From the opening days of the tournament, my eyes were fixated on my two favorite international teams: Germany and l'Oranje (Netherlands). While Germany put on a dazzling display of goal scoring power and surges in play from their overall young roster, they fell short of the world cup once more, this year to the early favorite Spain.
L'Oranje went into the World Cup Final this Sunday having gone unbeaten throughout the entire World Cup process, from their first qualifying match forward. The stage was set and we were bound for a tight game between the Orange Crush and La Roja - but I don't think anyone expected the outcome we got to see. The first half looked more like the World Cup of Karate, including a massive challenge in the form of a flying kick to Alonso's chest.
The match went on to be filled with penalties and tight defensive play, with few but very close opportunities by the likes of Arjen Robben and Sergio Ramos. Eventually the penalties would catch up to l'Oranje, resulting in a Red card and eventually a superb play between the substituted Torres, Xavi and Iniesta, who would score the winning goal and give La Roja their first ever World Cup trophy.
While it's true I absolutely hate Spain and hoped they would have exited much earlier in the tournament, I'll applaud their victory as well as their tenacity. They do indeed have the best midfield in international football and they proved it in the past few games.
A consolation for the play of some very talented players. Thomas Muller claimed the golden boot with 5 goals and 4 assists in the tournament and Diego Forlan, the striker from Uruguay who turned heads throughout the tournament claimed the golden ball as most valuable player.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is bound to be quite the spectacle once again. In the meantime, there's still plenty of football to be enjoyed.
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