The Bitter End

Iniesta: Suck it, Villa

In any tournament that begins with a large pool of teams - the early rounds are the most exciting.

The World Cup encourages this - with rules that reward teams for winning big. Teams commit to attack, because a big win is more valuable than a marginal one.

In the knockout rounds, any will will do - even a penalty crapshoot. So percentage play shifts to cautious play - and scorelines usually trend towards marathon struggles that end in 1-nil.

Sooner or later, the stakes catch up with the game - and you get a total crapfest like this cup's final match.

I've said before that soccer played well is amazing, captivating even. But soccer played badly is about the worst thing you can watch.

This was the final, so people hung in there to see every last godawful moment. If you could have gotten 700 million football fans to screen this game without context, as if it were a friendly - I doubt a tenth of them would have kept watching past the half.

It was horrid.

Dutch hacking vs. Spanish diving vs. the English ref.

I started the match rooting for Spain - and by the end was wishing that the Dutch would send Spain home in a bucket. Naturally, the Dutch disappointed. Clear shots on goal, and Robben couldn't get it done over and over. I'd criticize Van Persie - but I honestly can't be sure he was on the field. FIFA says he was - but I'll need to review the tape.

I still believe the ref was over the top, but it's fair to say the Dutch were trying to hack their opponents into submission. John Nicholson points out this was a deliberate choice:

Had they played an open, attacking game, they'd have got creamed senseless by Spain. Yes, that would have been fun for the neutral but the Dutch don't owe ...commentators or anyone else anything. They're there to win and win by any means possible. It wasn't some sort of gross, immoral attitude they took to the game, merely a pragmatic one born out of knowing exactly what would suppress Spain most successfully. I admire that.

He's right, but I don't admire it. I had to watch that crap.

Two highlights of the night for me:

1. The Dutch coach receives his second place medal - and then takes it off and pockets it before he even gets off the podium. Nice.
   
2. The American booth minder, Bob Ley, trying to convince his audience that they have witnessed a "celebration of soccer" - right before they cut to Ruud Gullit who denounces the match in terms usually reserved for acts of genocide.

Oh, there was a goal, too - but whatever.

Spain gets the trophy, Holland gets the shaft (again) and the soccer gods smile down at the evil they have wrought.

Ugh.

One thing to look forward to - we start qualifying matches in two years.