The World's Finest

After four weeks of witnessing the good, the bad and the ugly of what the footballing world had to offer to the global audience, the World Cup has come to the very conclusion that one would have expected at the outset, and that had been predicted by the mollusk that beat Michael Jackson at his peak in global popularity ratings. Now that the dust has settled (maybe not in Spain, where a large percentage of the population is probably having a hangover; nor in France, Italy and England, where it never will), I am going to pick out the team of the tournament. Here goes…

Centre Forward: Diego Forlan

Despite the fact that he reveled in a deeper, playmaker’s, in the ‘hole’ role behind the strikers at the Cup, he remains a natural forward and that’s why he will assume that position in this XI. To all those people who think he did not deserve the Golden Ball, and who want a reason why I haven’t picked one from either Klose, Robben, Higuain or Fabiano, I give you four –

1. Forlan played for a far less talented side and has consequently had to shoulder far more responsibility

2. He’s been a better runner on the ball than Klose, Higuain and Fabiano, if not Robben. Klose and Higuain seem to be more of the opportunist types who know precisely where to stay positioned to make the best of the feed from the midfield.

3. His long-range abilities are the best of the 5, both in open play and in freekicks.

4. He's simply scored more goals!

Left Wing: David Villa
A no-brainer, really, and like Forlan, excelled in a position that he is not naturally accustomed to. Yet, he was phenomenal cutting in from the left, and when put back at centre forward following Torres’ exclusion from the starting lineup for the last 2 games, surprisingly seemed to be less effective.

Right Wing: Thomas Müller
Undoubtedly the find of the tournament. A meteoric rise over the past year saw the precocious 20-yearold win the Golden Shoe by virtue of his assists following the four-way tie at 5 goals between Villa, Forlan, Sneider and himself, as well as the Best Young Player award. He could easily play 3 more World Cups given his age, and if he can do so much at 20, is he on the way to emulate the greatness of his namesake Gerd Müller?

Attacking Midfielder: Wesley Sneider
Another fairly obvious selection, which means all the 4 top-scorers are in. He, along with Forlan, is the only No.10 across all teams to really shine at the World Cup, even as more glamorous counterparts like Kaka, Rooney and Messi flopped miserably.

Central Midfielder: Andres Iniesta

The man who will forever be remembered for the winning goal close to the end of extra time in the final, he is half of the midfield ‘carousel’, as Sir Alex Ferguson puts it, of Spain and Barcelona, along with Xavi. Once touted the best player in the world by Wayne Rooney, his darting runs into the penalty area were unfortunate not to have culminated in a few more goals for the side over the 4-week period.

Holding Midfielder: Bastian Schweinstieger
After playing most of his career as an attacking midfielder, it was indeed a revelation to see how well he curbed his attacking instincts and anchored the youthful, yet talented German midfield. That’s not to say he didn’t pose problems for opposition defences, and the highlight of his campaign is his weaving run that cut throught the heart of the Argentine defence and set up the shot for Arne Friedrich. The image of him, bare-chested and disconsolate, with Iniesta’s shirt wrapped around his neck, sadly trudging off the pitch like a boxer who’d fought and lost his last fight, after the semifinal loss to Spain said a million words of how much the defeat meant to him.

Fullbacks: Philipp Lahm & Sergio Ramos
The two best fullbacks of the competition both played on the right for their respective countries, so I do not know which of them will adapt to playing the left flank better.

Phillip Lahm was solid as ever in both defence as well as offense, and surprisingly at home with the captaincy in the absence of Michael Ballack. That’s why he’ll be captain of this side as well.

Sergio Ramos’ contribution to the Spanish campaign has been underrated. Much has been written about the two Ps, Puyol and Pique in defence, the brilliant midfield as well as David Villa, but the value of Ramos’ untiring efforts cannot be stated enough. He is the one Spanish player who doesn’t much like to sit on the ball for an hour and prefers to gallop down the touchline. He created a million chances but sadly his efforts went unrewarded. If there was one player, apart from Lionel Messi, who truly deserved to find the net in the tournament, it was this man.

Centrebacks: Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique
If Iniesta and Xavi was the partnership in midfield that won it for the champions, in defence it was this duo. Just 2 goals conceded in an entire campaign makes for fantastic reading and has to be a record, and even those 2 were in the group stage. Puyol and Pique, along with Casillas, combined to record four consecutive clean sheets in the knockout stage, that too against sides like Portugal, Paraguay, Germany and Netherlands, another feat that has to be unprecedented in the history of World Cup football.

