2:30pm Sunday July 11

World Cup Final – Spain vs Holland

For the those of us who have watched Spain for the past 3 or 4 years, we simply had to ask ourselves the question: Is Spain the best National side in the history of the game? We looked at a number of factors and came to our own conclusion. Bear with us as we examine this important question…

Talent: Here Spain scores very high. This Spanish side is loaded with talent from front to back. Starting with a goalkeeper widely considered to be among the best 2 or 3 on the planet at the position in Iker Casillas and ending with the world’s best striker in David Villa, this team is simply loaded with gifted players.

Bench: All it takes is a peek at the Spanish players who are NOT in the match to realize just how deep they are. Look closely and you will see players like Cesc Fabregas, David Silva, Xabi Alonzo, and Fernando Llorente in the strange position of riding the pine.

Record: In great position to pull off the rarest double of winning both the European and World Cups, Spain has had a truly fantastic two year run. The Spanish played ten matches to qualify for the World cup Finals, and won every single one of them. They were the 2nd highest scoring team in Europe with 28 goals while conceding only 5. They played attractive football, combining the near perfect passing of Xavi and Iniesta with the timely goals of Mr. Villa. They kept possession of the ball at an exceptionally high percentage. They did all of this while wearing a target on their back as opposing teams tried to pick off the defending European champions

Coaching: Vicente Del Bosque twice won La Liga, and twice the ultimate club trophy called the Champions League, as boss of Spanish superclub Real Madrid. But his real football acumen came to light when he chose not to change much after taking over for Luis Aragones. He kept a free flowing, one touch passing style and continued to rotate players in and out while somehow managing to keep them motivated. His only loss in two years of coaching Spain was to the USA in the meaningless Confederations Cup. He is a winner.

Comparison: Brasil 1970 was an amazing squad for their creativity and flair. In 1982 Italy rode a superb defense to the title. And in 2010, Spain will win the World Cup with balance and the uncanny ability to totally control the pace and flow of a match. Once they accomplish this, they must at least be in the argument for the greatest national team in the history of this great game.
Jerrito

World Cup Final Match: Spain vs. Netherlands, July 11. Don’t miss it. The nice folks at FIFA just sent us this but unfortunately it doesn’t start until FRIDAY.

Valid: Fri-Sat, 7/9 – 7/10
Extra 15% OFF – Spain and Netherlands team gear link - Up to 75% off World Cup Gear

So you’re looking at the title thinking what? Isn’t that what everyone was saying last week? Brazil and Argentina in the final.
Where are they now? Well, Dunga (Brasil coach) got fired yesterday and Maradona is still blaming the referees and press for his embarassing loss against Germany. Meanwhile, the Germans roll on through the tournament, the Spanish are trying to overcome the deadly choquero bug (say it slowly), and the Dutch are trying to overcome the hatred they have for one another. Oh yeah, and Uruguay is playing too!  Here we go. Semi-final time!

Uruguay vs Netherlands – Tuesday July 7 at 2:30pm
(Diego Forlan versus Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder and company. Party in Amsterdam – where EVERYTHING is legal – on Tuesday night.

Spain vs Germany – Wednesday July 8 at 2:30pm
(Talk about a toss up. All we know is that one of them is going to the final. Seriously, this one is absolutely 50-50.)

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 UPDATE: EXPIRED

The 1980s were a great time for a kid growing up in Naples who loved football. The skills seen on the pitches across Italy were second to no other league in the world, as Serie A was full of superstars from around the world. All time greats Zico, Platini, Cabrini, Zoff, Boniek, Falcao, and many others plied their trade on the Italian peninsula. But no player would leave his mark to the extent of a young Argentine named Diego Armando Maradona.

In 1984, Italian Club Napoli (who had never once won the Italian league) lured 23 year old Diego from Spanish giant Barcelona for the then record fee of 6.9 million British pounds. It was stunning news to the football world, and mannah from heaven for a city badly in need of a lift. In 1980, a major earthquake had struck the city, killing almost 3,000 people and leaving the city struggling for years to rebuild dozens of buildings leveled by the quake. Schools were used to shelter those left homeless. Naples had little to cheer for. But now a hero was on the way.

Born poor and raised in a shantytown near Buenos Aires, the young Maradona was to prove a perfect match for the club he was about to join and the city he was about to enter. Naples can be a tough town, with certain streets you probably don’t want to walk down, and 8 year old kids who try to steal your jewelry from the back of a moving moped. But Diego was a street urchin himself, and quickly endeared himself to the people of of the southern Italian city, who immediately loved and revered him.

The San Paolo stadium was suddenly alive! For years it had rarely been filled on Sundays, but now people were coming to the stadium an hour early just to watch “El Pibe” juggle while music played in the background. There was rarely an empty seat in the house. This meant more revenue, which meant that Napoli could spend some money on talented players to put around their new star. Players like Ferrara, DeNapoli and Careca, who would never before had dreamt of playing for a “small” club like Napoli were now very interested in playing with the best footballer on the planet.

The team began to take shape, and in the 1986/87 season the impossible finally happened. Napoli won the their first ever scudetto (the Italian league championship)! The celebrations bordered on chaos. Horns honked all night, gunshots were fired from rooftops. Fried baccala dyed in the azure color of Napoli’s uniform shirt were sold from carts on the streets. The noise level was deafening. A city which had appeared to be on it’s deathbed just 5 years earlier had found a lifeline in the form of a pudgy footballer with an almost superhuman ability to command a round ball.

Whatever we have seen of El Pibe at this World Cup, however sad and desperate his life has seemed since he left Napoli in 1990, some of us will always remember only the joy. Naples was again the city of sole, pizza e amore (sun, pizza and love). But more importantly, it was once again, if only for a short time, a city with a chance, a city of hope.
Jerrito

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Update: Wii $34.99, Xbox 360 $46.99, PS3 $39.99

Here they are with a few, umm, insightful comments from our nutty Soccerdeals.net staff…

Netherlands – Brazil (July 2, 2010 10 AM ET – ESPN)

The referees call this game over and declare Brazil the winner even before kickoff. Afterward, they explain to the media that there was no point in playing the match as they were only going to call everything in Brazil’s favor as usual, leaving Holland no chance. Luis Fabiano can be seen in the background juggling oranges, but the referees never see it. Brasil advances easily, again.

Uruguay – Ghana (July 2, 2010 2:30 PM ET – ESPN)

What? After 2 years of qualifying and hundreds of matches we can’t get a better quarterfinal than this??? Really? Anyway, Ghana wins 2-1.

Argentina – Germany (July 3, 2010 10 AM ET – ABC)
El Pibe punches a reporter before the match (seriously, it was only a matter of time). Then the players punch each other in a goalless 120 minute draw. 20 red cards are handed out. Then Germany (as usual) wins on penalty kicks when Miroslav Klose (the only German player not red carded) beats Sergio Romero (the only Argentine) 1-0.

Paraguay – Spain (July 3, 2010 2:30 PM AM ET – ABC)
David Villa scores 4 times in the first minute, prompting Paraguayan goalkeeper Justo Villar to exclaim “I guess the language is the only thing we have in common”. Spain cruises to a 16-0 win.
Enjoy the games!

Jerrito

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