Reading these posts, I feel I'm not going to have much support for my views, but what the hell, this is a forum for all sorts.
I ranted about Van Bommel in another thread, but within 15 minutes I was thinking that we'd all forgotten that Spain have a pantomime villain of their own - Carlos Puyol. Much of the same stuff I wrote about Van Bommel could be applied to him.
As well as Robben played, I was getting frustrated with his runs down the right wing going nowhere. The guy clearly doesn't use his right leg except for standing, so why play him on that side? I lost count of the number of times he beat one or two players, then instead of whipping in a right-footed cross, he checked back inside, where he was inevitably tackled by Puyol.
I agree with El Grapadura that Webb did reasonably well in a match where the players seemed to make it as difficult as possible for him. However, I disagree with the general view that the Netherlands were only interested in hacking, and that Spain played all the football. Looking at the FIFA stats, the fouls commited were NED 28- ESP19, or about 3:2. The possession stats were NED 43-ESP57, a ratio of 2:3. Although the Netherlands committed more fouls, as a proportion of the possession each team, the number of fouls was about the same. Yet, the Dutch were carded much more severely. Although the final count was 10-5, Spain's last two were in the last 4 minutes, Iniesta for taking off his shirt and Xavi in the final minute.
Having said that, I agree that the Dutch could have been down to 8 - De Jong was lucky to stay on the pitch after putting his studs in Alonso's chest, while getting nowhere near the ball. Robben would have been sent off for playing on after the whistle, had Heitinga not been dismissed minutes earlier. By the same token, I feel Iniesta was lucky to finish the match too. He could have easily been cautioned for his off the ball charge on Van Bommel, meaning his goal celebration would been his second card.
Sticking with Iniesta, I guess I'm alone in feeling that when he scored his goal, it was the longest he'd stayed upright on the ball all night. Yes, he got some rough treatment, but there were a number of times he went down easily with minimal or no contact - the "foul" that led to Van Der Wiel's yellow springs to mind. I can understand his frustration, but I don't think he can claim he was unprotected; the number of cards given to the Dutch, many for fouls on Iniesta support this, and make his charge into Van Bommel harder to defend.
On the topic of falling over easily, two other incidents stand out for me. One is the much discussed Robben incident - I'll admit to wearing (slightly) orange-tinted glasses here, and don't recall Robben putting an arm across Puyol, but I do remember Puyol having his arm across Robben. I seen fouls given for this, and I've seen them not given. I feel that Robben didn't get the foul because he stayed on his feet, which is a sad reflection on the modern game. Had he gone down, I think he would have got the free kick, whether it was deserved or not.
In the other case, Van Persie was through on goal in the second half, received a touch, and decided that a free kick from near the touchline and 25-30 yards out was a better option than going 1 on 1 with Casillas. Yes, he was fouled, and he may have been ankle-tapped and tripped, but the replay looked like he was touched, took a couple of strides, and the flopped on the ground. My feeling at the time was that he'd passed up a goal socring opportunity.
I might not have expressed it well here, but the point I'm trying to make is that I thought both sides played some football and had chances to win, and that the cynical stuff wasn't limited to one team, although I thought the punishment was slightly one-sided.
At the end of the day, not the prettiest of finals, but well done Spain.
One final (tongue-in-cheek) question: How long have Spain been watching Arsenal? They seem to have combined the ability to pass all day with little end product (new Arsenal), and they only win 1-0 (old Arsenal)
. About time I change my Signature I guess.
wolfman2010-07-12 15:05:15
"Phoenix till they lose"