What: FIFA 2010 World Cup final
Who: Holland vs Spain
When: Sunday 11th July, 2010, at 19:30 UK time
Where: Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa
Third Time is the Charm?
After failing to win the trophy in both 1974 and 1978, Holland return 32 years later to another World Cup final. Far from being the “Total Football” style side that Johan Cruyff inspired with both the national team and Barcelona, the chance has still come for the Oranje to enter the exquisite brotherhood of World Cup winners. As they say, third time is the charm.
Holland’s advance to the final came at the expense of tournament dark horses Uruguay, who themselves were in contention for their third accolade since 1950. Bert van Marwijk’s team played an evenly balanced game against the South Americans, and came out on top due to their explosive duo of Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben. After the match, the Bayern Munich star expressed his desire to win the trophy for his homeland: “This Dutch team is simply a great squad. We need only one more victory now. We’re almost there. I recently lost a big final at club level and I won’t let this happen again. We’re full of confidence at the moment”.
Van Marwijk, on the other hand, approached the matter with caution when he was quizzed about his team’s chances in the final: “"Spain are the best team in the world at the moment. They have been in impressive form in the past couple of years. I enjoy watching them play and I’m looking forward to meeting them in the final. It will be a challenge to try to beat them. We are not afraid of the Spaniards”.
“Visca” España
It took them a while, but the Euro 2008 champions are finally starting to look like world champion material. Against Germany in the semi-final, Spain played some of the most beautiful possession football seen since the World Cup started. And while the 1-0 scoreline itself wasn’t an indication of pure domination, the outcome remained the same: Spain are back to their old self.
What happened during Spain’s match against Germany was much more than a few players from around the country playing for the national team. For the first time since, well, ever, autonomous community borders and ethno-linguistic cultures were set aside. People from all over the country – including Catalans and Basques – waived one flag, the yellow and red of Spain. After Barcelona skipper Carles Puyol tucked in Spain’s winner, pro-Madrid tabloid AS ran the headline “Visca España” on its Thursday edition –the term “Visca” being Catalan for “Long live” – instead of “Viva”, the Spanish interpretation.
One of the heroes on the night, Andres Iniesta, believes that a place in the final is the “natural” reward for Spain’s World Cup campaign: "Winning is the reward for wanting to play well. We will enjoy it now and hopefully also on Sunday. I hope this Sunday we have the same feeling or better. Hopefully we can fulfill the dream of being world champions”. Indeed, the Spanish armada will very much fancy their chances of making their dream come true.
Recent form
Holland:
Holland 2-0 Denmark (14/06; World Cup – Group E)
Holland 1-0 Japan (19/06; World Cup – Group E)
Cameroon 1-2 Holland (24/06; World Cup – Group E)
Holland 2-1 Slovakia (28/06; World Cup – Round of 16)
Holland 2-1 Brazil (02/07; World Cup – Quarter-finals)
Uruguay 2-3 Holland (06/07; World Cup – Semi-finals)
Spain:
Spain 0-1 Switzerland (16/06; World Cup – Group H)
Spain 2-0 Honduras (21/06; World Cup – Group H)
Chile 1-2 Spain (25/06; World Cup – Group H)
Spain 1-0 Portugal (29/06; World Cup – Round of 16)
Paraguay 0-1 Spain (03/07; World Cup – Quarter-finals)
Germany 0-1 Spain (07/07; World Cup – Semi-finals)
Players to watch
Holland – Arjen Robben: The Oranje’s most important player, Robben’s season has been a success, winning the German domestic double, before losing the Champions League final. Now, the ex-Real Madrid man will want to make up for that, and will try to be unplayable on the Soccer City pitch. Expect him to hand Joan Capdevila all sorts of problems.
Spain – Xavi: The familiar Xavi Hernandez has finally come to life in this tournament. After giving the German defence all sorts of problems, the Barcelona maestro is expected to pick up where he left off two years ago at the Euro 2008 final, and prove to be a true asset for his country. His personal battle with former club team-mate Mark van Bommel will be epic, and it remains to be seen what tactics the Bayern captain will employ to stop the Barcelona man.
Match prediction
Before Sunday is over, the world will have witnessed the crowning of a new world champion. Either Holland or Spain will win their first ever World Cup, and rightly so after naturally being the tournament’s best sides after a month of football. The threat that Holland pose is great, especially given the numbers of world class players at their disposal, but Spain are finally back to their full-steam best. A tough and close encounter, but La Furia Roja will finally erase years of disappointment and end up with their first World Cup.
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