Could this slogan sum up Sunday’s World Cup final any better? 2 sides that epitomise the beautiful game but have find success hard to come by in times past. Holland suffered defeat at the hands of Germany and then Argentina in the World Cup finals of 1974 and 1978 when they were arguably the best side in the world, perhaps one of the best of all time. Spain, built on the back of Barcelona’s recent domestic and European dominance, have never come so close as Holland to global glory, but have failed to deliver on the promise of their (at times) breathtaking countless occasions in the past decade-the 2008 European Championship was only their 2nd title (they have 1 more than Holland in that respect).
So are we seeing teams worthy of the World Cup Final on Sunday night? I think so. Spain took out both Germany and Portugal, while Holland beat my favourites Brazil in their quarter-final. Spain are reigning European champions-Holland have not lost a game in qualifying or in the World Cup proper. Germany was my favourite after the quarter-finals, but looked more like what I expected to see before the tournament began against Spain. At times, Brazil looked like they were ready to cut loose and destroy the Dutch-but after conceding early on, Holland hung tough, grabbed a fortunate equaliser, and then the Brazilians ran out of ideas and temperament. So, it’s hard to argue that either side shouldn’t be there-let’s hope they prove my point on Sunday night and give us the type of quality game that has been in short supply at this tournament.
On Wednesday night’s evidence, it was apparent to me that David Villa is a more effective player with someone to lead the line playing alongside him, allowing him the opportunities to attack from the wing. Well as Pedro played against Germany, and as impressive as his 20 odd goal tally for Barcelona was this past year, I feel that Torres should probably get the nod for the final. He still cuts a forlorn figure, but has the ability to keep centre backs occupied enough to ensure Villa has the opportunities to worry a suspect Dutch defence. I’ve expressed surprise at the decision of Del Bosque to start Torres and then sub him after 60 minutes for a midfielder (with the exception of Llorente coming on against Portugal), but then Spain don’t tend to set up like many teams-they seem to rely on overloading the midfield with ball players to fashion opportunities for 1-on-1s for a solitary front man or advanced midfield player taking a shot from the edge of the box. It will be a surprise if the coach changes much from the semi-final, where they gave their most impressive display of the tournament so far.
Holland is available at odds of nearly 3/1 for Sunday’s final, surprising in my opinion. They are in the final on merit, and should Spain revert to the low tempo approach that has characterised most of their play in this World Cup, Holland could very well atone for the shortcomings of their 1974 and 1978 predecessors-teams that played total football, but ultimately failed to complete the course. In Robben and Sneijder they have match winners who have stepped up to score goals in the World Cup and in the Champions League when counted on. Indeed, Sneijder could end up with the Golden Boot, thanks in part to FIFA’s decision to award him the 1st goal in their clash with Brazil. They have experience, they are well organised, and other than a minor tiff between Sneijder and van Persie, have been relatively settled, for a nation that seems to make a point of falling out publically at major tournaments. You can be sure van Bommel will make Xavi and Alonso feel his presence-it will be interesting to see how much leeway Howard Webb (yes, an Englishman in the Final!) in this regard-he has proven to be an expert at avoiding bookings so far in the tournament, despite his propensity to hack.
Prediction
Form is temporary, class is permanent. Spain have most of the class, and their form has been average, while Holland’s form has been excellent. Spain should add the World Cup to their European Championship crown on Sunday night. They may even score more than 1 goal in the process.
Friday 9 July 2010
Wednesday 7 July 2010
Well, they deserved it.
So we have a Spain v Holland World Cup Final, and this means new champions at around 9.30 Irish time Sunday night. Spain passed Germany by in Durban on Wednesday night-literally. They certainly overdo it at times, but they held possession so well that the Germans didn’t have enough of the ball to fashion the chances for ace poacher Miroslav Klose, who, unless he scores in the 3rd place play-off on Saturday night, will likely fall just short of Ronaldo’s World Cup record of 15 goals.
There was still a lack of cutting edge to Spain’s play against the Germans-witness Pedro’s failure to score late in the 2nd half to kill the game-and 1 goal is cold comfort for me. Germany had their chances, but it took too long for Mesut Ozil to find his groove, and their naivety in defence that gave Carles Puyol the chance to power the Spanish into their first World Cup final was perhaps a sign that this was a tournament too soon for a pretty young team.
Too often in the first half, Spain passed their way into the ‘red zone’, only to find themselves crowded out by the generally well organised Germans, or failing to see a man in front, the ball holder was forced to go lateral, or backwards. But nearly always, possession was retained-seldom did the Germans have the chance to counter-attack as they had done to such devastating effect against both the English and the Argentinians in previous rounds (it’s worth remembering that Thomas Muller-a key component of that success-was suspended on Wednesday night).
