Viva Espania
by: Sharon Leow Hsin Yuek

FIFA World Cup 2010, hosted by South Africa has certainly put on a spectacular show for football fans everywhere. It has definitely opened the eyes of the world to what South Africa has to offer even when their very existence as a united and non-racial nation was being questioned recently. In this year’s edition, we’ve witnessed bruised egos, (forlorn Robert Green, England’s goalkeeper who made a mistake of galactic proportions when like a shortstop, attempted to save the ball, only to find it angling off to his right and landing into England’s goalpost) player strikes and referees embarrassed.

There was even a new ‘Hand of God’ by none other than Louis Suarez (Uruguay) that has taken the media by storm on how he successfully tipped off Diego Maradona’s position as the record holder of the new football iconic movement. Unfortunately, Louis Suarez’s so-called ‘Hand of God’ has raised public discourse on ethical issues on the field while a match is on.

Much to everybody’s surprise, both teams from Spain and Holland played rather poorly in the finals for large parts of the night. Even pop star Shakira was seen the best performer during the closing ceremony for this year’s World Cup. Spain, after an hour and fifteen minutes of no goals with additional time, approximately fifteen minutes was triumphant, thanks to Andres Iniesta. Known for switching wings and exploiting the spaces his quick passing team-mates tease open saved the best for the last by scoring the winner in the finals. So that was the 2010 World Cup, a one month showpiece that delivered Spain as ultimate champions and shattered the dreams of Holland which in the end had to admit it’s defeat.

Poster boys Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, and Christiano Ronaldo all failed to live up to the pre-tournament hype. Messi, favoured by all-star player, Maradona had certainly performed less than average after sabotaging his chances of scoring numerous goals for Argentina. As for Rooney and Ronaldo, both with expectations on scoring definitely left football fans disappointed with their poor performance. In their place, the World Cup showcased new talents like Thomas Mueller who was awarded the Golden Boot Winner and Young Player of the Tournament – made Germany proud and Mesut Ozil whom performed outstandingly has caught the attention of Europe’s top clubs.

All in all, it was an amazing four-week experience for football fans around the globe. Spain, powered by the sleek and easy-on-the-eye style triumphed over Holland’s muscular harassment in the World Cup final in South Africa on Sunday. Viva espania!