Saturday, July 10, 2010
So the 2010 World Cup final is upon us! I still remember the many things leading up to this edition in South Africa as recently as two years ago. Stuff like stadiums not going to be completed in time, workers on strike, the high crime rate of South Africa and whether it would be safe to travel there, but for the last 62 matches, all have seemed to go well, 'cept for some controversial refereeing decisions and one or two minor steward-related incident. I seriously disagree with the view the World Cup has been boring. True the group stages was quite a bore, but the knockout stages have produced some drama and the usual football controversies. I'm sure the last two games, even the third placing game would be a good spectacle. And the best thing is that there will be a brand new world champion, regardless of who wins the final.
Hmm about the final, it's a really hard one to call. Two teams that truly play football and play it in the right way, I'm sure it'll be cagey at the start with nerves aplenty and players not wanting to make the first (major) mistake. In the potential key personnel duels, the Dutch may find it hard to utilize Robin van Persie, considering his poor form and the fact he'll be up against Carles Puyol would certainly be in favour of the Barcelona skipper. The experienced Wesley Sneijder might get more change out of the relatively young Sergio Busquets, with Sneijder's movement and quick thinking key to outwitting yet another Barcelona product. The key for the Dutch should be where Arjen Robben plays. If they deploy him on the left against Spanish right-back Sergio Ramos, he'll definitely get more space considering Ramos likes to bomb forward and his defending is suspect. If Robben plays on the right and cuts in often, he may still outwit Joan Capdevila but I think it'll be slightly more difficult.
Spain will need to heavily rely on David Villa for the goals again. Whether deployed on Spain's left flank, where he'll be up against the young new prodigy Gregory van der Wiel of Ajax, or upfront against mainly Joris Mathijsen, his pace and craft will unsettle either defenders and should Fernando Torres start upfront, Torres would almost definitely keep one, or even two, Dutch defenders occupied, leaving more space for Villa to exploit. That's Spain's main strength. Xavi and Andres Iniesta will definitely find it hard to break down the Dutch tag-team of Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong, two hard tacklers that shield their defence very well. With that in mind, Xabi Alonso's passing ability will be key to unlock the Dutch defence or help Spain get around the Dutch midfield enforcing duo.
Player for player, it's pretty even. Maybe only Iker Casillas is ahead of Maarten Stekelenburg, David Villa is in better form than Robin van Persie, and Arjen Robben is a bigger threat than Andres Iniesta or Pedro.
So yah, a great final awaits us!
Oh, there's school three hours after the final? What 'bout if it goes to penalties?
Haha literally l.o.l.
Bye!
my thoughts at 5:50 pm