Image via WikipediaFor once I was not going to take my chances. I was wrong about Brazil, I was wrong about Argentina, and I was wrong about Germany. When you can't beat them, join them. For the World Cup Final, I was throwing my hat for whichever team Paul The Octopus had picked, and Paul had picked Spain, so I was for Spain. But then I show up and during the first 10 minutes of the game it was so very obvious Spain was dominating the game.
Someone once asked me a long time ago, can we call you Paul? P for Paul, P for Paramendra. No, you can't call me Paul, I remember saying. What did I know?
This was the roughest game of the entire World Cup. There were so many fouls, countless yellow cards. The most brazen foul of the entire Cup happened in this game. It was an out and out flying kick. That is a martial arts term. Bam, you hit the other person in the chest and he falls like a tree trunk. That dude was still holding his chest 60 minutes later.
The first 10 minutes or so Spain dominated. Then the game got rough all the way to half time. Then Spain dominated, and there was some rough play. But then the teams decided risking a red card was not worth it, and so there was some good play, and Spain dominated again.
By now I was all out for Spain. Forget the octopus, this team was good. Or maybe not forget the octopus. I was emotionally invested in Spain's success. During extra time I was pining for that one goal. And it happened. But before that someone on the Dutch team got a red card. That is how you give a game away. By getting a red card. 10 is a seriously small number on a soccer field. You end up with 10 players and the opposing team sees a big, gaping hole on the field, on your side.
I was scared it might go all the way to penalty kicks. Because then all bets are off. The team that dominated the game does not necessarily win the penalty kicks part. There it is pretty much a toss up.
But, thank God, the Spanish team scored.
After the goal, the goalkeeper started crying, more like bowling. And I am thinking, poor guy, he feels bad he lost the game for his team. But then I noticed the jersey. No, this was the Spanish goalkeeper. These were tears of joy. Another sign this was the team that deserved to win.
This should have been a 4-4 to extra time, not a 0-0 to extra time game. There were so many obvious misses by both sides.
But then the Spanish side scored one goal, and there were maybe three minutes left, and I was not worried for them. They were the superior team. They could hold the slim ground. And they did.
It is a new world order in World Cup Soccer. The superpowers of the previous decades all fell by the wayside. France, Italy, England, Brazil, Argentina, Germany. They all fell.
One reason this was such a rough game was because for the two teams this was very much a first. This was their one shot at glory, and they were going to kick balls and limbs, whatever got in the way. They might not even get into the Final next time. There was desperation.
The Spain-Germany game was the best game of World Cup 2010, and the Spain-Netherlands game was the most dramatic.
Can't wait for 2014. In 2014 I might want to watch the Group Stage games as a neutral observer before I pick my teams. Pick your teams at the onset of the Round Of 16. Ugh, my picks made me look like an amateur.
Spain: The Octopus Was Right, I Was Wrong
The Germans Called Me Robin Hood
Argentina Was Not A Team
Brazil: The Overconfidence Of A Soccer Superpower
Soccer And Latin America
Brazil
Walking On The Moon
Lionel Messi (2)
Lionel Messi
Young Folks
Walk In The Park
Freehand Exercise: 1,000 Push-Ups, 1,000 Squats, 1,000 Crunches
Brazil And Argentina: My Choices And Those Of My Favorite Actor
The Eyes Of Truth
Hey Now, Hey Now
Tomorrow
Samuel Eto'o
