World Cup finals

Since I never posted my thoughts on the World Cup finals, I thought I’d do it now. The teams I picked to be in the finals were, in fact, in the finals. They were the best overall teams in my mind before the tournament began, and what a great final to have two teams that had never won it! I thought Spain was the more technical team, but they had a lot more pressure on them to win. Holland was a good squad that just needed one good break to get the win, and they didn’t have nearly the pressure on them that Spain had. I originally picked Holland to win the game 1-0.

Even though the final featured two great teams, the only thing I will remember from this World Cup is the terrible officiating. It was everywhere this year. The referee should be there only to ensure a smooth game and be relatively invisible, but this year that was far from the case. I can’t think of a game that didn’t have multiple calls that were just awful.

While we’re talking about disappointments, the level of play seemed lower than previous World Cup finals as well. The complaints about the ball were silly in my opinion and the players at that level should be able to adjust to conditions, period. The goal keeping in particular seemed below par for the most part. A lot of the missed shots were because of bad positioning, not a wobbly ball. I’ve always said that footwork was half of goal keeping and I was proven right again while watching the World Cup matches.

The other thing that bugged me while watching games was the many teams unable to take a proper corner kick. I could not figure out for the life of me why so many teams insist on putting corner kicks inside the six yard box. That ball is going to be the keeper’s more than 90% of the time. Anything outside the six though, is a keeper’s worst nightmare. Why not put the ball somewhere one of your players has a chance to get a head on it?

Don’t get me wrong, I love the World Cup. Even with all my moaning about the things I disliked, it was great to get together with a few friends and watch matches and chat about the game I love so much. It truly is the beautiful game.