Day 31 - WORLD CONQUERORS
Spain fulfills its destiny, taking home the country’s first-ever World Cup Championship.

July 11, 2010
by Dan Krier

Spain 1 - Netherlands 0

And so it happened. With an extremely late goal by midfielder Andres Iniesta in extra time, Spain won the 2010 FIFA World Cup, victorious for the fourth straight match by a result of 1-0.

By anyone’s account, it was a substandard affair Sunday night in Johannesburg, with each team taking dives on fouls in order to elicit yellow cards, which came in hordes as both sides were handed a record number of 13, the previous high being 6. And while it could be said that head referee Howard Webb was too quick to book players, a lot of the challenges were overexuberant and came across as dangerous sloppy play.

For the Netherlands, this day will forever go down as a game of missed opportunities. Twice during the second half - in the 62nd and 83rd minutes - Holland’s Arjen Robben was denied by the diving legs of Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas on clear-path 1-on-1 breakaways. Robben and the rest of the Netherlands will be replaying those moments in nightmares for the remainder of their lives.

Spain, as well, had multiple chances to score, though nothing as wide open as the runs made by Holland’s Robben. In the 70th minute, World Cup leading-scorer David Villa was given a sliver of space to shoot on a mishandled cross through the Dutch box, but he couldn’t solve the tight angle off the left side of the goal, keeper Maarten Stekelenburg making one of several great saves during the match.

Then in the 77th minute, Sergio Ramos was denied glory when he missed a wide-open header on a corner kick that caromed off his forehead before sailing high over the bar. The game stayed tied 0-0 until the 90th-minute whistle, forcing thirty minutes of extra time.

In the overtime period, things went back & forth, with the best chance to score by Spain’s Cesc Fabregas thwarted by the leg of Stekelenburg in the 95th minute to preserve the shutout. But shortly thereafter, things took a major turn for the worse for the Netherlands, because another rough tackle by Holland’s John Heitinga yielded his second yellow card for pulling Spain’s Iniesta down from behind, which translated to a RED CARD and a send-off, putting Spain in the position of having a one-man advantage.

Finally, then, in the 116th minute, the moment came.

With the prospects of another bland penalty-kick shootout just four or five minutes away, Spain was able to cash in on their power play before it was too late.

On the goal, substitute forward Fernando Torres took the ball on a pass up the left side, where he crossed it to the front of the box toward another reserve, teammate Fabregas, who then slid the ball right, where Andres Iniesta controlled the bouncer just enough to fire a right-foot volley into the net off the bottom of Stekelenburg’s right hand, giving Spain the lead 1-0 in the nick of time.

The goal marked the end of the road for Holland, who couldn’t create a last-gasp chance, falling in what is now their third World Cup Final defeat. Utter joy for Spain, who hoist the cup for the first time in history, this team taking its spot in the books as one of the best ever, having won the 2008 UEFA Euro Crown along with the 2010 World Cup.

Though they only won each of their knockout games by the score of 1-0, Spain is undoubtedly the best team in the entire world. Congratulations.

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Day 26 - ORANJE CRUSH
Holland appears marked for glory in reaching their third-ever World Cup Final.

July 6, 2010
by Dan Krier

Netherlands 3 - Uruguay 2

Sometimes the path to greatness is riddled with its share of ups & downs. Other times, it’s smooth sailing from square one.

The latter case represents the way in which the Netherlands national football team have reached the 2010 World Cup Final, this last step completed with a rather dominant 3-2 victory over a never-say-die Uruguay side that overachieved from the moment they got to South Africa.

And truly, this game was par for the course for the Dutch, who entered the World Cup rolling on the heels of a perfect 8 wins out of 8 in 2010 UEFA World Cup Qualifying, scoring a total of 17 goals in those games while yielding only 2. They then strode through the 2010 preliminary round with a perfect three wins and nine points, winning Group E after just two matches were completed.

Next came a 2-1 triumph over a crafty Slovakian squad that had upset Italy just days before, followed by an astounding comeback victory over world #1 Brazil in the quarterfinal round. Clearly stated, the Netherlands’ success is no accident.

So the Men of Oranje took their show to Cape Town on Tuesday night, facing off against a Uruguay team depleted of two of its stars, one due to injury (for Diego Lugano) and the other for suspension because of a Red Card (for Luis Suarez). In many ways this game should have been a rout, but Uruguay were too tough to get pushed around, and made one hell of an effort from start to finish.

The game began with Holland on the attack right away, and just as things started to settle in, Dutch captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst unleashed a pulsing sonic boom of a shot that rang true in the 18th minute for a 1-0 Netherlands lead. It was just the sixth-ever goal for the defensive back in 105 career games for his country.

With the goal, Uruguay had no choice. They had to push forward to equalize, and so they tried. But the feel of the game was in hand, and everyone knew this was going to be a Dutch victory. Except Diego Forlan. The Uruguayan striker, who had spent the last month of the World Cup bending shots like a knuckleball from a Major League pitcher, put his left foot to a liner in the 41st minute that beat goalie Maarten Stekelenburg for the 1-1 tie. Relief for Uruguay, fear for the Netherlands.

