The World Cup Final - España Rules

Hostía! Somos Campeones!
(we are the freakin Champions)

V I V A E S P A Ñ A

The Opponent :
Dutch had a plan. Kick, kick, give the ball to Robben and pray, karate kick and then kick again(not the ball, but the Spaniards). It threw Spain off for the most part but they kept enough composure to win it in the end. It is a disgrace tha De Jong&Van Bommel wernt sent off in 120 minutes of UFC football! Thx to ref & ...Dutch tactics now Spain proved they can overcome scumbag tactics and still win. ¡Aupa España!

‎9 yellow cards 1 red for the Dutch, 5 yellow cards for the Spanish. To put it in perspective, Spain had 3 yellow cards in total upto the semifinals. Clearly only one team came to play football. I am super glad football won and Cynical tactics lost.

The drama :

Football gods were expectant to see these two long suffering nations to play a great game. And then they cringed at every crunching tackle, hissed at every missed goal, uffed at the cynicism and petulance. They seemed resigned to the travesty of penalties when 'Iniestaaazo' happened. And they celebrated. Football has w...on. Cynicism was beaten even if it meant employing a little dose of cynicism was needed it beat it.

Special Acknowledgements :

and a big thanks to Switzerland again, for beating Spain in the opening game and everyone (except Chile) tried to copy the Swiss strategy forgetting the amount of luck the Swiss had. Vielen Dank.

and a note to Maradona. Thanks for explaining that the goal posts are at the ends of the pitch and not on the sides. May be if you had used all that time to plan the ARG games instead of winding up others..

much more to come..

Xavi, is class.

In a fascinating interview with El País, Xavi: "What did people think? That we were going to win every game 3-0? I can't believe what I am hearing sometimes. Do you not realize how hard it is? Teams aren't stupid; we're European champions. They all pressure us like wolves. There isn't a single meter, not a second on the pitch. We are passing faster and faster and faster. We're playing bloody brilliantly. Then there's the pitch and the ball -- I have spent the World Cup thinking, 'That's a good pass,' only to see the ball disappear off in a different direction."

Aupa España

Finally Spain regains something close to the midas touch. And dominate Germany. 1-0 scoreline doesnt reflect the control and dominance of Spain in the game.

On to the final now. here is quick analysis.

Xabi-Busi X De Jong-Van Bommel ; Edge ESP
Xavi-Iniesta-Pedro X Sneijder-Kuyt-Robben : Edge ESP
Villa X Van Persie : are you kidding?


Having said that, football is funny and thats why they play the games. Bring on the final.
¡¡¡Aupa España!!!

World Cup day 2 - quick hits

Game #3 Greece x Korean Republic - 0-2
It is not just the Greek economy that is in crisis. Their football team is in the same boat if not worse. They looked very poor against a well organized and slick South Korea. I am impressed by the Koreans.

Game #4 Argentina x Nigeria - 1-0
The 'Maradona circus' has begun. Smashing start to the game with an early goal. Argentina played very well for about 30 minutes. They created a slew of chances but the Nigerian keeper stopped all but one of them. Nigeria played much better in the 2nd half and they were very close to equalize. Argentina is great going forward but very dodgy at the back.

Game #5 USA x England - 1-1
Undoubtedly the game of the day especially in the US. England started off very brightly with a very early goal. England was the superior side for most of the first half. However a monumental mistake by England GK allowed the US equalizer. The game was more even in the 2nd half although England dominate stretches but was unable to get past the US goal keeper. Probably the most entertaining game of the first two days.

World Cup Day 1 quick hits

Game # 1 South Africa X Mexico - 1-1
Mexico started very brightly, forcing the SA goalkeeper into making some point blank saves. South Africa slowly got into the game and took a shock lead on a quick counter-attack early in the 2nd half. The home team grew in confidence every passing minute and were very close to going 2-0 up. However, Mexico battled back and equalized to draw level and thats how it ended.

Game # 2 Uruguay x France - 0-0
Ugly.

Quilmes Argentina Ad (from 2006)

This is by far the most intense and emotional ad I have seen for world cup.

Quilmes the offical sponsor of the Albiceleste.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKtk1s6zOeg

Lyrics here >>

Bendito sea el Mundial con que soñamos.
Bendito cada nombre que ha sido designado.
Benditos los pibes que siempre sacamos.
El peso de la historia, el respeto ganado.

Malditos sean los recuerdos dolorosos.
Maldita la impotencia, la injusticia que vivimos.
El volvernos a casa cada uno por su lado.
Las finales sin jugar, el quedar en el camino.

Bendita la anestecia general a los dolores,
Las tristezas que curamos con abrazos,
Las gargantas que se rompen por los goles,
El sentirnos los mejores por un rato.

Malditos los sorteos y los Grupos de la Muerte,
Los controles sin azar que signaron nuestra suerte,
Malditos los mezquinos que juegan sin poesía,
Los que pegan, los que envidian, los que rompen y lastiman.

Bendito sea el orgullo con que entramos a la cancha,
El potrero y la pelota no se manchan,
La tv que repite la gambeta,
Inflar las redes de los otros, inflar el pecho de los nuestros
Merecer la CaMiSeTA!!!

Los turistas, los cronistas, los sponsors, los amigos
El himno, las mujeres siguiendo los partidos.
Benditas las cábalas que dan resultado,
Las risas y el llanto que guardaremos tanto.

Y bendito ese momento que nos regala el fútbol
De poder cambiar nuestro destino…
Y sentir otra vez y frente al mundo …
lo “glorioso” y lo “groso” de ser ARGENTINO