced by Martin Tyler, was uneventful with only one unsuccessful attempt for a goal by the Netherlands before halftime. In the 58th minute the “Dutch Touch” went into full effect, dominating the field and sent Spain scrambling into defense, but four minutes later Robben from the Netherlands really ruined his opportunity for a glorious goal.
Although Netherlands came quite close throughout the match, Casillas, Spain’s goalie, did a fabulous job protecting the net.
From the time the World Cup began in early June, the tournament of 64 matches has been incredible to watch. The Round Robin eliminated groups at a rapid pace, including promising teams such as Argentina, 2006 world champions Italy, and France.
A moment to remember was the horrendous call by referee Koman Coulibaly in the USA vs. Slovenia game (in which later he was suspended) followed by other bad calls by multiple referees. Because of this, the FIFA President Sepp Blatter made a formal apology to teams that were affected, including Mexico and England.
Another memory that’ll linger with soccer fans were Ghana and Japan’s tearful goodbyes.
The vuvuzela itself was quite controversial, a yellow colored horn that blared incessantly and almost violently throughout the ten stadiums. It wouldn’t be a surprise if in 2014 Brazil bans the calamitous noise.
The Knockout Stage
In the knockout stage of the tournament, teams such as Uruguay, Germany, Brazil and Ghana were eliminated leaving a competitive match between Spain and the Netherlands, the latter having the chance to win their first championship.
The final game had a record breaking 13 yellow cards given by referee Howard Webb. Webb judged the match fairly and diligently, although a red card should have been given on behalf of Alonso. He took a wrenching kick to the chest. Robben eventually had to leave the field when the referee handed him his second yellow card.
Sergio Ramos and David Villa played exceptionally well, despite Iniesta’s glorious finish in the 116th minute of the game. After ripping his jersey off he ran down the sidelines and his comrades tackled him. This sent tears down Casillas’ face for the next hour.
As Cobe Jones put it, both teams played excellently but Netherlands pulled back and Spain pushed forward. The game ended with golden confetti and magnificent fireworks.
No one could console Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk over the loss. He removed his runner up medal immediately after receiving it from the FIFA members. As the Netherlands cope with their third loss in the tournament, they’ll have to wait four years to try again.\
For more on the 19th FIFA World Cup, visit https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/southafrica2010/matches/index.html .