A peek to the finals

The World Cup was pretty good this time. We got good teams in the final and both of them should have won it long ago. No matter Spain wins it or Holland, the Cup of Life is going to be in good hands.

This time I noticed some interesting trends. I had to come in to terms with the fact that India is not a football loving nation. For an average Indian the best team is the one that wins and the best player is the one that scores the most number of goals.

The only thing we get to watch here is the EPL. So we were under the impression that England is a superstar team and will walk away with the cup. Since many analysts wrote that Brazil had a superstar team some went over to the side of Brazil.
I am happy that both of them made their early exits. As for England they had the excuse that the English media inflates the ego and abilities of the players to supernatural levels. In reality, it was just a bunch of ordinary players.
Brazil had no excuse to make. They had a vast talent pool and a coach who captained one of the best teams in France ’98. But sadly Dunga chose the safer and bad strategy of play.
It was humiliating to see such a shoddy display. As they marched majestically through the group stages, the weaknesses were exhibited. Still the pundits chose to close their eyes. As long as someone keeps on winning anything is fine.

On the other hand while I witnessed people booing and jeering Maradona, he was welcomed at his home with a rousing reception. That is the definition of ‘Champion’. ‘Champion’ doesn’t bother to win at any cost. He plays in his own way.

Many predicted Germany to walk away as the victors after their game against Argentina. But everyone overlooked the fact that Germany thrived against weak defense through swift counter attacks. Against Spain it was simply not going to work out. The Euro champions denied Germans the space and the young German team failed to switch strategies. German played on par with Spain and it’s the experience that saw the ‘Red Fury’ through.

If asked to predict, my mind says the Oranje would prevail. They have the composure and application mindset. But Holland is nowhere near Bergkamp era and I don’t want to see the glory hunter Sneijder walk away with the Cup. My mind guns for Espania!