Fabregas Makes The Difference As Iniesta Stamps His Class

I’m delighted Spain won the World Cup. As I’ve often said in the past, along with Argentina, they are the team I most like to watch. And for once there can be no arguments the best team won the championship.

I can understand that people find the behaviour of Barcelona players and management to be despicable. Even I’ve no respect for some of the Spanish players but I try not to let that affect my judgement of their football. After all, Spain (along with Barcelona) are probably the only team that is actually winning big trophies with positive, entertaining football.

In a world where the Sith Lord of Anti-Football is seen by many as the best manager it’s always good to see real football surviving and succeeding.

With that out of the way let’s focus on the Final. I thought Spain were much better than the Dutch and deserved the victory on the balance of play. It might have been different if Robben had taken his chances but it could just as easily have been different if the ref had sent De Jong off for a Kung-Fu kick.

Leaving the ifs and buts out, it’s not difficult to see that Holland went into the game with a similar game plan that had worked for them in the tournament so far. Their hope for scoring came from set-pieces, a freak Sneijder strike or a Robben run. They never came close from the first two but Robben had a couple of glorious opportunities. The Dutchman continued his sitter-missing form and the Oranje eventually paid the price for their tactics.

Spain have been positive in the tournament but they’ve also played with caution. Starting with Alonso and Busquets has been a tactical choice that ensured they had better defensive balance. The flip side was that they found it difficult to break the well organised Dutch defence. Apart from a few half chances from set-pieces they didn’t really create much till Fabregas came on the pitch.

It was a clear decision to shift the focus from balance to attack as Alonso’s creative contribution was negligible. I’ve a feeling Del Bosque didn’t back his team to win on penalties. Spain looked a far more threatening side after Fabregas came on.

Cesc had the opportunity to put his name down in history but was thwarted by Stekelenburg when through on goal. A pass might have been a better option. He also came close with a driving run through the middle. Finally he picked up an assist with a neat little ball that set up Iniesta, who was probably the best player in the tournament.

To me it’s obvious why Guardiola wants him at Barca. It’s not to have him on the bench as a backup but as the final piece in creating an attacking juggernaut that can crush the likes of Mourinho. Among the present midfielders at Barca only Iniesta has something extra-special in the attacking third and Fabregas will clearly add to that.

Van Persie was the other Arsenal player on show and I was happy with his performance. He covered the most distance for the Dutch and put in an unselfish, hardworking display that some of his teammates must learn from. In the end RvP completed more passes than Kuyt and Robben and that shows how poor and individualistic the Dutch were in the attacking areas. You really would expect the wingers to complete more passes. I can hardly remember Van Persie getting any service in or around the box.

Further proof of their defensive tactics can be seen from the fact that once again the Keeper completed the most number of passes and he was followed by a central defender and two full backs. Sneijder is a fantastic player but his talents in the middle are quite limited compared to his Spanish counterparts. Once Robben failed to emulate Milito, Sneijder didn’t look all that good.

Mourinho was lucky in the Champions League and that made him a tactical genius. Wonder if the same will be said about Van Marwijk who used similar tactics to get to the final. From what I’ve heard so far the Dutch have been criticized for the way they’ve played. Well, the mediamen only support the winners so Holland are sure to receive some flak. They’ve would have been brilliant if they’ve won with the same tactics but losers don’t get any respect in this world. It’s a real shame that right or wrong and good or bad is based on the final result and not on the actual display on the pitch.

Finally, it’s great to see two of our best players reach the highest level at the international stage. It’s even better that almost all our players are coming back from the World Cup without serious injury worries. I guess we won’t see Fabregas or Van Persie during the early weeks of the preseason but that is an acceptable loss. Hopefully Van Persie will come back hungrier than ever and the Cesc saga will be resolved amicable and in favour of Arsenal. It’ll be good to have a World Cup winner as Captain.