2010 World Cup Final Thoughts

The 2010 World Cup is over. My final random set of observations and thoughts:

- We have a new champion -- only the eight nation to join an exclusive club. I am really glad Spain won the World Cup. It's rare that the winner, best team and most elegant team converge in this manner. The Netherlands played a negative game which is unfortunate. They possess a great deal of talent. After criticizing the Germans for letting Spain play too freely, it seems that the Netherlands ended up with the same outcome. Referee Howard Webb should have given De Jong a red card for his foul -- or should I say assault -- on Xavi Alonso. But Webb called the match fairly and after some disruptive fouls and yellow cards, it seemed that Spain dominated again. Robben caused havoc especially against Puyol but Robben either ran out of gas or Spain adjusted well seemingly playing a man behind and another in front of him. They also forced him to play with his right foot which he's clearly not comfortable doing. Casillas' save against Robben was huge but Ramos missed an open header as well. In the end, the better team won and positive soccer won.

- At times Arjen Robben looks like Patrick Stewart. Perhaps Robben could take acting lessons from Stewart so that he doesn't look so silly and irritating when he fakes an injury. Why do some of the world's most talented soccer players insist on such ridiculous theatrics?

- South America did so well in the opening round and second round yet ended with a whimper. The finals featured two European times and this Cup marked the first time Europe won outside their continent. The 2006 Cup also featured two European finalists. The last (and only other) time this happened was during the 1934 and 1938 World Cups. Surely this won't happen again with the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Right?

- Did Diego Forlan just peak late? He seems like a new man since he left Manchester United. Apparently Alex Ferguson believed in him but Forlan struggled at United nonetheless. Not so anymore. And based on his personal life, it seems that Forlan possesses both talent and character.

- How 'bout them kiwis? Spain becomes the first team to win the World Cup after losing its first match. The Netherlands were hoping to match the amazing run of the 1970 Brazilian team by winning all their qualifiers and World Cup matches. With the Netherlands losing to Spain, the only team to leave South Africa without tasting defeat was....New Zealand.

- Why is this happening to me? I think Italy's backup keeper Federico Marchetti may have made one save. Otherwise, he spent his time reaching into the back of the net to retrieve the ball and wonder why Buffon had to get injured.

- The youth movement. Too much may have been made of youth vs. experience but it's not a coincidence that some of the younger teams fared so well. The World Cup is an endurance event and younger legs recover more quickly. Italy was cited as the team that didn't balance youth and experience. But no scene exemplified the contrast of pace more than Gareth Barry lumbering toward Mesut Oezil only to see Oezil blow by and set up Mueller for Germany's fourth goal. Ghana featured the youngest team in the tournament and Germany possessed the second youngest team. I can't wait to see them in four years. It's also worth noting that many of Argentina's players are under 25 but if Maradona resigns as manager who knows how the next manager will choose his squad.

- Best goal of the tournament: Wes Sneijder's swerving shot against Japan? Carlos Tevez's rocket against Mexico? Both were surpassed by Giovanni Van Bronckhorst's absolute stunner from long-range against Uruguay. What about Forlan's response in the Netherlands match? I'm going with Siphiwe Shabalala's opening goal against Mexico. Maybe not the best goal technically but a historic goal that marked the happiest moment for the host nation. Works for me.

- Best save of the tournament: Stekelenburg against Kaka. Not only was it a great save with textbook technique, it prevented Brazil from tying the match. That save probably altered the overall course of the World Cup more than any other single save.

- Most surprising player: Thomas Mueller is being hailed as the big surprise. No doubt he announced himself on the world stage in impressive manner as Golden Boot winner and best young player award. But a young German who plays at Bayern Munich excelling at the World Cup isn't surprising. My vote goes to Robert Vittek. If he had kept his composure against the Netherlands, he might have equalized for Slovakia and made that match interesting indeed. Vittek plays in Turkey. And he doesn't play for Galatasaray or Fenerbahce but rather Ankaragucu. No disrespect intended but I suspect Vittek will be playing somewhere else soon enough.

