FIFA World Cup - 2010 :: Culmination

Dr Kh Ajit Singh *

The FIFA World Cup 2010 having witnessed upsets as well as electrifying results is only one match away to decide a brandnew World Champion who has never won the trophy.

For many, the routing out of Brazil and Argentina from the foray of the world title at the hands of tough rivals Netherlands and Germany respectively are something that put an end to their passionate hunger of watching World Cup matches. Looking forward to lift the FIFA Gold Cup, the never World Cup winners Netherlands and Spain are licking the wounds from the battles they endured and are now pulling up their socks for the final show down.

Spain having suffered a (0-1) defeat against Switzerland in the first round keeps improving their ball-possessing game maintaining the (1-0) score in all the last three matches they played, while Netherlands maintains success in all the matches including the outster of world rank no.1 Brazil with their physical game not akin to their famous 'total football' of the nineteen seventies.

Pre-tournament favourites Brazil relying on their traditional attacking style made themselves victim of their own doings with doses of over confidence and exclusively edgy emotional mindset. The snubbing of the Brazilians by the Dutch for the first time since the 1974 World Cup is also due to the Europeans relentless speed, superior fitness and height advantage.

Maradona's exclusion of Requelme, Cambiosso & Zanetti in the Argentine team; his motto of relying on individual skills of Messi and Tevez made the Albeceleste not strong enough to advance further.

And Messi with lurking shadows marking him heavily, having to venture wider space, has been rendered helpless unlike the Barcelona games in which he enjoys the luxurious supports from the hard working central defender Puyol and game maker Iniesta. As such, the illussive World Cup goal never materialised for the World Footballer of the year.

And one finds it difficult to understand why Maradona did never try to use Diego Milito who scored two goals for Inter Milan in the final of the Champions Trophy against a strong German team Bayern Munich that featured Klose, Podolski and Schweinsteiger.

Argentina coach Maradona and Brazil's Dunga were exeptionally great players and both won the World Cup as Captains in 1986 and 1994 respectively. But as coaches they shall need more experience to be at the top. It may be that coaches are born not made.

On the other hand, the culmination of the Germans in their 4 - 0 thrashing of the Argentines exposed their strong area and Achilles Heel as well. The 2008 European Champions Spain that has never won the World Cup, outplay the Germans maintaining ball-possession (70% at half time & 51 % at the end) and also denying space to the three-time World Champions. And Spain wins 1-0 as they did in the last Euro Cup. All this is wonderful football and we see big names do not count.

From the first round right through the pre-quarterfinals, people almost started believing that the geographical aspects of South Africa was favouring team from the Southern Hemisphere and also that the Latin Americans were better than their European Counterparts.

But in the last four stage the only South American survivor was Uruguay along with three European nations—Netherlands, Germany & Spain. This could be the index, as of now the Europeans play better football.

And the outster of Uruguay in the semi-final heralds the inevitable clash of two European Nations in the final of the nineteen edition of the World Cup and the Champion shall be a nation that has never won the World Cup.

*** This article was written before the Final matche was played in the FIFA World Cup 2010.