In Sunday’s final, Spain will face one of the surprises of the tournament in a Dutch team that can make history by going through qualifying and the tournament itself with a perfect record. With a mixture of class (goals 1 and 3) and a bit of luck (goal 2), Holland disposed of Uruguay in the other semi-final. They haven’t set the world on fire with their football, but they are surprisingly solid and I’m sure most fans would trade the chance to play in their first World Cup final in over 30 years for the type of high scoring and exciting defeats Holland have tended to suffer in recent history. In Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder they have world class players, both of whom are well capable of finding the net. In Mark van Bommel, they have someone who appears to be a licensed thug, who seems to have an almost infinite allowance of kicks and cynical tackles before earning a yellow card.
There was still a lack of cutting edge to Spain’s play against the Germans-witness Pedro’s failure to score late in the 2nd half to kill the game-and 1 goal is cold comfort for me. Germany had their chances, but it took too long for Mesut Ozil to find his groove, and their naivety in defence that gave Carles Puyol the chance to power the Spanish into their first World Cup final was perhaps a sign that this was a tournament too soon for a pretty young team.
Too often in the first half, Spain passed their way into the ‘red zone’, only to find themselves crowded out by the generally well organised Germans, or failing to see a man in front, the ball holder was forced to go lateral, or backwards. But nearly always, possession was retained-seldom did the Germans have the chance to counter-attack as they had done to such devastating effect against both the English and the Argentinians in previous rounds (it’s worth remembering that Thomas Muller-a key component of that success-was suspended on Wednesday night).
In Sunday’s final, Spain will face one of the surprises of the tournament in a Dutch team that can make history by going through qualifying and the tournament itself with a perfect record. With a mixture of class (goals 1 and 3) and a bit of luck (goal 2), Holland disposed of Uruguay in the other semi-final. They haven’t set the world on fire with their football, but they are surprisingly solid and I’m sure most fans would trade the chance to play in their first World Cup final in over 30 years for the type of high scoring and exciting defeats Holland have tended to suffer in recent history. In Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder they have world class players, both of whom are well capable of finding the net. In Mark van Bommel, they have someone who appears to be a licensed thug, who seems to have an almost infinite allowance of kicks and cynical tackles before earning a yellow card.
Thursday 1 July 2010
World Cup Quarter Final Weekend
Holland take on Brazil in tomorrow’s first Quarter-Final at the 2010 World Cup. The names conjure up images of creative and attacking play-but what we have seen from Holland so far has been efficient, while Brazil have not yet scaled the heights of the likes of Pele and Co.
Despite his 4 goals, if Robert Vittek was truly world class, he would have taken either or both of the 2 great chances he had against the Dutch. If the game had gone to 1-1, it would have been interesting to see the reaction of the Dutch. As it was, a lack of concentration from Martin Skrtel and a moment of madness from ‘keeper Jan Mucha did for Slovakia as smart play from van Bronckhurst and Kuyt set up Sneijder for Holland’s second and effectively sealed the deal, Vittek’s penalty coming too late to matter. Holland advanced, one wonders if they can move on to the next level in football terms.
Brazil eased past Chile in their 2nd round game-a header from Juan-a ‘an English goal’ as described by ITV, opened the scoring early on, and Chile never really looked in at after that. Brazil have never looked in danger of losing a game so far, but haven’t always been convincing (witness a narrow victory over North Korea and a dull draw with Portugal-granted they were shorn of key players for that game through injury and suspension and had qualified anyway). Luis Fabiano has come up with the goals-I had questioned his temperament before the tournament. Their defence has been as impressive as any attacking qualities they have shown.
Let me digress for a minute....England’s international shortcomings were (cruelly) exposed against a ruthless German side. Players like Matthew Upson and Gareth Barry looked like they have no business playing football on the international stage-granted Upson was at least 4th choice at the centre back position, but surely Ledley King shouldn’t even be considered until he completes an injury-free season? What Fabio Capello is doing for his £5m odd salary is a mystery to me-a team should always be greater than the sum of its parts (see USA), but it could be argued that England are less a team than a collection of Premier League players. Surely it is Capello’s fault that this is the case? Thomas Muller looked a pretty ordinary player when I saw him in the Champions League (granted his nominal position was as a striker), but throughout the World Cup he has been excellent, especially on Saturday.
Interesting-Robinho, Elano and Gilberto Silva were deemed surplus to requirements of Premier League clubs and yet are lighting up the World Cup for Brazil. Arsenal play nice, but ultimately unsuccessful football in the Premier League, with a team staffed largely by non-English internationals. So, is it fair to say that what works in the Premier League will not translate to success on the international stage?
But, there are deeper issues at work. Other than Joe Cole (and this is a stretch), who in England’s squad would fit the role of a Messi, Sneijder, Kaka or Ozul? No matter whom the manager is for Euro 2012 and beyond, it’s hard to see what English born players are ready to step into such a role on the international stage.
