Viva España

SPAIN has been crowned the new football world champions after an brilliantly taken extra-time goal by Andres Iniesta.

Spain had the players to outplay any team in the world and did so with the Dutch who also in their arsenal had forwards, wingers and midfielders capable of slicing through any defence.
But last night it was Spain’s well-organised and experienced team, blessed with finesse and flair, who prevailed as the kings of world football.
Never in the history the World Cup had it happened that a country who lost a match in the first round had gone on to win the World Cup, but in South Africa coach Vicente Del Bosque’s men defied that jinx and rewrote football history.
They also rewrote history by reaching the final the first time and also winning it.
On Wednesday night the whole of Spain erupted with joy when they booked a place in the World Cup final for the first time ever with a 1-0 win over a fancied Germany.
It was again their simple football philosophy – own the ball and you will own the game – that earned them the world champions title to add to their European crown, which they conquered in 2008 after they knocked out Germany 1-0 in the final through a Fernando Torres goal.
Spain again proved that no other team can match its ability to maintain possession with precise, one-touch passes between constantly interchanging players.
Against Germany, the system worked like clockwork, with Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Pedro Rodriquez dominating possession in the midfield.
Spain has inherited its style of play from the country’s successful club teams, especially Barcelona and Real Madrid. After winning the European Championship in 2008, Spain have showed that its system holds up even at the highest level. It has only lost two of its last 54 matches, ironically both in South Africa, a 2-0 defeat to the United States of America during the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 1-0 loss to Switzerland in this World Cup’s opener.
Spain’s style of play has earned them praise from their opponents. ‘Not every nation can play this type of game,’ Oliver Bierhoff, Germany’s assistant coach said after his team’s defeat Wednesday night.
Spain has never beaten Germany at the World Cup in three previous attempts, but this was just the way the European champions wanted to play, having also won their previous three games by a goal each.
Spain not only boasts one of the deadliest strikers in David Villa, but also has one of the best goalkeepers in Iker Casillas, giving the outfield players the calm they need to patiently stick to their system, even when it doesn’t yield immediate success.
The team’s commitment to its style of play is unwavering. Switzerland beat the Spaniards with a solid defence and rapid counterattacks. But, del Bosque’s men refused to change their idea of how football should be played, even when it struggled in the quarterfinals against another defensive opponent, Paraguay.
‘We live and die by those ideas. We don’t know any other way to play,’ Iniesta said in an interview after one of the earlier games.
They have imposed their style of play on many an opponent and last night it finally paid off at the grandest stage of them all, as they were crowned world champions to add to the European title they won in 2008, which ended a 44-year major title drought. – Nampa-AFP-AP-Reuters

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.