Postpartum World Cup Blues
Posted August 7, 2010 by james in Soccer Blog | 0 Comments
Millions of people around the globe are suffering from World Cup postpartum blues.
It has been over a month since the vuvuzelas stopped droning. I never thought I would miss that sound, but I am not the only one.
How do we cope? For those who recorded the games from the live t.v. feeds, or those who can download them on their computers and relive the excitement from sites like FIFA.com, there are fleeting moments of remembered euphoria.
But real life has intervened, and returned us to our present day realities.
Sure, there is great football to be had just over the horizon with the start of the Premiership, European and South American League games. In North America, Major League soccer is in full swing, with several World Cup participants plying their trade with considerable interest…Thierry Henri playing for New York Red Bulls as an example.
But oh, how I long for the days of early June, when three group matches could be viewed in one day…and then the round of sixteen, where every game was sudden death.
The quarter finals, the eight who remained standing…Uruguay vs. Ghana, the Netherlands vs. Brazil, Argentina vs. Germany, and Spain vs. Paraguay.
Drama in every match. A handball foul opens the door for Ghana to beat Uruguay, but the penalty is missed, and the South Americans win on penalty kicks. 4-2 Uruguay
Brazil stuns the Dutch with a goal ten minutes in, then falls apart with an own goal by Melo, and a perfect header from the Oranje’s Wesley Sneijder sends them onward. 2-1 The Netherlands.
Germany jumps all over Argentina right from the opening whistle, Muller scoring after only three minutes. Klose adds two of his own and the bewildered Argentines and Diego Maradona head home. 4-0 Germany.
Spain has some nervous moments turning back persisent and tenacious Paraguay, but striker David Villa’s eighty-third minute tally ensures the European champions will be in the semi-finals. 1-0 Spain
The semi finals began on July 6th., with The Netherlands facing a surprising Uruguay in Capetown. Eighteen minutes was all it took for Dutchman Van Bronckhorst to paste a cannon shot into the top right corner of the Latin’s onion bag. But Diego Forlan, the blond and stylish heart and soul of the South Americans, tied the match with a superb strike at forty-two minutes. Lady luck would shine on the Orangemen on this day, however, and goals by Sneijder and Arjen Robben would be enough to give the Europeans their third trip to the World Cup Final. 3-2 The Netherlands.
Germany, perhaps the most improved and unexpected team in the final four, would take the field in Durban against tournament favourites Spain on July7th. Would the German’s offensive prowess be able to overcome the tiki-taka passing game of their formidable opponents? From the outset, Spain controlled the pace and flow, frustrating every German attempt to show their scoring skills. The Mannschaft chose to sit back and let the Spaniards come at them, and hope for an opportunity to counter attack. Well, La Furia Roja came, and came and came, so close to scoring on so many occasions. Only twice was Spanish keeper Casillas really tested. The killing blow came in the seventy-fourth minute, when stout defender Carles Puyol leapt and headed a Xabi corner kick into the back of the German twine. 1-0 Spain
The stage was set for a new country to hoist the World Cup trophy on July eleventh, and we fans had not discovered the World Cup postpartum blues…yet.
