I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel a bit like the cat sitting in the sun. Feeling content with the glow. If a noise interrupts that feeling, well, you just have to look, but you don't have to get up & go check it out. It all just depends on what you see.
The World Cup was like that for me. I loved it. I watched every match, and most of the pre-game & post game shows.
The final was a bit disappointing. Not clean. Not beautiful. Not really well officiated. I think Howard Webb, the center referee, will be disappointed with his performance. We all know the Dutch will be. Especially Robben. Oh how he will replay his chances over in his head.
I don't know what we ought to expect of a final match though, but I'm sure that while we want to see the very best quality, and the players have in their mind of performing at the top of their game, it is the final match of a very tough tournament. Fatigue is there. Injuries are felt. The pressure is on. Adrenaline counts for a lot at this point. Expect the very best performance? Probably not going to happen. The physical strain of the play is exhausting, and at the rate of more than one per week over four weeks - and this just a few weeks after completing a grueling season in which some of these players have played nearly 50 matches. Not to mention the emotional drain the two teams will have gone through during the month that is World Cup.
I had wanted to see Netherlands win. I enjoyed their play, and even when they were not playing well, they played hard (sometimes too hard yes?). To be a three time looser in the final can't feel good.
But history was made by Spain today, and it was fantastic to witness. They played their game, and each player was focused on the team outcome. Though the Dutch created more great opportunities through much of the game, and had better shots, Spain fought better all the way to the end. Where the Dutch seemed tired, Spain kept coming. Spain kept completing their passes. In the end, Spain had more shots, more shots on goal, more time of possession, more corners, more free kicks, fewer offsides, fewer fouls, and fewer yellow cards (there were 14 overall - Spain with 5).
Oh yes, and one more goal than the Dutch.
A few of the firsts:
- Spain won their first World Cup title.
- Spain is the first team to win the Cup after loosing their first match.
- Spain is the first European team to win the Cup when played outside of Europe.
- Spain is the first team ever to complete the knockout round with all clean sheets
- Spain won the first World Cup played on the African continent.
Now it's back to the routine of life. The world's biggest sporting event is over. But the glow will last, for me at least, for a while to come.
I had a great time.
Brazil . . . 2014 . . .
Photo's on ESPN.com - credits as follows:
- Fireworks light up the sky over the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg. The next World Cup? Brazil. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
- Arjen Robben reacts after failing to score on a great opportunity. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
- Iniesta will forever be remembered in Spain for his late-game heroics. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
- Spain had won 27 World Cup games, more than any country that had never won it all. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
- Lights forming the words "Thank you" in different languages illuminate the Soccer City stadium during the closing ceremony. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