- Unsung Hero: Too much is made of goals. Some players certainly carry their teams on offense (think David Villa) but other goal scorers are beneficiaries of others' heroic efforts. If you add up the total distance of Klose's and Higuain's goals, it's probably about 100 feet. The unsung heroes who set up others do not get enough recognition. Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger was critical to their overall play and indirectly responsible for multiple goals. But he did get recognized to the extent of making Germans forget about Michael Ballack (until he argued with Lahm about the captaincy). My unsung hero is Dirk Kuyt. He also set up goals for the Netherlands, but perhaps more importantly he worked tirelessly and creatively to create space and opportunity for others -- without resorting to rough play. Only one goal but much greater impact in other ways.

- Most disappointing player: It certainly wasn't Lionel Messi's World Cup. He hit the woodwork more than once and created some havoc that freed up his teammates but his overall performance made me yearn for more. How about Cristiano Ronaldo whose only goal was a comical effort against a completely overwhelmed North Korea. Otherwise, he seemed most eager to stare at himself on the giant TV screen as he lined up for free kicks from as far away as 50 yards. Del Bosque brought back Torres too soon after surgery hoping for a moment of inspiration that never came. Given his injury, it's probably not fair to pick on Torres. I'll have to go with Wayne Rooney. I think he hit the post once in the match against Slovenia. But did he have any impact? Granted his entire team was stunned by Germany but by the end of that match, he was even't making runs at defenders and was making rather tame passes.

- Referees: Like the South Americans, the refs had a good opening round but then dropped off in performance. There are so many choices for absolutely horrible calls. Goals disallowed for no good reason. Goals allowed that should not have been. And Frank Lampard's "phantom" second goal against Germany. How could the refs miss something that the fans in the stadium and the TV viewing audience see so easily? FIFA's response included asking the stadium authorities to refrain from showing replays. Now that's an inspiring reaction.

- Fair Play Award: Spain wins the traditional award measured by number of cards. If FIFA awarded a Positive Play Award, I think it should go to the South Koreans who not only entertained but also refrained from diving, acting, cheating and complaining. If they hadn't taken their foot off the gas after scoring Uruguay, who knows how that match might have turned out. I'm eager to see more of them in the 2014 World Cup.

- Unfair Play Award: While there's been a lot of attention on Suarez, it's worth remembering the Ivory Coast's Kader Kaita's ridiculous ploy against Kaka. Not only did it seem that Kaka was basically defending himself, Kaita's face grab after there was clearly contact on his chest was pathetic. Sadly, it was also effective in sending Kaka off. But for sheer consistency of obnoxious play the dubious distinction must go to Mark Van Bommel. I can not understand how he wasn't ejected in every game he played. He didn't even get yellow cards for his obvious fouls. I understand the value of an enforcer. As an Arsenal fan, I can sense the difference given Patrick Vieira's departure. But while Vieira was an enforcer, he also played soccer. Van Bommel seemed to focus on fouling other players, diving and yelling at refs. For a single act, I think De Jong's assault on Xavi Alonso was even worse than Suarez's handball.

But the ultimate unfair play award has to go to FIFA itself which seems to revel in the controversy. FIFA seems to celebrate the extra attention. The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. Even in the US, interest in the World Cup peaked with each disallowed US goal. It took ESPN's obsessive coverage of Lebron James self-indulgent "The Decision" to knock World Cup coverage out of the picture. Thank goodness LeBron didn't make his decision during the World Cup finals. FIFA protect its refs, refuses to use technology and misses real opportunities to remove the game of negative elements. It's almost enough to make this soccer fan wonder why I spend so much time watching the World Cup.

Hey, I just noticed that FIFA has unveiled the official emblem for the 2014 World Cup ;-)