World Cup 2010 Sample
Here is an article I had written for a client that he did not require later on.
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Spain are the 2010 football World Champions and who can deny the fact that they deserve it. Although they might have started the tournament quite poorly, by losing to Switzerland, since then they have dominated nearly each and every match they have played in. This is not surprising considering the fact that they have a midfield packed with geniuses such as Xabi Alonso, Andres Iniesta as well as Xavi. At the same time, since they had conceded only two goals all the way up to the final, the Netherlands knew they had to do something in order to stop the Spanish armada from running away with the game. However, what followed was a vengeful game by the Dutch with an unprecedented total of nine yellow cards, including a double for John Heitinga that stole the final of the beautiful game it was meant to be.
Although there were numerous chances at either end, both teams could be forgiven for failing to score due to the immense pressure of the occasion. Both goalkeepers managed to pull off marvellous saves that succeeded in forcing the game into extra time. While fans across the globe were almost certain the game would go to penalties, Andres Iniesta had another thing in mind. He came up with a sublime finish in the 116th minute that bore testimony to his endurance and talent which had largely gone unrecognized in previous years. While most teams would have started with Fernando Torres, Vincente del Bosque had other plans and decided to keep Fernando Torres as well as Fabregas on the substitute’s bench, a clear indication of the amount of depth he had in his squad.
Although this was the third time the Netherlands managed to reach the finals of the FIFA World Cup, unlike the previous two times, they started as the underdogs against Spain. Although in 1974 and in 1978, the Dutch were building a reputation for themselves, what followed in Sunday's game was quite the opposite. Although they tried whatever they could with the help of Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, they were unable to penetrate the Spanish captain-goalkeeper Iker Casillas who pulled off some brilliant saves during the match. The Netherlands were quite lucky to finish the game with only one man sent off as they committed numerous blatant fouls against the Spanish which are unnoticed by English referee Howard Webb. “Everyone knows that Spain are the best team in the world and so in order to play against them we needed to start thinking tactically,” said Van Marwijk, the Dutch coach, who defended his tactics.
So how is it that Spain managed to progressively better themselves during the month? Simply because most of the players that play for the Spanish team also play for club giant Barcelona. In fact, only Barcelona’s goalkeeper, Victor Valdes was not in the starting 11 for the final. Considering the fact that most Spanish players play nearly every week for the same club, it was quite easy to see them replicate the same style and mannerism that has made them receive many accolades for their club. After 116 minutes that were filled with yellow cards and no goals, Iniesta's goal managed to spark off hundreds of celebrations all around Spain as the country partied wildly into the night. In fact, there were more than 1 million people present in Madrid just to watch Spain's triumph on the big screen.