The Germans face Argentina in what could be the tie of the round (I don’t honestly expect that Brazil v Holland will produce the game we would like to see)-neither side counts defence as a strength-and they produced 7 goals between them in their 2nd round ties. Maradona is doing a good job silencing the doubters-witness his decision to replace Gutierrez at right back and Veron in midfield for their 2nd round tie with Mexico. He certainly seems to enjoy himself on the sideline and doesn’t face the sort of pressure Dunga faces around the style of his team’s play. Gonzalo Higuan looks like the right choice up front given his 4 goals to date and Germany might struggle to contain both Messi and Tevez. Argentina should prevail, hopefully without the penalties and ugly scenes we witnessed 4 years ago.
Uruguay scraped through against South Korea, but based on the fact that they have the strikers, I fancy them to beat Ghana, who are solid but have trouble finding the net.
Spain came through their group and their 2nd round tie without always convincing. Their defence seems suspect enough and they suffer from the same ‘passing fatigue’ as the Barcelona team that provides the bulk of their side. The bright spark and match winner has been David Villa-a striker in awesome form. If only Fernando Torres could produce the sort of class we know he can Spain might not seem so fallible. They face a Paraguay side that have been miserly at the back so far-1 goal conceded, but even in Italy they have faced no-one in the class of the Spanish. 4 South American teams in the semi-finals? A long shot, but if there is to be one upset in the quarter-finals, I fancy Paraguay.
Despite his 4 goals, if Robert Vittek was truly world class, he would have taken either or both of the 2 great chances he had against the Dutch. If the game had gone to 1-1, it would have been interesting to see the reaction of the Dutch. As it was, a lack of concentration from Martin Skrtel and a moment of madness from ‘keeper Jan Mucha did for Slovakia as smart play from van Bronckhurst and Kuyt set up Sneijder for Holland’s second and effectively sealed the deal, Vittek’s penalty coming too late to matter. Holland advanced, one wonders if they can move on to the next level in football terms.
Brazil eased past Chile in their 2nd round game-a header from Juan-a ‘an English goal’ as described by ITV, opened the scoring early on, and Chile never really looked in at after that. Brazil have never looked in danger of losing a game so far, but haven’t always been convincing (witness a narrow victory over North Korea and a dull draw with Portugal-granted they were shorn of key players for that game through injury and suspension and had qualified anyway). Luis Fabiano has come up with the goals-I had questioned his temperament before the tournament. Their defence has been as impressive as any attacking qualities they have shown.
Let me digress for a minute....England’s international shortcomings were (cruelly) exposed against a ruthless German side. Players like Matthew Upson and Gareth Barry looked like they have no business playing football on the international stage-granted Upson was at least 4th choice at the centre back position, but surely Ledley King shouldn’t even be considered until he completes an injury-free season? What Fabio Capello is doing for his £5m odd salary is a mystery to me-a team should always be greater than the sum of its parts (see USA), but it could be argued that England are less a team than a collection of Premier League players. Surely it is Capello’s fault that this is the case? Thomas Muller looked a pretty ordinary player when I saw him in the Champions League (granted his nominal position was as a striker), but throughout the World Cup he has been excellent, especially on Saturday.
Interesting-Robinho, Elano and Gilberto Silva were deemed surplus to requirements of Premier League clubs and yet are lighting up the World Cup for Brazil. Arsenal play nice, but ultimately unsuccessful football in the Premier League, with a team staffed largely by non-English internationals. So, is it fair to say that what works in the Premier League will not translate to success on the international stage?
But, there are deeper issues at work. Other than Joe Cole (and this is a stretch), who in England’s squad would fit the role of a Messi, Sneijder, Kaka or Ozul? No matter whom the manager is for Euro 2012 and beyond, it’s hard to see what English born players are ready to step into such a role on the international stage.
The Germans face Argentina in what could be the tie of the round (I don’t honestly expect that Brazil v Holland will produce the game we would like to see)-neither side counts defence as a strength-and they produced 7 goals between them in their 2nd round ties. Maradona is doing a good job silencing the doubters-witness his decision to replace Gutierrez at right back and Veron in midfield for their 2nd round tie with Mexico. He certainly seems to enjoy himself on the sideline and doesn’t face the sort of pressure Dunga faces around the style of his team’s play. Gonzalo Higuan looks like the right choice up front given his 4 goals to date and Germany might struggle to contain both Messi and Tevez. Argentina should prevail, hopefully without the penalties and ugly scenes we witnessed 4 years ago.
Uruguay scraped through against South Korea, but based on the fact that they have the strikers, I fancy them to beat Ghana, who are solid but have trouble finding the net.
Spain came through their group and their 2nd round tie without always convincing. Their defence seems suspect enough and they suffer from the same ‘passing fatigue’ as the Barcelona team that provides the bulk of their side. The bright spark and match winner has been David Villa-a striker in awesome form. If only Fernando Torres could produce the sort of class we know he can Spain might not seem so fallible. They face a Paraguay side that have been miserly at the back so far-1 goal conceded, but even in Italy they have faced no-one in the class of the Spanish. 4 South American teams in the semi-finals? A long shot, but if there is to be one upset in the quarter-finals, I fancy Paraguay.
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