On the World Cup 2010: Final thoughts and reactions

So the World Cup has drawn to a close. I don't know about you, but it's pretty depressing for me. Anyway, I want to get right down to the broad strokes of this final and what it means for the upcoming season of club play.

1. Spain's victory. In quite possibly the worst game of the tournament, Spain and Holland continually missed the chance to win the biggest sporting event of either of their country's history. I don't know about you, but I felt like I was watching some chippy Scottish Premier League game where all of the players are drunk off their asses going into the game.

This game produced by far the most yellow cards in the history of the Final, the first ever recorded live action Falcon Kick by Nigel De Jong, two of the worst moments in Arjen Robben's life, an extremely climactic goal from Andres Iniesta off a broken play, and some extremely spine-chilling tears from Spanish captain Iker Casillas.

Let's talk for a minute about Torres. I think that this is the most tragic story of the tournament. Torres went into this World Cup having endured two major knee surgeries, one of the most talked about transfer deals in soccer history, and having had to sit out for the large majority of one of the worst seasons in Liverpool's history. When he arrived on the stage, everyone shit on him non-stop, and he was pulled out of the starting line-up. This was a piss poor decision because Bosque had to change the entire formation so that Villa was a lone striker. Villa is not a lone striker. He scored all five of his goals when Torres was in the game because that meant he could start out on the left, when he's a lone striker, he gets lost amongst the central defenders and his pretty below average aerial game. The decision to pull Torres is the cause of Spain's complete lack of potency in the final. If you noticed, Spain was constantly trying to work the ball through the middle of the defense, which is exactly what Holland wanted and they defended valiantly everytime.

Then when he did finally put him in in the final, Torres tweaked his hamstring again. And that just sucks.

Let's move on now.

2. Thomas Mueller wins the Golden Boot. 20 year old Thomas Mueller won the Golden Boot this year because of a tie break with Forlan, Villa, and Sneijder. He had three assists whereas they all only had one. Mueller with this Boot has become the youngest player since Pele in 1954 to score 5 or more in a World Cup Final, is the youngest player ever to win the Boot, and he's only a few months older than me.

Now, let's talk about Mueller's future. Mueller will return to Bayern Munich next season coming off one of the most impressive displays of the entire tournament. There's a problem though, because the man who currently starts out on the right for Bayern is none other than Arjen Robben, who is probably the second best right winger in the world right now after Lionel Messi. I think Mueller needs to leave Bayern, maybe even stay in the Bundesliga. I would just really hate to see talent like that riding the bench.

3. Diego Forlan wins the Golden Ball. Forlan is my favorite player ever. He's got the field vision, the passing skills to go with it, the shot of a Barrett 50 caliber sniper rifle, the technique, and the grace. He also never dives, never gets carded, and never bitches to the refs. He just does his job, straight up.

A story about Forlan for those who don't know: He dedicates every goal he scores to his sister who was paralyzed in a car accident when they were kids. He became a professional footballer so that she'd never have to pay a medical bill in her life.

He's the last great, classy player.

4. Disapppointments. I'm just going to go through these quickly. Wayne Rooney touched the ball like six times total. Torres (sadness). Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal I could score and other than that rolled around on the pitch like a bitch. Lionel Messi broke the record for the most shots in a single tournament (30) without a goal. France just screwed everything up. England looked like a bunch of tired old men. Italy.

5. Final thoughts. I hope you all enjoyed this World Cup, I know I did. I'll start covering the transfer craziness and the club season soon. Until next time. Thanks for reading.

On the FINAL: Who will win.

For those who have been under a rock, On Sunday afternoon Holland will play Spain in the 2010 Fifa World Cup Final in South Africa. This marks the first time the final will be played in Africa and the first time that Spain have gotten beyond the quarter final (yes, it's true).

So what we all want to know is, who's going to win? It's an important question. Spain have been waiting 70 years to even have a chance like this, and Holland has been to three finals and never won. The question, who wants it more?

I think I've worked out who's going to win, and I don't think many of you are going to like it. But here goes: Spain 1-0 Holland.

Here's the thing, the Final is characteristically low scoring. And that makes sense. Everyone's nervous out of their damn minds, it's no wonder that chances are so rare. But I think Spain will be able to pull this out for a couple of reasons.

1. Midfield. The war is going to be won and lost in this game in the midfield. You've got Dutch enforcers Mark Van Bommel and Nigel De Jong trying to get the ball up field to Sneijder. On the other side, you've got Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Andres Iniesta, and Pedro passing like demons and trying to snipe Villa on a diagonal run. The key man here is De Jong. He's got to avoid a yellow card while still kicking the crap out of Xavi, which isn't easy.

