The controversy about the ‘Jabulani’ is over; the poor referee decisions are a thing of the past. Spain are the champions of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Paul the Octopus got it right again as the Spaniards defeated Netherlands 1-0. Andres Iniesta scored the most famous goal in the history of Spanish football and wrote his name into the history books. Carlos Puyol displayed his shirt with a star to represent the win, symbolizing what this win meant for the nation.
Prior to the World Cup, La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) wasn’t touted as the favorites despite their Euro win of 2008. The talks were all around Argentina, Brazil, Ital, Portugal and Germany. As the giants kept exiting the big stage the men in red and blue held their fort together. They made Madrid burst into joyous celebration when they completed the mission they had come to South Africa for. They also erased the title of last minute chokers after crashing out of big tournaments in the decisive stages.
The early defeat to Switzerland in the group stages of the tournament served as a huge wakeup call for the team. But the win over Honduras and Chile boosted confidence of the team. When they edited the Portugal sojourn in the tournament, it was time for the people to take a note of them in the tournament where giants kept falling like a pack of cards. Paraguay didn’t have enough in them to stop Spain although they gave a good fight.
The tournament was sealed almost sealed for La Furia Roja when they shocked the Germans 1-0 in the semi-finals. The Germans were touted as the favorites after having crushed the English and the Argentineans in the earlier stages. This didn’t make the team complacent and they prepared for one last kill to be crowned champions of the World Cup. Spanish fans wouldn’t have accepted anything lesser than the title crown.
Ask the opponents, they will testify how the Spanish team ran rings round teams, grinding them into submission, almost toying with their opposition at times. They had a settled first eleven and fixed formations to scare any opposition. One thing which surely made Spain win was their team composition and coordination. Unlike other teams where best players were drawn and made a national team most Spanish players came from Barcelona making them know each other’s game well.
The fact that they id not have stars like Messi, Ronaldo, Kaka contributed to their success as they played like a composite unit and not a component one. If team spirit and management are lessons to learn, Spanish team can be the best case study. They say “Victory belongs to those that believe in it the most and believe in it the longest” Spaniards believed in themselves and stand at the pinnacle of world football today.
