Spain, seemingly football’s eternal underachievers, finally fulfilled their potential in winning the World Cup last night in Johannesburg’s Soccer City. Meanwhile for co-finalists Holland, overachieving inventors of mesmerizing ‘total football’ in the 1970s, it was third time unlucky: not only did they lose a third final, they did so in an unpleasant manner that suggested they should not have been there in the first place.
Following on their Euro 2008 triumph, with most of the young squad that won 1-0 in Vienna against Germany 2008 taking the field for the World Cup final yesterday, Spain controlled the match right from the start, and their trademark 1-0 victory always looked on the cards, although they took until the 26th minute of extra time to seal it. They made it easy for themselves as well, waiting until Holland had gone down to 10 men after Dutchman Heitinga was booked for a second time. Adding insult to injury, the ref should have awarded Holland a corner minutes before. Instead, Iniesta, benefiting from a layon by Fabergas, stroked home a shot into the bottom left hand corner to scenes of joy on the streets of Spain’s cities.
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Holland on the other hand, back to back finalists in their wonder years in 1970, only offered a sad travesty of the total game they played back then. Their tactic against Spain’s tight passing game of midfield control was incessant fouling, that finally deservedly lost them the game when the worst offender Heitinga picked up a second yellow card and they conceded the winning goal minutes later. For the Dutch last night, a yellow card was the rule more than the exception, with only three players leaving the field unbooked.
Spain will also reflect on the number of missed goal opportunities, with their midfield control a strange contrast to their lack of finishing ability. But although a low-scoring side compared to the flamboyant fast-moving Germans, nobody will grudge Spain their victory, simply because it has been so long in coming.
Most commentators however, will qualify the Spanish victory by calling South Africa – the country not the team – the real winners of FIFA World Cup 2010. With the mighty vuvuzela set to become as integral a part of stadium life as the Mexican wave, if it is not banned, and with global star and trademark Nelson Mandela attending the final, the football festival put the country back on the global map as a hope story despite all its troubles.
With Ukraine (and Poland) the international football circus’ next stop in 2012, there is a lesson here to be learnt about the need for new national branding. With Ukraine’s last attempt at national branding during the Orange Revolution going off track, the Euro 2012 gives the country a second chance. The partnership with Poland could in this respect be an advantage rather than detracting – Ukraine can position itself as a proud new European country outside the EU, equal to Poland within the EU. Who says you need the EU to be European?
