The End of a Journey
Well, the D-day is here. The greatest sporting event in terms of number of people following is coming to a close today. In the month-long journey of the beautiful game and after following many expected and unexpected twists and turns we are reaching the end. In the way many hearts have been broken, many predictions have been reset, many reputations have been shattered while new ones have been made and at the end there are two teams meeting for the top honours with almost no history at the world level behind them.
When I say no history behind them, The Netherlands may have some grounds to complaint. In fact, they have been one of the teams that won hearts of the football lovers back in the seventies but fell short of winning the cup. Football can be a cruel game. It has certainly been cruel to them in the past. So far as their build up in the tournament is concerned, they have been far more consistent than their adversaries. At the beginning they were considered a good team but not a contender for the title. But with their hard work and persistence in attack and with the efforts of the likes of Robben, Van Persie and their captain Giovanni they have prevailed. Their style has not been most effective nor the most attractive but it has given them results and they will be wise to play in the similar style. And they have shown that once in the lead they have the ability to defend it. And in this perspective I have a conviction that whichever side takes lead today will have decisive advantage, more so if it is the Netherlands.
On the other hand, Spain have been the pre-tournament favourites. But in the initial stages of the cup, they displayed little of their flair to justify their billing as favourites. However they have become strong as the tournament progressed and after the game against Germany, their confidence would be sky high. It was a high quality game they played against a high quality opposition and on the basis of that performance alone they should be seen as strong favourites today. Their beautiful passing game left the Germans mesmerised and they could not settle down at all. Of course the Spainiards could do the same to the Dutch also but the latter would have taken lessons from watching the Germans. It would, of course help Spain that majority of their players are from a single club and almost all of their starting line up come from two clubs which mean these players have been playing together all the year round creating a very comfortable dressing room environment and great coordination on the ground. In the semi-final game against Germany more often than not one was reminded of the playing style of Barcelona the way Spain played. And once they are in their groove it will be very difficult for any side to dominate them.
And here lies the way out for the Netherlands. Attack early, disrupt the passing game of the Spainiards may be get a goal before half an hour of the game and then defend resolutely with an eye on swift counterattacks. Even the best teams in the world are prone to nervousness once behind and Spain are no exception to that. In fact it has already been proved by the Swiss. No reason why should it not happen again.
Lastly, for neutrals it is going to be a treat to watch the teams play at the final. Both teams will be trying to win it for the first time so there will be nerves all right. That is why I hope there will be an early goal for that would open up the game beautifully and the viewers will get to watch the full repertoire of the teams. I for one would not give much to that octopus Paul humbug but that would be the topic of another writing. So here we are. My prediction? I am not much into predictions but I think it would be 2-1 in favour of the Netherlands. Either this or penalty shootout. I wont say which side will win because whichever wins it will be a heartbreaking way of deciding the question. But football has never shied away from breaking hearts. Has it?
