Pierre Boisrond has followed soccer and the World Cup
closely for many years and also writes for other websites. We at PWC are proud to have him as
a columnist. He will share his views about the past, present and future of
the World Cup.
Mail Pierre
Read earlier columns
|
|
|
Spanish Armada conquered the Germans
Spain has booked a trip to the 2010 World Cup Final after beating Germany 1-0. They will face the Netherlands. The Spaniards have completely shut down the German submarine and also schooled the Germans on football 101: how to maintain possession of the ball. Xavi, Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, Casillas, and Puyol played an excellent game today against a German machine that has demolished the Englishmen of Fabio Capello and the Argentines of Diego Armando Maradona. The Spaniards have schooled the Germans and have shown that they are the best team in the tournament so far. Well, at least, we will find out on Sunday when Spain will face the Dutch Orange machine. This is very trivial, any team that tends to run up and down the field will finally be stopped against a team that can possess the ball. What Australia, England, and Argentina were unable to do, the men under the direction of Del Bosque were able to achieve that.
Spain play a marvelous football and I wish they can score more. However, it does not matter how many goals that they score now. What matters is that they are in the 2010 World Cup final and on Sunday, July 11th, the world will see a magnificent football game. I can’t seem to envision that this World Cup final will be an ugly one. I can’t seem to see that. Spain have shown to the world that the Germans Internationals were vulnerable. They were able to beat England with the help of the referee. Had the game been 2-2; it could have been a different outcome. Though I think they would have beaten England because England also played an up and down football. In front of Argentina, Maradona with bad tactics have handed the game to the Germans. However, today, the coach of Spain was not about to give any freebies to the Germans. Despite everything, this German national team is an excellent one, and they deserve to be congratulated. However, today, it was Spain’s day. Today, the celebration was in Madrid not in Munich.
The people of Spain were celebrating. And I can imagine how Emilio “el Butre” Butragueno must have felt now. I can recall many Spanish players who could not win the world’s most prestigious trophy for their country. Today, they should be celebrating with Xavi, Iniesta, Xabi, Puyol and all the Spanish Squad for bringing joy to the people of Spain. It was a magnificent display that even brought me back to the 1982 Brazilian national team. What A trio, Xavi, Iniesta, Xabi! They have completely nullified the Germans on the pith and beat them in their own game, set pieces. Who could have ever imagined that Germany would let any team scored on them on a header? Well, Puyol buried the Germans today with a magnificent header. It was a moment that the Spaniards would never forget. Indeed, June 7th , Spain has finally reached a World Cup final.
Yes, Spain are in the World Cup Final. This is real. This is not any imagination. It is happening. It is no longer, Zubizaretta, it is Casillas. It is no longer, Jose Antonio Camacho; it is now Puyol; It is no longer Andoni Goicoechea, it is now Xavi; It is no longer Luis Miguel Michel; it is now Iniesta. It is no longer Ricardo Gallego; it is now Xabi Alonso. And It is no longer Emilio Butragueno; it is now, David Villa. Spain had finally made it for the first time and they’ll be ready to face the Dutch National team.
I have always admired the Dutch National team. As a child in Haiti, my parents, brothers and many friends used to tell me about the Dutch 1974 Orange Machine. Unfortunately, I did not see them play because I was still in kindergarten. My columnist colleague, Ruud Doeevendans, mentioned that he will his third World Cup final that his country will be part of. For me, Ruud, I would have been very glad to see my country, Haiti, in 1974 and would have been jumping up and down with my people when the late Emmanuel Sanon scored against the Italians. Perhaps, you’ll be on your way to the Museum Square. Enjoy it with your country.
I am not about to make any prediction since I do admire both teams. Both teams are talented enough to cause headache for each other. It is a final game; anything can happen. There is one thing that I am sure of is that there will be a great football. Congratulations to Spain! Despite losing a stunner against Switzerland, they have redeemed themselves. The Dutch are on a roll as well. They’ll be ready to play their football. If there’s one prediction from me, I must say that one team will win its first ever World Cup. Will it be Holland or Spain? Well, you can wait on Sunday July 11th or you can go ask Paul, the German Octopus, if you cannot wait.
|
[HOME]
BACKGROUND
Info on how
the World Cup was founded and about the trophy as well. |
THE
WORLD CUPS
Detailed info
on every match in every tournament. |
COLUMNISTS
Interesting columns about the past, present and future of the World Cup. |
THE
NATIONS
Every nation
with appearances in the World Cup. Detailed info on every country. |
LEGENDS
Player profiles
of many of the most influential players in history. |
A-Z STORIES
An A-Z collection
of strange and different stories in World Cup history. |
STATISTICS
A big collection
of various statistics and records. |
MASCOTS
Every mascot
since it was introduced in 1966. |
QUIZ
Test your
knowledge about the WC. Three different levels. No prizes, just for fun. |
TOP
10 RANKINGS
Rankings of
lots of stuff. For instance Best Goals, Best Players and Best Matches. |
LINKS
Our collection
of links to other soccer sites with World Cup connection. |
LINK
TO
Some banners
and buttons for you to link to us if you want. |
ABOUT
US
A little information
on who keeps this site available. |
|
