As it’s the World Cup final on Sunday I just wanted to air my thoughts on the teams involved. In simple terms I’ll put it this way, Holland are like Stoke and Spain are like, ummm Stoke.
Strange? Maybe, but hear me out.
Holland have spent most of the competition kicking their opposition in the air and somehow not getting punished for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Howard Webb brandishes a red card. They have 7/8 defensive players and basically they all stay back and kick the ball to the other guys who are left to try and score.
Spain have developed a style that has most of the world purring and salivating over. However, I think a major flaw in their play is being missed by most.
What’s the great, classic quote from Danny Blanchflower?
“The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.”
Well I’m sorry but as far as I’m concerned, being a football watcher, being a neutral who can appreciate good football and great passing etc all I see is Spain waiting for the other team to die of boredom before they score a goal.
Very rarely do they get more than 1 player in the box. It may be pretty intricate football but is it exciting? Is it entertainment? No. Before the Germany v Spain semi final all the press were saying it was going to be a classic. I couldn’t see that myself. It looked like it would be another boring game involving Spain.
Yes, they passed it around beautifully, especially in the second half and kept the ball well but did they at any point really rip open the German defence? After they went 1-0 up they did but that was only once the Germans were pushing men forward for the equaliser.
Football is a sport yes, but it’s more than just that. It’s a major part of the entertainment industry. It’s all very well knocking the Premier League every time a major international tournament is played for lack of skill and passing etc but the reason it’s the biggest league in the world is the fact it entertains it’s viewers. The World Cup hasn’t done that. What’s wrong with end to end matches with plenty of goal mouth action? Teams stretched to breaking point? Of course there’s going to be misplaced passes when a game’s like that but they’re the games that get spectators off their seats. What Spain do isn’t the beautiful game as it was meant to be, as much as idealists would lead us to believe. It’s effective yes, but then so is the Stoke long throw in.
So, I expect on Sunday the current best footballing team in the world, Spain, to be crowned world champions and while I’ll watch the game, that’s more based on the fact its either that or Big Brother, rather than the prospect of a great football match.
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