Puyol has proved to be the most resolute defender of the contest. When younger, faster opposition strikers tried to fly past him, he brought all his experience into play to deny them the shot on goal. And when Spain were struggling to find the net against the impressive Germans, the onus fell to the most unlikely candidate of them all, the sturdy, no-nonsense centreback, who rescued the side and put them into their first ever final with as good a header as you’ll ever see.

The majority will be surprised I have picked Gerard Pique, particularly considering the fact that he has had his moments of indiscretion, most notably the pull on the arm of Oscar Cardozo that brought the penalty against Paraguay. He has not had any memorable moments of spectacular defending, but his head and shins have denied opposition teams a million chances over the course of the tournament, particularly in corners, attempted long balls and long-range efforts, most notably against the Germans. For a centreback, he has surprising confidence in advancing with the ball as well, and is never shy of running into the opposition half in open play.

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer
This World Cup has been a bittersweet experience for goalkeepers. There have been those, like Ghana’s Richard Kingson, who have impressed beyond the expectations, and there have been many who have failed to come to terms with the unpredictable nature in flight of the controversial Jabulani. There was the temptation to go for the winner of the Golden Glove, the winning captain, Iker Casillas, but he has had his moments with the Jabulani early on. Neuer, on the other hand, has been as safe as a house right through, and his performance is all the more commendable considering he’s had to deal with strike forces as potent as those of England, Argentina and Spain.

That concludes the starting lineup, so I’m going to pick the bench as well (which is essentially a list of the harsh choices I had to make to pick out the best XI) –

Forwards:
Miroslav Klose and Arjen Robben would be the ideal substitutes for the forwards. Similarly Lionel Messi could either come in for Thomas Müller on the right wing, as he does for Barcelona, or even for Wesley Sneider, since Maradona used him as playmaker and Messi did not look a touch out of place. In fact, I suspect (or predict, rather) that as he matures and his career develops, he might make a permanent transition from forward to just behind the strikers in the long run.

Midfield:
The choice between Andres Iniesta and Mesut Ozil troubled me to no end, and it was only after the final that Iniesta marginally edged out the young German. Ozil’s darting runs were instrumental in the slaughter of England, and he is one for the future.

It also pained me to omit Spanish playmaker Xavi Hernandez, so he definitely makes the bench and is the ideal substitute for Sneider. Similarly Mark van Bommel was a giant in the heart of the Dutch midfield and is the ideal man to play in Schweinstieger’s place. He will likely be remembered as the villain of the final for his incessant tackling, but then that was precisely the role he was meant to play.

Defence:
The choice of the centrebacks was easily the most difficult to make. This is a position where the contribution is so crucial, yet difficult to quantify. I settled on the Spanish pairing, but Netherlands captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Germany’s Arne Friedrich were equally deserving. As far as the fullbacks are concerned, I can’t think of anyone but the two picked in the starting lineup.

Golkeepers:
Iker Casillas definitely makes it here, as does Portugal custodian Eduardo, who denied the Brazilians in front of goal, and kept the Spanish at bay for quite a while.

The most impressive coach for the tournament, it must be said, was Joachim Löw. He managed to successfully foster and nurture a young talented side as diverse as having 11 players in the squad who could have represented another nation. Since this XI is of even more diverse nationality, Löw is a must.

Most of the pre-tournament buzz centred around Argentine legend Diego Maradona, and whether he would prove inspirational enough to lift the South Americans to the greatest heights of all. Unfortunately, his tactical nous fell miserably short of that of Löw, and the 4-0 drubbing stands testimony to that. Similarly, there is sufficient reason to pick Vicente Del Bosque, the former Real Madrid manager who has managed to build a winning outfit around a strong core of Madrid archrivals Barcelona. However, he has had an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, certainly a larger abundance of talent than any of the other managers have had, and it would have been a massive disappointment had he not won the trophy with this set of players.

Joachim Löw has stated that it was his endeavor to create a winning team by combining the grit of the English, the flair of the Spanish and the defence of the Italians. This is easier said than done, but Löw has come as close to the desired outcome as humanly possible. He took a few strong decisions in not taking a few senior players into the squad and gave the younger talents the opportunity to shine. His German contract was to end after the World Cup, but, needless to say, after ending as one of the successes of the tournament, it has been extended. If he stays on till Brazil 2014, one cannot help but think the Germans would be one of the frontrunning contenders to the title. Admittedly, Miroslav Klose will not be around then, but I can’t wait to see how the likes of Müller and Özil perform with 4 years of experience behind them.

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La Marcha Real

That’s the name of the national anthem of Spain. Literally, it translates to ‘The Royal March’. And that is exactly what the Spanish have done, marched royally to lift one of the greatest prizes in sport, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, for the first time in their rich footballing history, littered with tales of underachievement.

The reason for my using the name of their national anthem as the title of this blog post is that I know the entire anthem, from start to finish, off by heart. The years spent watching Rafael Nadal win a million French Open titles, and now having watched every match Spain have played at the World Cup, I realized only at the time of the final that I was humming the tune along with the players as they lined up before the start of the final battle.

Wikipedia tells me that La Marcha Real does not have any official lyrics. This explained why none of the players mouthed it as the music was played. It also means that, if simply knowing the national anthem is any yardstick, I am just as Spanish as I am Indian.

The match that saw the Spanish lift the trophy was cagey, nervy, scrappy, even ugly at times. It is hard to imagine a final as ugly as this. Admittedly, I don’t remember much of what had transpired four seasons ago, when Zinedine Zidane blew his fuse due to the incessant needling of Marco Materazzi and ended his glorious career in disgrace, but I doubt even that would compare with 14 yellow cards and a red.

It is incredible that the 2 sides involved in this ugly slugfest are the same two that are touted as the epitome of ‘Beauty’ in the Beautiful Game, one as the original inventors in the 70s, and the other the more modern exponents of the same. In contrast, the 3rd place playoff, contested by Uruguay and Germany, both of whom traditionally rely more on physical play than the Dutch or the Spanish, was an infinitely more entertaining, enjoyable and better game of football, and was probably one of the best games of the tournament.

There was far too much riding on the final, as two great footballing nations were vying for their first claim to global dominance, and that was so clearly evident in the match that ensued. However, consider how dour this particular edition of the World Cup has been, I suppose we must concede that the finale was fitting for this particular edition. Given how the tournament has progressed over the past 4 weeks, how the final panned out should not have been so surprising. Mind you, that does not mean the Spanish or the Dutch should be in any way proud of their final performance. For the most part, the match resembled the WWE Royal Rumble, if you know what I mean, rather than an exhibition of the beautiful game at the highest level.

Referee Howard Webb did a commendable job, for it was a thankless job to do in such a physical contest, particularly considering the fact that the entire world was sitting ready to criticize him. I suppose the instructions were clear from FIFA, that no one was to be sent of unless absolutely necessary, and as late as possible. In a tournament where on more than one occasion the refereeing has left a lot to be desired, and has finally woken up the slumbering FIFA to the necessity of introducing the use of technology in assisting officials, the colossal muscle-bound frame of the man, who is the first ever to referee in both the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup final in the same year, acquitted himself well and ends up the only Englishman to have had any success at the World Cup (the other successful English-born being an octopus, doesn’t qualify as an Englishman).

Yet, not sending of Nigel De Jong for that awful kick straight into the chest of Xabi Alonso was inexcusable, no matter what the occasion. For me, that certainly wasn’t football, more like martial arts. The name De Jong sounds oriental, so, you never know, he might have the blood of a kung fu master in him!

Very soon, I will be posting the team of the tournament as I see it, so stay tuned!

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It's Villa's Destiny

Finding the net. Scoring. Winning the Golden Boot. Call it what you will, it’s second nature to David Villa. It’s his birthright. It’s his destiny.

When I used to say I am a fan of Spain, I meant I was a fan of their style, their midfield and Fernando Torres. When Spain won Euro 2008, Torres was in red-hot form and, despite the fact that it was Villa who ended up topscoring in the tournament, I despised him for stealing Torres’ limelight. For me, Torres was the leading frontman and Villa the sideshow. How wrong was I.

The only reason I think I thought that way was because I loved Liverpool and hardly knew a thing about Valencia. The EPL has so much more worldwide coverage, particularly here in India, that it was inevitable. I was surprised when I found out Villa had scored far more international goals for the La Furia Roja than Torres, and was within touching distance of Raul’s national record. At last count he is 1 shy of Raul’s 44 and is favourite to equal, if not better, the record in the mouthwatering semifinal that is a clash of the titans, Spain versus Germany.

Fernando Torres has had a horrendous run at this World Cup, as both his delightful touch and blistering pace seem to have deserted him as he still struggles to getn India, that it was inevitable particularly here encia. (WOW!!) sideshow. hat it was Villa who ended up topscoring in the tour to match fitness post the injury that consigned him to the bench towards the end of last season. The onus of scoring goals has fallen to Villa and how well has he responded. Spain have not exactly set the World Cup alight as far as goal-scoring is concerned (that has been Germany’s forte thus far), yet Villa stands tall at the top of the goalscorers’ chart with 5 goals in 5 games.

Apart from the 5 Villa has netted only one other goal has been scored by a Spaniard, and that was Andres Iniesta. Even that particular goal was set up by Villa, which means he has been involved in each and every one of the 6 Spanish goals in the competition. Only one man, the impressive 20-yearold Thomas Müller of Germany has been involved in more than 6, scoring 4 himself and setting up 3 others.

Fate’s insistence that Villa and only Villa score for Spain was no more evident than in the quarterfinal against Paraguay. When the world though Xabi Alonso found the net from his spotkick, the referee disallowed it for encroachment in the penalty area. Needless to say, his second shot was saved. When finally Spain did score, it should have been Pedro’s name on the scoresheet. After Iniesta’s run set him up superbly, his shot found the upright and ricocheted off to the foot of none other than David Villa. Villa fared no better, and found the other upright, but as luck would have it, the ball did not rebound out but to the other post and into the net. The commentator did an admirable job of summing it up, “Pedro saw glory; Villa saw the net”.

Each and every one of Spain’s goals in the tournament are very clearly etched into my memory, like Rafael Nadal’s fist pump, Jules Winnfield’s dialogues and Aletta Ocean’s body. They have all been pretty, and owe a lot of their aesthetic beauty to the man always in the thick of things, David Villa.

The stage is set for a phenomenal semifinal as Germany and Spain, two teams as alike as chalk and a jellyfish, take on each other. The manner in which Germany demolished Maradona’s Argentina was ominous indeed. It also spoke of Argentina’s inexperience of facing stronger sides at the World Cup. Argentina’s defence was exposed in the German counterattacks and when it came to creating chances, the midfield seemed to be unable to deliver the ball to one of the best forward lines of the competition. Messi played a deeper and deeper role, and was completely nullified by the close marking of Khedira and Schweinsteiger.

Spain will have none of Argentina’s weak midfield problems, nor is the defence that weak. But things may get difficult if Khedira and Schweinstieger continue their dogged marking and frustrate playmaker Xavi, the way they did Messi. Spain also need to be extremely cautious for Germany’s speed on the counter is phenomenal, particularly on the left flank as Ozil and Podolski can make runs on and off the ball from box to box in a matter of seconds. Sergio Ramos will have his task cut out in containing this duo, and the ageing Puyol and Capdevilla will have to bring all their experience into play when handling the younger, faster and taller Thomas Müller. Paraguay, and Nelson Valdes in particular, gave the Spanish many a scare on the breakaway runs, and Germany will definitely be even more potent. Needless to say, if Spain bring the same game to the table that saw them marginally edge out the South Americans, Germany will coast to the final.

So different are the tactics of the two European giants, that the clash of the individual styles will explode like fireworks in the eyes of the beholder. Germany’s strategy is to take a 20-metre-long run-up, and smash its shoulder into the door, time and again until the door breaks down. Spain’s tactics involve circling the house to be broken into until the cracks appear. Then, like sand, they pour in through the tiniest of gaps and slalom their way to the net.

Germany need a stout and fast defence to be kept at bay. To stop Spain, the defence needs to be watertight, the kind that will not concede an inch. Height of defenders will seldom matter as Spain rarely play an aerial game.

Germany never rest even if they are leading the game, always coming at the opponents to double and triple the lead. Spain, the masters of possession football, can conserve the slimmest of leads for any amount of time with their precision passing and hog the possession percentages to no end. I can’t wait until Wednesday for the match to unfold.

Another thing I simply can’t wait to watch is Barcelona play next season. With Villa joining, they boast of a most delicious lineup. Villa, the right-footed David Villa, bringing the ball in from the left. Messi, the left-footed Lionel Messi, collecting the ball on the right and working his sorcery towards the middle. Xavi and Iniesta, arguably the best creative midfield pair in the world, feeding the duo and creating all the chances. Sergio Busquets holding the midfield together and winning balls back. Dani Alves making his runs down the right and firing in from distance. And Zlatan Ibrahimovic on hand at centre forward to head and shoot in.

What will make things even more interesting is archrivals Real Madrid now have at the helm Jose Mourinho. It will be interesting to see what changes he makes to the Galacticos to counter a Barca side that pretty much looks like a World's Best XI.

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