Well, the last month has came and went in South Africa and across the world and we have a new world champion. Spain came in a high favorite and left with the gold cup heading for Madrid. After a surprise defeat in the opening game, Spain went on 6 game winning streak over the likes of Honduras, Chile, Portugal, Paraguay, Germany, and the Dutch. Impressive. They were also a big fan of winning 1-0 with the last four coming in that fashion. They also scored the least number of goals to win a world cup with 8 and only allowed 2(Chile & the Swiss). The team was overall solid and didn't have a major flaw other than maybe not having Torres step up after a poor run of form with injuries. Not only has the title of the team that couldn't win the big one been squashed, but the Spanish look prime for more glory with Puyol, Capdevilla, and Marchena being the only three players on the squad being 30+ years old. This side still has plenty left in the tank and their young reserves only seem to be getting better. It'll be interesting to see how Euro 2012 plays out.
On the other side, you have the Dutch who made the final for the third time and lost again. Their play was deceitful and annoying at times. Howard Webb was not the scapegoat for this game as he was put in awful positions by the players multiple times. I thought he did a fairly decent job with the game. More players should have been thrown off, but it's the final. A 9 on 8 situation doesn't look good for anyone. Van Persie was the most disappointing player not only in the game but through out the world cup. He didn't show a cutting edge that he does at Arsenal and looked lost behind Robben and Sneijder's domination. I still think this team has a lot to offer in the future with the core of their midfield still around and the strikers with plenty of potential. Stekelenburg showed he can play the #1 and the defense can only improve.
Overall, this World Cup was an interesting month. Powers were out before the group stage(France and Italy), a team walked out on the group phase(France) and a coach was not respected by the stars sand sent shitty lineups on the field(RAYMOND DOMENECH). Spain was the best team. Top to bottom, the lineup rules the SPL and ruled the world. Spain was the best league in the world and the best players were the ones that raised the golden trophy at the end of the day. It was a month of fun waking up at 7:30 hoping something would wake me up before the ten o'clock game hit.
With the domestic season right around the corner with friendlies happening around the world, I'd love to see how the high quality players react. They're getting at best a month off from top tier football and with more Euro qualifiers and friendlies due up, there is not much time for rest. I won't be surprised to see more injuries than ever in the first two months of games. It's sad, but teams want/need money and they will put their best players out for attendance benefits only to sacrifice their well being.
Anyways, the blog is just going to be an all around sports thing. I like to just write and what better way than to talk about what I love to watch too. The Red Sox are struggling with a bunch of AAAA players, Man Utd is in America, the B's/C's are in the offseason, and football is about to pick up heavy. Thanks to all who read and best wishes in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment