(ask and you shall receive)

Up until this year, only 7 countries have won the World Cup, (Uruguay ’30,’50, Italy ’34,’58,’82,’06, (West) Germany ’54,’74,’90, Brazil ’58,’62,’70,’94,’02, England ’66, Argentina ’78,’86, France ’98). The World Cup started in 1930 and has been played every 4 years with the exception of the hiatus from 1939-1950 because of that little thing called, World War II. So it’s pretty clear that Soccer has centralized powers. So, it’s pretty cool that this year, the World Cup will reside in it’s 8th country. Spain, a soccer powerhouse, has only finished in the top 4 once (1950, 4th).  The Netherlands have had more success (or maybe just more heart break), with 2 runner ups (’74 & ’78)and a 4th place in ’98. So on sunday, a new champion will be crowned, the question is, who?

Let’s take a look at these two teams, and I will also profess to being a soccer neophyte. I follow the world cup, but this year I have REALLY followed the world cup.

The Netherlands aka Oranje. They dominated group play, going 3-0 in group E (Japan, Denmark and Cameroon). In the first round of the finals they beat a very game Slovakia 2-1 (though the 1 was a penalty kick with little time remaining). Up next was a clash with prohibitive favorites, Brazil. After conceding an early goal, the Oranje tied it up in the ’53 minute and took the lead 15 minutes later. Brazil totally imploded, losing Felipe Melo with a red card in the ’73 minute. A short handed Brazil could do nothing, and kinda looked like the Cleveland Cav’s in game 6 vs the Celtics. In the Semi Finals, they faced a short handed Uruguay, who fought valiantly but came up short. Wesley Sneijder has netted 5 goals this world cup and certainly has been one of the best players so far. The Netherlands have faced stiff competition and rightfully deserve their place in the finals.

Spain, aka La Furia Roja. They got off to a very suspect start with a 1-0 loss to Switzerland. They righted the ship with a 2-0 waxing of Honduras and a 2-1 triumph over Chile. They placed first in group H, so their opening loss had no negative impact. Spain was a very trendy pick coming into the cup based off their triumph at the 2008 Euro-Cup. Of course, after that opening loss, some fans were probably scratching their heads. First up in the elimination round was Portugal. While they won 1-0, they really dominated the game. Next up, Paraguay and another 1-0 win in what may have had the most entertaining half of football in the entire tournament. Next was a shorthanded Germany, and another 1-0 win, which again didn’t properly reflect the one sided affair. As I see it, Spain is by far and away the best ball handling team in the world. They pretty much frustrate and tire out their opponents in the first half, then go in for the kill in the 2nd half. It has worked every time but in their opener. Striker David Villa also has 5 goals in this world cup and is playing the David Ortiz 2004 role for Spain, he comes up in the clutch.

So who wins? Well, it would seem like a 1-0 win for Spain is the safe bet. However, I think the Netherlands will be able to score at least 1, so I am going to predict a 2-1 win for Spain.

Best Player of the World Cup- Xavi, Spain. Even without a goal, Xavi (who looks to be about 5 feet tall) has dominated this cup. While David Villa has netted the goals, Xavi has been the engine that makes this team run. Before the tournament, all the uneducated American soccer fans heard was, Messi. Well, in the group play, you saw why this was the case. Messi is a superior player but he was completely shut down by the Germans when it counted most. Funny that Messi and Xavi are teamates on Barcelona. Maybe one of the reasons Messi is so good is that he has Xavi there to feed him wonderful passes. Xavi gives hope to any short white guy who wants to be an athlete.

Runner Up- Diego Forlan (my new man crush), Uruguay. He pretty much put Uruguay on his shoulders and carried them as far as he could. No one was better at corners and free kicks then Forlan.

Some other “awards”

Most impressive team that was not hyped, the Blue Samurai of Japan. Every game they played they were in it. They lost a tough game on PKs to Paraguay when they just ran out of steam during game play. Perhaps is they were in a different group, this team could have gone a little further in the Cup, but they still made it out of group play, which they were not favored to do. Watch out, because Japan will be the first Asian team to win the world cup.

Most embarrassing teams, France and Italy. Neither made it out of group play, some would argue that they didn’t even show up. France scored 1 goal, in the ’70th minute of their last game. Italy showed little heart defending their cup.

Most disappointing team, Brazil. For all the hype, KaKa was poo-poo. However, I read that he was injured, so I will cut him some slack. Still, this team has so much talent, and they just imploded versus the Netherlands. The next world cup is in Brazil, anything less than championship and their may be mass riots.

Biggest let down, the Yanks. Lets be clear here, even though they were robbed of a (winning) goal versus Slovenia, they still came out on top of group C. So it really didn’t matter, and they did not deserve the tie against England. With all that momentum coming into the elimination round, the Yanks got a case of tight ass-whole syndrome versus Ghana. They had a non soccer country, soccer crazy and they pulled a big Payton Manning aka choke. Landon Donovan’s winning goal versus Algeria had a chance to be a pantheon moment in American soccer history, but it is now just a footnote.

The actual Payton Manning Choke award goes to Argentina. They were so badly outplayed by Germany that you questioned how they even got that far. It wasn’t that they lost, it was how they just folded. Maybe they fattened up on weaker competition, but I don’t think that is the case. I think they just Peyton’d it.

Tough luck award goes to Die Mannschaft aka Germany. It would have been nice if Germany got to face Spain with their guns fully loaded. Having Thomas Muller out (with a B.S. 2nd yellow) really changed how they played. I am not saying they would have won, but it certainly would have made the game more interesting. Germany was the most dynamic team in the cup this year.

Lastly, FIFA really needs to do something about its officiating. It seems like there are just too many instances were bad calls dictate games. I know soccer has been doing fine, but come on. It’s 2010, we have phones that we can watch TV on. Can’t FIFA use some technology to help the referees?