2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

For the first time in 76 years, Spain won the World Cup in a final that will be remembered more for fouls than finesse, cards than chances on goal and tempers than trickery. A bitterly fought contest had eleven yellow cards (six to the Dutch and five to the Spanish), with John Heitinga receiving his second yellow in the second period of Extra Time. Minutes later, Jesus Navas jinked his way through a resolute Dutch defence and with the aid of fellow sub Fabregas, made the ball reach Fernando Torres. Spain's Goldenboy was clearly out of sorts, his terrible injury-marred season with Liverpool ensuring that his form deserted him on the biggest stage possible. Despite that, he somehow managed to return the ball to Fabregas who tried to squirt it to Iniesta the first time, but the superb Joris Mathijsen blocked his pass. Undeterred, Fabregas tried again and this time, Iniesta made room for himself and smacked a half-volley home to spark wild Spanish celebrations.

Much before this, both teams had gilt-edged opportunities to go one up, with Arjen Robben twice spurning one-on-one chances to beat Iker Casillas, who, it has to be said, gave a spectacular performance to silence all his doubters. Fabregas livened things up and almost won it for Spain, but Maarten Stekelenburg proved that if Casillas could do it, he could too. Ultimately, as the match headed towards the dreaded shootout and a star-studded audience braced itself for another nerve-wracking night, the man they call Don Andres stepped up and it was a fitting end that the best player of the night and eventual Man of the Match had the final say in the nineteenth FIFA World Cup in South Africa, 2010.

Brazil 2014, bring it on, baby! :)

Third-place playoff between Uruguay and Germany at Port Elizabeth:

An exciting match, following which one was left with rueful questions. If only Germany had played like this against Spain? If only Forlan's sweetly-struck freekick had sneaked in below the crossbar instead of hitting it and sailing out in the last minute of the match? Regrets aside, it was a glorious end to the campaign of two exciting teams in this tournament. Germany were probably the better side tonight, but Uruguay have definitely shown a thing or two to their more illustrious South American neighbors by finishing fourth, when most pundits had expected Brazil or Argentina to be among the four best nations on the planet. Diego Forlan later deservedly won the Adidas Golden Ball award (the most valuable player of the tournament) and his goal, Uruguay's second, was an absolute delight to watch. Egidio Arevalo wriggled free of Germany's defenders on the right flank and drove a chest-high cross on the edge of the box. Such was Forlan's confidence and form at that moment that he pivoted around his left while still maintaining his balance perfectly and struck an accurate first-time strike which left the goalkeeper with no chance whatsoever.

The second semifinal at Durban:

In a rematch of European Championships final two years ago, these two heavyweights were facing mildly contrasting situations prior to the match. Enthralling everyone with their positive flair and superb counterattacking brand of football, the Germans were left to miss the attacking thrust of Thomas Mueller (favorite for the Adidas Young Player of the Tournament). On the other hand, the Spanish were more ruthless in seeing off a disjointed Portugal side before sending the Paraguayans packing with a 1-0 scoreline, but with Torres misfiring in the limited opportunities he had, the onus was on Vicente del Bosque to either include him on the starting lineup or bring him late as an impact player. Viewed from a tactical standpoint, this was as close to a perfect match you could ever get: the Germans with their quick movement off the ball and the Spanish who were masters in possession. As it turned out, Torres didn't start, but that didn't make any difference to the Spanish gameplan as they controlled the ball and allowed the three-time winners only a couple of shots in the opening half. With Pedro pulling the strings from midfield and David Villa making a nuisance of himself, albeit without any productivity, it was a surprise to see the Germans overly reliant on a break, though it has to be said that the pitch didn't come to their aid at all, being slow and bouncy. With 17 minutes to go, it was left to veteran centerback and Barcelona captain, Carles Puyol to power home a header and send Spain to their first ever World Cup final. Joachim Loew was graceful in accepting defeat, even declaring that Spain were worthy winners of this edition. I'm sure Wesley Sneijder and Co have other ideas.

The first semifinal at Cape Town:

Uruguay's quarterfinal win over a spirited Ghana side came at a heavy cost, with captain Diego Lugano getting injured and left-back Jorge Fucile picking up his second yellow card of the tournament and getting suspended for the semifinal. But, the biggest loss could have been that of in-form Ajax hitman, Luis Suarez, who resorted to volleyball to save Uruguay's skins in the last minute of Extra Time and was sent off. As such, Forlan was expected to shoulder an increased burden, which he did manfully, scoring his fourth of the tournament and a worthy equalizer to van Bronckhorst's 18th minute thunderbolt by unleashing a left-foot strike before halftime. Despite his best efforts, Uruguay were clearly second best to a Dutch side that was inspired by Sneijder's clever promptings, Robben's wizardry, Kuyt's workrate and van Persie's energy. Things became very interesting when Uruguay got their second late in injury time of second half but it was too little too late. Forlan was left dejected in defeat, but they can hold their heads high since they did perform better than their more-acclaimed South American rivals, Argentina and Brazil. As for the Dutch, they reach their first final in 32 years. Will it be third time lucky for them?

With Brazil's sensational exit at the hands of the Dutch on July 2, Argentina and Germany must have really fancied their chances prior to their clash in Cape Town, while Spain would have entertained similar hopes when they took on Paraguay in the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg.

Prior to this quarterfinal clash, some previews focused on a friendly that these two teams played in March this year. Argentina won the friendly 1-0 in Munich and a rather smug Diego Maradona mocked German rookie Thomas Mueller by referring to him as a ballboy at a press conference. It is not certain whether Mueller wanted retribution for being humiliated by one of the most acclaimed footballers in the world, but if he did desire it, he did it in the best manner possible: by cutting a swathe through a dodgy Argentine defence and scoring a goal in the third minute of a World Cup quarterfinal, thereby ensuring that Maradona is not likely to forget his name in a hurry now. So overwhelmed were the two-time champions by a young German team, that most "experts" (read illiterate Indian TV sportscasters) were calling it an upset. Meanwhile, German goalscoring machine, Miroslav Klose edged ever closer to being the top marksman in World Cup history by hitting his 13th and 14th goals in World Cup and tying with countryman and legend, Gerd Muller and one shy of Il Fenomeno, Ronaldo who tops the list with 15. Being 32, he knows this is his last chance to go one better than the Brazilian who has seen better days in the canary yellow jersey since.

El Guaje (The Kid) is David Villa's nickname, but he should have one more by now: El Midas (or something to that effect). So massive has he been for Spain in this tournament that he has now racked up five goals and seems to be unstoppable, drifting in from the left flank with deadly effect. For the second match in succession, he was in the right place at the right time to tuck in a goal that made all the difference. But, to call this match as Villa's would belittle Iker Casillas' stupendous goalkeeping that saw him keep out a penalty and two one-on-one situations. In fact, immediately following his penalty save off Oscar Cardozo, was another penalty save by Paraguay keeper, Justo Villar who denied Xabi Alonso's spotkick (which was taken twice, due to infringement by Spanish players when he took it the first time) and keep Paraguay in the game. Saint Iker, as Casillas is called, probably had a point to prove as he copped some blame for Real Madrid's season-damaging loss to Barcelona in the Santiago Bernabeu in 2009-10. But with the European champions reaching their first semifinal in sixty years, they will look to emulate the legendary West German side that won the European Championship in 1972 and then the World Cup in 1974.

MatchDay saw the first pair of quarterfinals, with the Dutch taking on the Brazilians at Port Elizabeth and Africa's last hope, Ghana facing a resilient Uruguay side at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.

Brazil rocketed off the blocks, with Robinho having one goal ruled out for offside within the first few minutes. He was not to be denied, however, as he collected a pass from Felipe Melo that sliced open the Dutch defence and smacked a first-time shot under Stekelenburg's legs at the ten-minute mark. In control for almost the entire duration of the first half, the five-time winners were looking increasingly in sight of their sixth title, until things went absolutely pear shaped in the second half. First, Felipe Melo came bang in the way of Julio Cesar when he tried to deal with a floating freekick by Sneijder but only ended up glancing it into his own net (until yesterday, it was still recorded as an own goal by Melo, but the authorities later changed it and credited Sneijder with the goal). Unnerved, Brazil fell behind when poor set-piece defending allowed Sneijder a free header (the sight of the not-so-tall Sneijder scoring a goal with his head off a corner must have sent Dunga into an apoplectic rage). Then, utterly piqued by Robben's trickery on the ball, Melo stamped on the Dutch winger's leg viciously and deservingly got his marching orders. Brazil fell apart after this and despite a flurry of corners late in the game, they crashed out at the quarterfinal stage for the second time in as many World Cups (they had lost to France in 2006, courtesy a Zidane freekick which Henry slotted home after ghosting in off the far post and beating a dozing Roberto Carlos to the ball).

A match that, as the commentator said, had distinct phases, with Uruguay starting brightly and forcing several corners and Ghana finishing stronger, even scoring a goal at the stroke of half-time. Then, Forlan scored from a sublime freekick that left Richard Kingson (the only worthy candidate for the Lev Yashin award for me) floundering. Uruguay's superior physical endurance ensured the match went into Extra Time, which for the most part, was played according to the script until the 120th minute began and the drama was raised by several notches to an absolute fever pitch. Ghana had a freekick on the right flank and as the ball floated into the box, Uruguay's keeper flapped his arms couple of times. The ball eventually fell kindly to Stephen Appiah, Ghana's decorated midfielder, who directed a firm header towards the goal with the goalkeeper squarely beaten. Incredibly, Luis Suarez, Uruguay's striker who was on the goalline, punched the ball away like a 'keeper right under the nose of the Portuguese referee and receiving a red card for deliberate handball. With a minute to go for the end of Extra Time, Ghana could not have asked for a better time to have a penalty and as Asamoah Gyan stepped up to take the kick, you could sense that the writing was on the wall for the South Americans. But, not for nothing is there a phrase called "Garra Charua". The exact translation is near impossible, but for all practical purposes, it roughly means "fighting till the last breath". And that is exactly what Uruguay did after Gyan blazed his spotkick straight at the crossbar and the ball sailed into the stands. In an amazing couple of minutes, the initiative had changed hands and with Uruguay believing they could win, Ghana betrayed nerves as Mensah and Addiyah botched their spotkicks in the shootout and Sebastian Abreu emulated Francesco Totti in cheekily chipping Kingson for the decisive kick. Gyan was inconsolable after the game, despite bravely choosing to take the opening spotkick for the Africans. For Uruguay, it is their first semi-final appearance in forty years and but with no Suarez and in all probability missing their captain, Diego Lugano as well against a determined Netherlands team, the task is well cut out for them.

MatchDay 19 saw the last of the Round of 16 matches, with Paraguay taking on Japan and the much-awaited all-Iberian clash between Spain and Portugal:

This match had an enormous significance to both teams, as whichever team progressed would be reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in their history. With so much at stake, the pressure clearly told on the players as Paraguay and Japan ended up nullifying each other and even Extra Time wasn't sufficient to separate the two teams. And so it went to penalties and for poor Yuichi Komano, the pressure became unbearable as his spot-kick hit the crossbar and went sky high. However, the Japanese left with their heads held high and will now fancy their performance as the benchmark for Asian football.

It was a match between a side that was still yet to concede a goal in the World Cup and one that boasted an enviable attacking arsenal. The return of Iniesta in the last group match against Chile had clearly raised Spanish morale and with Xavi, Puyol and Pique, he forms the spine of the La Furia Roja as well as the Blaugrana. As such, this match was a telling example of the adage: have ball, will score and will win. Spain had 2/3rds of the possesion and for almost three-quarters of the match, Portugal's nullifying tactics worked, until a piece of magic from Xavi had prised open the defence and Villa was clear on goal. Even then, Portugal's goalkeeper Eduardo saved his first attempt, but when the rebound fell kindly to Villa, he made no mistake second time, toe-poking the ball into the roof of the net. Now chasing the game, Portugal's gameplan changed to a puzzling English-style long-ball scheme, with Ronaldo clearly frustrated at being the target man. Ricardo Costa received his marching orders a minute from time, following a fracas with Spanish left-back Joan Capdevila, but that was purely academic as the Portuguese were second best by a distance. Cristiano Ronaldo earned brickbats for his spitting act against the camera immediately after the final whistle and allegedly snapping at reporters to "ask the coach" as to why Portugal lost. I'm not sure if he really said that to the journalists, but having seen the spitting incident on TV, I'll say this for him: he needs to learn to lose with grace.