Corny moments of the World Cup? Iker's tearful kiss and the Empire State building

I cannot resist a last post on the World Cup, to review the image of Iker Casillas the steeled cry baby.  If in the field as a team captain he managed from the goal posts to control the nerves of his team, his emotional inner dam eventually broke down.  Not only he cried when Iniesta scored the goal that he knew the Dutch had no time to erase, but when he was interviewed by his girl friend (a Spanish reporter he met who knows in what locker room) he broke down again, kissed her and run away without finishing the interview.  You should watch his gaunt face in the video (I cannot embed it for some reason) and then you will understand the toll it takes if you want to become a World Champion.  Corny moment perhaps but oh so telling!

The other "moment" is the Empire State building sporting the colors of the Spanish Flag.  Now, this is the best evidence I can think of to prove to my still skeptic US readers that soccer IS the world sport, even now in the good ole US of A.  You are cornered, give it up!

And to finish, heck, why not let it get to me join the crowd and say it: "¡Viva España, carajo!"

A country where it is OK, and proud, to wear red: not Venezuela!

The royals of Spain receive the World Cup champions.  If I were a Spaniard I probably would wear red today, the first time I would since, oh, say, ¿2004?

And thus Spain wins, at last

Iker tearful break down

But it was not easy and the Dutch certainly showed that they were the worthier opponents of Spain in the whole joust.  But the Dutch lost their nerve, there was a rain of yellow cards with the expected red expulsion card, a la Zidane four years ago.  Great teams hold their nerves no matter what happens and that is why they tend to win.  Though at least one of the Spaniards, goal keeper Iker Casillas could not contain his emotion in the last minutes of the match when Spain finally scored and the merciless cameras could not get enough of him crying like a baby even though I could not find a better picture of the moment than the one I posted on the right.

Indeed I wonder how many people really weighed in the emotions that run in this final game of South Africa.  Many try to pretend that it is all about football only.  Might be true elsewhere, like in the European Cup, but there is always something extra that comes with a World cup that makes it so thrilling to watch even if the best technical football is what you see in the final European Club championships.  But at the World Cup no one escapes the cultural and historical baggage that tags along.

As predicted, it is going to be Spain versus the Netherlands

In spite of my many detractors, my prediction came to be: Spain beat Germany today and thus the final game on Sunday will be Spain versus the Netherlands.  And to pat myself further, the way they won their semi final match is quite close of the way I envisioned it.

To cheer you up, in a little while I will put a poll up.  And my prediction is that Spain will win even though my heart is with the Oranje.  But do not trust me, I am not Paul! (You need to be a fan to understand that last one :)  )

PS: on June 7 I am on record predicting Spain.  Even if they do not fulfill my prophecy next Sunday I will have at least placed them in the final game.  Some of you may start eating crow whenever....

It is The Netherlands! Led by a brilliant Van Bronckhorst!

There was really no surprise. Uruguay did really the best it could and it was an impressive best, but the Oranje were simply the best team, no question.

The World cup is over, except for that last formality in deciding who is the best team

Wesley Sneijder, Brazil's most hated man

Friday and Saturday were for all practical purpose the end of the World Cup.  True, there is that final matter in deciding who is the best team, but we can already take in all the lessons of this South African edition.

Best continent

South America (or the Americas?).  In the final 8 we had 4 South American teams, all of the qualifying team but Chile.  Asia was out, Africa could only send one.  And if Europe sent three they were after yesterday, clearly, the three best teams in the world.  That is, you can be the best continent but that does not mean you own the best team.  Those are still in Europe, like it or not.

Biggest disappointment

Africa.  We have been sold the idea that Africa football was on the rise, that the World Cup should go to Africa before it went back to South America, etc, etc...   But the fact of the matter is that Ghana alone was a world class team; all the other were, well, I prefer not to say.  Asia, or at least its Far East part, seem to have a better future than Africa.  Whether we like it, being able to afford to establish local serious professional leagues is a must to eventually own a great team and, unfairly perhaps, no African Country can still do so and all depend too much on sending a player here and there to the European leagues.  At least 8 more years to see a threatening Africa.

From our correspondent in South Africa

Reader Armando Tirado sends us these pictures from Johannesburg, during the Brazil Chile.  Apparently he was surprised at the amount of Venezuelan flags or color themed avataras (although in all justice a Venezuelan avatara is not easy to differentiate from an Ecuadoran or Colombian one).

Painted faces to protect the innocent......

This first picture is from a "see you in the Hague" banner, referring to recent leitmotiv launched by Diego Arria hinting at the final destination of Chavez: the International Court of The Hague.  That 50% of the boats seized with drugs in the Atlantic come from Venezuela is not helping his case (UN report).  Armando informs me that that banner was removed after a while, the other banners remaining in place...  You may draw your very own conspiration theory.

The  next one is taken from a banner hanging from the "deluxe" suites, and a very optimist one at that.

Venezuela in Brazil in 2014?  Yeah, right, sure....

And this last one, from Falconianos probably frozen stiff in Johannesburg.  

We shall be looking forwards more pictures from the final games.

An exciting USA Ghana match!

So I relented and I finally watched most of a game.  This afternoon Ghana was playing the USA.  If it was not the greatest soccer around it was still an exciting match, for all the reasons that were missing in, say, the French team games.  That is, both teams put their hearts out, until the very last second of the game, even though the US was visibly exhausted for the prolongation.  Briefly, even though I rooted for the US it was clear that the Ghana team had better control of the situation and deserved to win.  Sorry for the US fans!

And yet, this will be for me a memorable game because it gave us one of those moments when you feel all that is great about soccer-football, all that makes it worth watching it, at least at the World Cup level.

Aerial Goalies

It was the end of the game, the end of the prolongation and the US was trailing 2 to 1.  In the last minutes even the goalie of the US, Howard, abandoned his gate and joined his team in the attack to the Ghana gate.  After all, losing 2 to 1 or 10 to 1 does not make any difference at that level.


And thus we got this stunning image of the two goalies of each team, fighting an aerial battle for the ball.  Awesome!  A spine chilling moment if any!  That is, if you like soccer and understand it, and what was at stake.  Maybe it is becasue I sort of ignored most of this Cup but this moment will be for me the memory of 2010 in South Africa.

France and Italy ignominiously out of the World Cup

From the first set of matches there was a clear indication that there would be a rude battle for the worst team.  People in the know always trusted France to take the un-coveted award, which it did brilliantly.  But the Italians put a good fight for it and deserve clearly the runner up award of worst team of the World Cup, without even the excuses that teams such as North Korea or New Zealand could offer.

Why France lost

I am confirmed in my studied ignorance of the World Cup, if anything by the dismal role that France had in its first two games. Even German star Beckenbauer said that the performance of France was unbecoming of a world cup, that there was no team to speak of. That implies no team spirit, no coordination, no skills, every player in their own little corner.

World Cup coming, spirits down

Spain?  Nooooo ...... (miserable whimper follows)

The World Cup that matters, the one with a handful of guys running behind a ball to kick it, the game the US of A is unable to understand because it likes scores of 6784 versus 3462 ...

But I am not excited this year, not at all.

First, my team, France, should not have qualified. And I really mean it as I write it. Making it barely against Ireland through a hand foul is less than glamorous. And been defeated by China a few days before the cup starts, well, you know... And being coached by a guy who looks at astrological charts for his players decision is beyond words.  How can you find the heart to root for such a lousy team?