So back and forth it went for the next half hour of play, no one quite sure of the outcome. But the Dutch began to build, coming close on several occasions when finally, in the 70th minute, secret agent Wesley Sneijder got a shot to glance off a defenders shin, pinballing past goalie Fernando Muslera for the 2-1 regained lead. It was Sneijder’s fifth goal of the tournament, the most by any player thus far (along with David Villa of Spain). Relief for everyone in Holland. It was surely going to be an All-European Final.

And sure enough, just 3 minutes later, a wonderful left-to-right cross from Dirk Kuyt connected perfectly with Arjen Robben, who put the game away with a world-class header, making the score 3-1 Netherlands.

Uruguay’s Maxi Periera netted a very late left-foot goal two minutes into final stoppage time to pull Uruguay within one at 3-2, but even with a couple tense final moments it was too little and too late, so Netherlands move on to their first World Cup Final since 1978. Very very deserved for the players from Holland, who have exhibited fantastic teamwork for over a dozen games in a row. They’re going to be hard to beat on Sunday.

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Day 18 - CLASS ACTS

Things are getting tasty at the World Cup with Brazil & Netherlands both winning on Monday to set up a monster of a match between the two on Friday.

June 28, 2010
by Dan Krier


Netherlands 2 - Slovakia 1

The men of the Dutch national football team found themselves flying atop the field Monday afternoon in Durban, breaking out their wings once in each half en route to a decisive 2-1 win against a prominently overmatched Slovakian side.

Netherlands scored their first goal in just the 18th minute thanks to a spectacular one-man effort from fully-healed Arjen Robben, who appeared back on top of his game while slicing his way down the right sideline alone before turning back in to fire a left-foot blast that laced its way down the tiniest of channels into the back right of the net.

Holland took the meager 1-0 lead to halftime, but in no way did the game feel in jeopardy for the men in technicolor-bright orange. Slovakia simply didn’t have the pieces necessary to solve the Dutch defense.

The second half saw several good chances for both sides that were saved by stellar goalkeeping. Slovakia’s Jan Mucha got some luck along with his skill in the 51st minute, blocking a sure second Dutch goal with his face of all things. And then, in the 67th minute, Netherlands netminder Maarten Stekelenburg stopped not one, but two mono y mono Slovakian shots, one by Miroslav Storch and one by Robert Vittek seconds later.

In the 84th minute, the Netherlands were rewarded for their hard work, getting a well-built goal off a quickly-taken free kick that sent a long pass to forward Dirk Kuyt, who worked free up the left sideline before delivering a crispy little cross into the box that was slapped in by Wesley Sneijder for the 2-0 lead. That was all she wrote.

Slovakia’s Vittek did knock in a stoppage-time penalty kick to make the final score 2-1, but the referee blew the final whistle as soon as the ball crossed the goal line, so it was the equivalent to an NBA player hitting a 3 at the buzzer with his team down by 6. Not gonna do it. Vittek does finish his Cup run with four goals, tournament-leading at the time. Well done.

So now Netherlands moves on to face World Cup juggernaut Brazil on Friday in a match that will most-likely decide who ends up in the finals from this half of the bracket. It’s going to be like watching two #1-seeds go at it in the NCAA tournament. Can’t wait.

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Brazil 3 - Chile 0

The Brazilian soccer machine was running on full power Monday night in Johannesburg, as the 5-time Champions behaved like a cobra in an open basket, rising up to strike whenever it felt the need, unleashing its fangs on Chile three times in a 3-0 blanking.

The Chileans charged out the gate like gangbusters, and Brazil let them, sizing up their enemy for the first half hour before getting a proper gauge on where and when to exploit the pressure points. Soon it was all going their way.

The Brazilians began moving into Chilean territory around the 30-minute mark, with Maicon delivering ball after ball across the middle on several free and corner kick attempts.

Then in the 34th minute, an outstandingly perfect pass found its way into the net. Maicon’s out-swinging corner from the right side hooked hard and fast, sailing over the helpless Chilean defense to where Juan got hold of the ball high in the air for a header that scored top shelf over the leaping goaltender. 1-0 Brazil, and there was no looking back.

Just four minutes later, Chile’s reeling defense surrendered another goal on a lightning-quick counterattck that saw Robinho find Kaka up the middle, who acted as a pinball bumper, one-timing his pass to Luis Fabiano for a perfect side-step fake-out of the goalie for an open net. 2-0 Brazil, and it was all but over.

The second half was filled with Brazilian scoring chances, one of which was capitalized on via a Ramires run up the middle from midfield to the penalty box, where he dropped off a pass to Robinho, who one-touched the ball on a lovely finish into the right side of the goal. Great assist, great teamwork, great team. 3-0 final, Brazil’s eighth consecutive victory over Chile.

So the 2002 Champions move on to yet another quarterfinals, where they’ll face Netherlands, whom they played and defeated in both the 1994 and 1998 World Cup. Holland is great, but I’ve seen nothing to make me believe the result will be any different this time around.

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