El Final

Well my friends, it has come down to this. After a wonderful third place game today, as they almost always are, we are ready for the scrumptious main course of a World Cup Final. And a potentially marvelous one at that. For the first time since France in 1998, we are guaranteed of a new name to be etched on the face of good old Jules Rimet. And two quite fitting squads as well, the two consensus "Best teams to have never won the World Cup" That mantle is going to be quite lonely for one of these countries after tomorrow.

In this situation, I would brag about the fact that the team I picked to win the whole thing is facing off with the the team that I picked as the dark horse pick to win the tournament. However, I soon remembered that Alexi Lalas, in my opinion the worst soccer analyst in the history of American soccer broadcasting other than Marcelo Balboa, also picked this final pairing. So if I brag about myself, I would also have to brag about the big ginger buffoon himself. Must have been an easy pick then.

On to the matchup...


Spain vs. The Netherlands

This really is an incredible matchup, both because of the historical significance and because of how intertwined these two countries are footballwise. The father of the current Spanish football system, Johan Cruyff, happens to be the greatest ever Dutch footballer, one who was twice a bridesmaid at the World Cup, but never a bride. The sheer potential irony of his genius conception of total football preventing his own country from winning a world cup is ridiculous. And on the other side, the two best players on the Dutch side, Sneijder and Robben, both were cast off unceremoniously from Real Madrid less than 12 months ago. So i would think that they would have revenge on their minds.

However, neither team is going to need any other motivation for this game, because its the World Cup final. This Dutch team has been extraordinarily tough, and resilient, with flashes of quality mixed in. The Spanish team has been relentless, breaking teams down meticulously over the course of 90 minutes. The way that they completely overwhelmed Germany was incredible to watch. They neutralized a German team that had been absolutely en fuego over the previous two matches, making them run in circles for 90 minutes. This Spanish team is built to beat great sides, because they are just so incredibly good at keeping the ball. They move into spaces better than any team, making it almost impossible to take the ball from them. One thing that a soccer player learns from the beginning is that when playing defense, you want to condense the game as much as possible so that the other team doesnt have any space to maneuver. Spain not only is effective in these small spaces, they relish these small spaces. They create mismatches where it seems that they are outnumbered. And when they lose the ball, they are perfectly positioned to win it back. And one thing that was so startling against Germany was how effortless it seemed. Spain were strolling while Germany were sprinting, and somehow this was an advantage for Spain!

The Dutch will be a tougher test for the Spanish, because they are far better at holding the ball. They will not be surprised by the Spanish system, because it is a variation of the ball control system that the Dutch played for many years. The only way that the Dutch have a chance to win is if they are able to combine periods of ball control with incisive attacking moves. Germany was not able to hold the ball, so were never able to put themselves in a position to break out as they had in other games. The Dutch will have to be much better on the ball than the Germans were. I think that the Dutch will do a better job, but I think that, as I said at the beginning of this tournament, this Spanish team is the best national side that I have ever seen. They are built to win, and they do it more easily against better competition. Viva La Roja!



Prediction:

Spain 2-1


Check back next week for my ode to soccer.

Keep it real.