I'd say Holland's best chance is Sneijder's passing ability from the midfield out to Robben and Kuyt. Their best chance is to get Robben cutting in from the left or Kuyt laying a ball in to Robin Van Persie. But I think Spain's central defense got a pretty stern talking to, as they were playing like maniacs in the game today. I honestly think Puyol is going to die before he lets a ball get by him.

2. Psychological battle. Spain come into this final with absolutely no expectations. They've never been here before. And they could be the favorite, but Holland beat Brazil for God's sake. It's not like I'm calling a 3-0 route here, which will not happen I assure you.

But I think the key here is the mental state of Holland's players. They come into this game knowing the mournful history of their side in the final. They've got aging stars like Robben, Kuyt, Van Brockhorst, and Van Bommel who know that this is probably their last shot. They've got guys like Van Persie who are frustrated out of their minds with their inability to find a scoring chance. They've got one of the largest travelling fan bases in South Africa. I think all of the weight of expectation is on Holland, and I'm not sure they're ready to cope with that.

Not only that, but there has been simmering discord amongst the Dutch side. Like when Van Persie was whining after being taken out and saying that Sneijder should have been taken out, if anyone. Or when Van der Vaart came over and told Robben that he was going to take the corner, and Robben sort of grimaced and walked away. Seconds later, Van der Vaart missed absolutely everyone. I think that if this team gets down early (which they more than likely won't) the tensions may rise considerably.

3. Set pieces. Xavi. That's really all I have to say, but I'll elaborate. As today's game has shown us, as well as this entire tournament has shown us, set pieces are key in these massive games. And I think Spain have the best chance of converting one. Xavi is immaculate, and he never flinches in big game situations. Don't go get a beer when Spain has a corner, that's all I'm saying.

4. Substitutions. Substitutes are going to be key in this game. Particularly for Holland. Eljero Elia, if he comes in, could be capable of unlocking the Spanish defense. Klaas Jan Huntelaar, despite his young age, is a fearless striker and I think may deserve the start over a frankly pathetic Van Persie. Rafael Van der Vaart, as much as I hate him, is very capable at pushing the tempo and catching defenses off guard.

On the other side, Fernando Torres can come in and perhaps redeem himself. Maybe he scores the only goal in the Final as he did in the Euro 2008 victory over Germany. Jesus Navas can come in and do his little whirling durvish thing all over everybody's face. Cesc Fabregas, if he's not too hurt, can come in and just be better than Busquets in every facet of the game.

The question is, which coach will take more chances? Bert Van Marwuyk, the passionate, eloquent fan boy? Or Vicente Del Bosque, the stern, unforgiving Champions League stalwart. Frankly, I think both men are equally ballsy in their selections.

5. Wildcard. Weird shit happens in the World Cup Finals. The Hand of God, Lampard's "Goal that Wasn't" (As I've coined it), and Zidane's infamous headbutt. I think in this final we need to watch out for stuff like that. Maybe Xabi Alonso upper 90s one from half field, as he has been threatening to do all tournament. Maybe Villa scores a goal with his ass off a deflected shot, who knows.

I also think, as the projected scoreline shows, that Villa will hold on my prediction and go on to win the Golden Boot, making him the hottest player in the world just as he enters Barcelona.

These are my keys to Spain's first World Cup win. Want to defend the Oranje? Let's discuss. (Sidenote I'm for Holland).

On Holland v. Brazil: Who will win

This is the most important match so far in the tournament. It is the belief of many, including myself, that the winner of this game will be very likely to win it all. But before we cut to the projected scoreline, let's go over what this game means to the tournament.

The two sides that are meeting here are two legends of football. On one side of the Atlantic, you have the magnificent Oranje known as simply the "Dutch Masters," and that name suits them, as they've invented their own style of play, total football, and they also sport one of the most impressive rosters of superstar players year in and year out. In one of the most traditional countries on earth, football runs through the people's veins.

On the other side of the Atlantic, you have the authors of the term "The Beautiful Game." Or at least, if they didn't coin it, someone coined it watching them play. Brazilians play, historically, with a calm, crafty, off-the-cuff style of play in which every players individual talents are utilized to their fullest potential while still preserving a great team element that propels them to victory over any side. And talent is never a problem in Brazil, as Andy Gray says in Fifa 10, Brazil literally have enough players "to field seven national teams." And that's just got to be true. Look at all of the players who weren't selected: Ronaldhino, Ronaldo, Alexandre Pato. Or even the ones who are some of the best in the world at what they do and can't start because some other great player is sitting in their spot, like Barcelona star Dani Alves who sits on the bench while Inter Milan phenom Maicon towers onfield.

So that's what these teams represent historically, but what about in this tournament?

