Beyond 90 Minutes Team of the World Cup

By Anthony Anglin

Its a bit late but there is no way I could let the World Cup fade from our memories without stating my team of the tournament. Here goes...........

Goal Keeper: Iker Casillas (Spain)

With his World Cup performance Casillas has cemented himself as the number one keeper in the world, finally creating space between himself and Gigi Buffon. Casillas played a very integral part in Spain lifting this summers trophy.

Left Back: Fábio Coentrão (Portugal)

This young man announced himself on the world stage in emphatic fashion. He was one of the few who stood out in his position at this summers world cup. He always made himself an option for Portugal when attacking and very reliable when tracking back. He had pace and skill and he was a real handful for the few opposing teams that faced Portugal.

Centre back: Carles Puyol (Spain)

The shaggy headed one was one of the most outstanding defenders in the 2010 world cup. With his age came the experience which has helped him to make up for the lack of speed which he has to deal with. And it was his thumping header that clinched Spain's place in the World Cup final for the first time.

Center Back: Per Mertesacker (Germany)

A beanpole central defender whose stock-in-trade is his aerial power, serenity under pressure and finely-tuned anticipation, Mertesacker is always the most clean of tacklers. This was evident in the way he conducted himself in the back-line of Germany's team, opponents rarely got passed him and he always seemed to be in control when he was under pressure. His great reading of the game makes up for his lack of speed.


Right back: Philipp Lahm (Germany)

This was a World Cup which enhanced his reputation for doing the basics efficiently. He always presented himself as an extra man in Germany's attack and he did so with relative ease. Coupled with his attacking prowess he was also solid at the back and this was evident in the match up against Spain, even though his team lost that match.


Left Midfielder: Andres Iniesta (Spain)

The Barcelona star clearly showed why he is one of the best players in the world. Aside from the small fact of scoring the winner in the finals of the world cup, Iniesta was brilliant in the way he conducted himself on the field. He was always a threat going forward, with brilliant control and neat little passes between himself and Xavi in the midfield, it was a joy to watch.

Center Midfielder: Xavi Hernandez (Spain)

It is no coincidence that Xavi has spent much of the tournament topping FIFA's passing statistics. There is no finer distributor of the ball in the world game and, while playing ahead of two anchor midfielders seemed to suggest he would see less of the ball, that has not been the case. Wherever he is stationed on the pitch, everything goes through Xavi. Surely a candidate for World player of the year!


Right Midfield: Arjen Robben (Netherlands)

The "Wing Master" probably has the left backs and defenders who faced him still having nightmares about him. He gave them a torrid time down the right hand side, going past them with relative ease using pace and skill. He played an integral part in Netherlands reaching the final scoring a couple of goals on the way. But he should be having nightmares of his own as well, missing two glorious chances which surely would have presented an undeserving Netherlands with the trophy.

Attacking Midfielder: Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)

Taking your excellent club form unto the world stage is no easy task, just ask the Wayne Rooneys and the Cristiano Ronaldos of the world cup and you will see what i am talking about. But this is exactly what Sneijder did, scoring five goals as a midfielder is no easy task and he now has also cemented himself as one of the top five best midfielders in the world.


Supporting Striker: David Villa (Spain)

While his teammates around him were misfiring, David Villa ensured that he took most of the opportunities that fell his way. Even opportunities as difficult as they may come from 45 yards out to the left of goal, I bet the Chile goal keeper and players will always have that occasion in their memories. He just missed out on the Golden shoe to Thomas Muller who had more assists.


Center Forward: Diego Forlan (Uraguay)

Admittedly Diego Forlan has spent some of his tournament in deeper positions but, as he displayed against Netherlands in the semi-final, his ability to retreat and create should not detract from his status as an outstanding centre forward. In any case, the presence of Villa in this team means he can go into attack when Forlan veers elsewhere. Long-range shooting and set-pieces, two areas in which few players have excelled, but the Uruguay talisman has mastered. Few have played with more commitment, either.

Substitutes: Eduardo(Portugal), Maxi Pereira (Uruguay), Lucio (Brazil), John Mensah (Ghana), Mark van Bommel (Holland), Xabi Alonso (Spain), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Mesut Ozil (Germany), Robinho (Brazil), Thomas Muller (Germany).

Coach: Joachim Low (Germany)

Spain wins World Cup the beautiful way

By Anthony Anglin

In a World Cup where the "Mourinho Tactic" was more than evident in the way most teams played, Spain stood true to playing the game the right way, the beautiful way that is. From the onset of their first game in the group stages, even though they lost, it was evident that Spain was not going to leave their playing style behind just for the sake of winning games. Many persons complained that they did not have the killer instinct and they were not shooting enough and that's why they always under achieve on the biggest stage, but one thing is for sure if you have the ball you will always have a chance to score. This is what limited opposing teams from scoring a lot against Spain and it always gave Spain a chance.

Throughout the group stages we saw Spain dominate possession in every single match they played in. Even though not scoring a glut of goals, it was surely evident maybe not to an average viewer of the game of football but to an ardent fan of the game that Spain had what it takes to win the World Cup.

Moving into the knockout stages this is where Spain midfield maestros really began to shine. Up stepped Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, the influence of these two players was just too much for opposing teams. Xavi and Iniesta was especially instrumental in the victory over the Germans, the Germans just could not get the ball. With these two players supplying David Villa upfront it was no wonder he had such a great World Cup scoring 5 goals just missing out on the Golden boot to Thomas Muller from Germany who also had 5 goals but had more assists. With La Liga and Champions League coming up, opposing club teams of Barcelona must be shaking at their knees with the prospect of facing those three players playing in one team.

We saw in this World Cup king pins such as Brazil under the influence of coach Dunga leaving behind the "Samba" football for a more defensive and counter attacking style of football. This eventually led to their downfall, and caused a lot of Brazilian fans who had high hopes for their team to do well a lot of heartache. But while the South Americans were switching up their style, Spain was staying true to theirs. We saw passing, movement, a bit of skill here and there and it was most times a joy to watch.

The finals though with the Netherlands threatened to be a disaster, with one team Spain trying to play the game the right way and the other trying to stop the game being played the right way. This led to the game being scrappy with a lot of fouls, but this was not going to deter the Spanish from keeping the ball on the ground, being patient and playing the game their way. When the final whistle in extra time blew, no one could say that Spain did not deserve it and Beautiful football won on the day and throughout the entire World Cup!

Congratulations to Spain, now champions of the world!!