Puyol deserved that. I can’t be alone in loving the way Spain play.
Man, I really need to find myself a psychic octopus and make some money.
Anyway congratulations Spain who were the better team today. It will be great to have a new world champion especially from two such quality teams. It will mean so much to the fans of whichever team wins it on Sunday.
Hey, don’t fry the messenger.
I thought they were boring in this particular tournament, though I thought they were fabulous to watch in the Euros.
Wow, this will be the second tournament in a row with neither Brazil or Germany in the Final. Before 2006 one of those two teams had been in the final 13 out of the last 14 World Cups.
Nope. Spain is one of the most entertaining national teams in the world today. How anyone can call Spain “boring” is beyond me.
Their passing is fantastic.
Spain seemed superior to Germany in all facets today. Certainly their ball control style may appear boring, but it was very effective. It’s not like they just held the ball and sat on it. Xavi and Iniesta were consistently creating chances. They were very judicious with the ball and completely stopped Germany from counter-attacking, which was Germany’s M.O. and key to winning their previous matches decisively. An ESPN analyst said that Germany was unbeatable with the lead, and Spain understood this. I’m sure the Mueller questionable Yellow Card will remain on the minds of Germany for 4 years. But then again, most of the 31 teams will be able to point to a play or 2 that could have changed everything.
If ball pasing football may bore some, it’s because the other team decides to limit their incursions to counters and defends with most of their players. Had Germany decided to pull all stops and build attack plays, the game would have been much more enticing, even if that’s a very high risk strategy against a better team.
But it’s Germany to blame here, not Spain.
Interesting fact: historically, Spain is a side that depends on physicality and direct football. The Netherlands is a side that traditionally plays possession “total” football. The two teams that play the final will be using the historical strategy of the other.
Frankly Brazil have been crap for the past two World Cups, they are getting by on reputation alone. I honestly felt Germany were over-rated and flattered by dodgy opposition. They’ve shown all the way through this World Cup that they are very suspect at the back and Spain showed that this evening. Even before they went 1-0 up they had got through so many times but just screwed up the final ball. Spain closed them down in the midfield this evening and Germany had no answer to it - they only have one way of playing and luckily for them it worked with the other teams they came up against.
I’m really happy about the final. I love it when someone wins that hasn’t won it before. Hell, I’m a Brit that grew up in England and I even wanted France to win in 1998 for precisely that reason. I’d rather The Netherlands win as it really is time for them, but I’d be happy with either side. It also has the potential to be a cracking game.
Regarding those in this thread that said Spain have been boring: words fail me.
The match stats are painful for Germans. 39% of the possession.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8729504.stm
Turns out my confidence on our squad was well-founded. Simply a master class of gorgeous, intricate and highly technical football.
I can’t count the years I’ve been waiting for this, which only makes it that much sweeter. The job’s not finished yet, but again, there’s no doubting this team. As Del Bosque very well said: Everyone played a part, there’s simply not a weak spot on this squad.
Too emotionally drained to add any further comments ATM. 'cept for this one:
Jackknifed Juggernaut, do you believe me now? 
BTW, congrats on your winnings.
Speaking as a German fan, I thought the Spanish play was painfully impressive to watch. There was nothing boring about it at all - their possession and probing made the German defense look tired.
Yeah, I don’t know how you can blame the Spanish for having a “boring” game when it was the Germans who conceded possession and decided to only counterattack.
If Torres isn’t match fit (as most people believe) why in hell did Del Bosque bring him in when the game was still in the balance? It seems like someone with more pace would have had a better success with some of those chances at the back.
Well, it’s nice that you are all connaisseurs of super-technical football, but while I wouldn’t perhaps go as far as to say it was boring, on the other hand I wasn’t exactly on the edge of my seat. So I sympathise with **Colophon ** a bit. I like a little more action than that. Spain are sometimes a team you appreciate on a cerebral level more than one you are thrilled by, unless you really get off on pass-completion statistics.
Simple really. Villa was tired but so were (at that point) the Germans; so although Torres is not “match fit” he still has an outstanding pace to last for the ten minutes he was in for.
Smart move. And if Pedro – who had a great overall game – hadn’t decided to go for personal glory on that last counter, Torres would have had an easy score.
All in all, everything the team and the coach did today worked to perfection.
I’m not going to get into the “Spain is boring or not” debate. Like I and others have said, I simply love their game (much like Barsa’s obviously due to the amount of their player’s on our side – the world’s best club by far two season’s ago and very close to being it again this year) but if you don’t, that’s that. But hate it or love it, it’s undeniably effective.
I guess I’m a fan of super technical football then. I thought this match would have few dives, few cards and plenty of good play between two teams who spare us the drama, not a lot of whistle blowing and although in part that will depend on the ref, he was having none of the appeals, although some seemed justified.
I was surprised how well Germany were restricted though, being such an excellent team.
For all Spains excellent play however their goal was one of very few against Germany - Maserschmidt, so don’t be too hard on your defenders.
I can see how Spain’s style might seem boring to some people - they do seem to move the ball rather slowly and meticulously up the field with myriad short passes, which doesn’t seem as flashy as stretch passes to streaking wingers. Spain plays so well positionally as well that they don’t seem to have to run much. But it is truly marvelous watching a set of good passing plays penetrate a defensive line, and the sequence at I think 58’ was just jaw dropping. Being able to one-touch pass the ball so accurately into the small gaps between defenders is impressive indeed.
Unfortunately, Spain seems absolutely brutal at converting good chances, as I think they would have scored probably 3x the goals they have so far in the tournament if they had netted even half of the spectacular chances that they are able to generate for themselves. I think even Villa probably has missed quite a few more chances than he has scored. Tough to see Torres wider open than he has been all tournament only to see Pedro try to make a move on the defender instead :smack:
I watched the game from a sushi bar during lunch today. I mentioned about Paul to the chef, and he pointed at the case and said he’s no longer available to make picks.
Great game by the Spaniards today, although it seemed Germany’s conservative approach backfired. Would love to see a rematch where the Germans try to take the game to the Spanish.
I appreciate the thought BBG, and have to remind myself that Deutschland really exceeded my expectations in this WC - the kids look great. I was just frustrated that the Germans didn’t seem to be able to cut communication among the Spaniards, and left them so much room on the right side.
I’m sure wintertime will have something to say about all this.