Let's start with Holland. There has been some griping that Holland have been "boring" to watch because they aren't scoring enough. But let's look at the facts. Holland haven't lost a game since 2008. They were undefeated in qualifying and ran the table in their group. They've only conceded one goal in this tournament. This is a team that's absolutely on fire, and just because they aren't scoring four goals a match doesn't mean that they don't know how to win, because they obviously do.

Now for Brazil. Brazil have impressed massively in this tournament, as one would expect. But people have started asking questions, particularly with the injuries of key players like Felipe Melo and Elano. They also conceded a goal against North Korea in their opener, and some were a little nervous even as the final whistle blew in that match on a 2-1 win for the Brazilians. That said, they still ran the table in their group and pretty much handed Chile their asses in the first Knockout match.

These teams however are also remarkably similar. Both have been criticized for not being as creative as past sides, but are still doing as good as they could possibly do. Both are also key players in world football and came into this tournament as favorites to win it all.

This was a tough one to call, but I think I have decided who I think will win this one: Holland 3-2 Brazil.

I think Holland is going to win this one, but I imagine it will be very close and the Oranje may need 120 minutes to decide it. But I think Holland are going to win this game for a number of reasons:

1. Arjen Robben v. Michel Bastos. This match-up will decide the game. Robben is back and, as he shown with his miraculous goal against Slovakia, he's ready to do some damage in this tournament. With Robben back, the Dutch just look more lethal. When he gets on the ball and starts cutting in on that left foot, you can't help but think something big is about to happen for the Dutch. And I think the inexperienced Bastos, who has been playing quite well mind you, is going to have a problem with "Yellow-Shoes Man," as my girlfriend first called Robben before she knew his name.

2. Injuries on Brazil. Elano is an inspirational talisman of the Brazilian side of 2010. With him gone, a lot of air can go out of them. He's the guy who can pull them up by their boot-straps when they are down, he's the guy who can deliver perfectly weighted passes to Fabiano streaking down the middle. To make matters worse, his replacement Ramires won't be available because of a yellow-card suspension. I think that the Dutch holding midfielders with stars like Mark Van Bommel, Nigel De Jong, and Wesley Sneijder will be able to win the battle in the middle of the field, especially with a crippled Brazilian center.

Out wide, Brazil will have to cope without Felipe Melo, who in all honesty wasn't a particularly marvelous player in the first place, but he was a great passer of the ball and he represented the majority of Brazil's pace away from the ball getting behind defenders. I would expect Dunga to put in one of the younger guys with comparable skill to Melo, like Nilmar or someone like that, but we'll have to see.

3. Juan is kind of an idiot. Juan, the center defender of Brazil, has scored a goal in this tournament, but he's also been playing like a bit of an idiot. His tendency to ball-watch is what gave Drogba his headed goal in the Ivory Coast match, and his other tendency to be woefully out of position is what gave North Korea their gift of a goal in the Brazilian opener. Basically Brazil's central defence is characterized by Lucio cleaning up Juan's mess, and I think that Holland are particularly good at making messes really messy, particularly if that mess is made by a defender giving the ball away in his own half, being out of position, or just giving away free kicks with ridiculous handballs and bad challenges. Watch for Brazil's number 4 to give Holland their first real chance on goal.

4. Holland's defence are great at shutting down individuals. If you think about most of Brazil's goals so far, they have come from great individual efforts by either Fabiano or Robinho, with the exception of Elano's goal and his assist in a goal Fabiano scored, but those don't count because Elano is done, as we know.

This is important because Holland's defence is characterized by great pressure on the ball and a stalwart desire to keep people out of the penalty area. Of course that leaves them open to balls over the top and coming in from out wide, but you get the point. What I'm saying is that Holland's defence is structured around preventing goals from being scored the way Brazil likes to score goals.

5. Robin Van Persie wants to prove himself. Frankly, I'm getting a little tired of Van Persie. He's kind of a little brat and he really doesn't seem to be particularly good at finishing his chances. Right now he has one goal, and he was supposed to be a front runner to win the Golden Boot. Other Golden Boot contenders like Luis Fabiano (3) David Villa (4) and Gonzalo Higuian (4) are clearly really far ahead of him. But I think Van Persie is pissed, I think he's going to come into this game with the clear intention of staying in this game for the duration, and keeping Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, a 23 year old phenom from AC Milan that I am quite a fan of, on the bench. Van Persie knows that he's got a youngster with the same goal tally as him breathing down his neck, and he also knows that his name is nowhere near as fun to say as "Class-Yan-Hoont-a-lar."

These are my keys to a Dutch victory that I think is going to happen. How full of crap am I? Comment!