And the Grand Finale!

To complete the story, the finals was anything to write home... both teams were quite listless in the first half and the Spanish team particularly only had possession of the ball. There was no beauty in their game. The only saving grace for the Spanish was their captain - goalkeper who simply excelled in his game. He undoubtedly deserves to be called one of the best keepers of the game, today. He was a delight to watch.

I maybe be biased in my comments but I liked the Dutch play the game, particularly Arjen Robben. He moved with the ball at lightening pace and it was a treat to watch him. While the Dutch had less possession of the ball, they did more than possess and pass the ball to their mates... I do think Robben had some amazing shots at the goal, however, they were off the post by few inches. Had the Dutch won, it would have been a fitting and perfect tribute to the Dutch stalwarts who shaped the game for their country these past 30 years. There were moments in the game when I thought the Dutch played the game so well, almost as if telling Spain, "Tirupathikke laddu va?" For those who didn't follow, it means that just as the laddu is so closely associated with the temple at Thirupathi, so is the beautiful, "total football (totaalvoetbal)", closely associated with the Dutch.

I happenned to watch the game with a group of diehard Dutch friends as part of the Netherlands Council group. It was a perfect ambience in farout Chennai, all of us dressed in their national colour, Orange, with the country flag painted on us and a few Vuvuzela horns thrown in, not to mention a lavish buffet spread with plenty of spirited options for the fans too!

We were all resigned to the fate of the game getting into penalty shootouts when Spain managed a goal in the final moments of the extra time. I couldn't believe it!

So, Spain won the Cup with ample help from the English referee and we all trooped out, mighty disappointed:-)