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Was it the best World Cup ever - no. But it was pretty damn good. Too bad the finale lacked the flair and open spirit of the 3rd place match. With no real purpose behind the yellow cards, they seemed to be coming in fast and furious as the Dutch left their ball-handling skills in the locker room, and instead sharpened their cleats for what looked like Australian Rules Rugby and not "The Beautiful Game". The Spanish were too strong, and after the initial scary loss to the Swiss, showed their class as great defenders, with a great goalkeeper; allowing only two goals the entire tournament and none where it counted: the knockout phase. Somehow, both the Germans and the Dutch abandoned the style of football that saw them both single-handedly take out South America. Too bad. Sometimes your opponent can get into your head, coupled with over-coaching, and suddenly Germany can't attack, and the Dutch play like goons.
Like any great tournament of this caliber, many heroes are made, and many are burdened with weight of missed opportunities, poor defending, own-goals, poor production, and easy saves missed. No purpose of exposing the likes of Christiano Ronaldo, Messi, all of Italy and France, to the harsh light of the under-achiever podium. They're feeling enough pain for at least a week until it's back to their club football, big paychecks, hot women, and fast Ferraris. Let's celebrate the heroes instead:
Diego (the other Diego) Forlan
Place of birth: Montevideo, Uruguay
Date of birth: 19 May 1979 (1979-05-19) (age 31)
Current club: Atlético Madrid
Position: Striker
For a very small South American country, Uruguay has a storied World Cup history with two titles back in the thirties. Without Forlan's brilliance in this edition, Uruguay doesn't come close to either qualifying let alone battling for 3rd place honours. No doubt he was the most dangerous striker of the tournament form distance and set pieces. His shot against the Dutch in the semi final could only be defined as an absolute cannon. Many have disparaged the Jabulani as having a mind of it's own, but somehow Forlan was able to tame the wild beast and do his bidding - well - some of the time anyway. Voted Golden Ball player of the tournament is well deserved in the case of Forlan who meant everything to his team.
Thomas (the Kid) Müller
Place of birth: Weilheim, West Germany
Date of birth: 13 September 1989 (1989-09-13) (age 20)
Current club Bayern Munich
Playing position Attacking Midfielder/Forward
Blessed with speed, vision, and phenomenal accuracy for both scoring big goals, and setting up teammates for the same, Müller was the linchpin of the German attack and a future star for German international football. Winner of the Golden Boot being sent off in the quarter final match against Argentina proved a devastating blow to the German chances against Spain when some level of attack was sorely needed. Müller was voted as best young player of the tournament.
Wesley Benjamin Sneijder
Place of birth: Utrecht, Netherlands
Date of birth: June 9, 1984 (1984-06-09) (age 26)
Current club: Internazionale
Playing position: Attacking Midfielder
Maltreated and dumped by Real Madrid, Sneijder quickly silenced his critics by winning the Series A for the Internazionale, the Italian Cup, and the Champions league, all this year. Had the Oranje won the World Cup, Sneijder would have made history having been a key figure in winning everything for every team he quarterbacked in 2010. A dead-ball specialist of the finest caliber, Wesley Sneijder was a close runner-up for the Golden Boot, and the Adidas Silver ball winner; behind Forlan.
Iker (iiky) Casillas Fernández
Place of birth: Madrid, Spain
Date of birth: 20 May 1981 (1981-05-20) (age 29)
Current club: Real Madrid
Playing position: Goalkeeper
Everyone will remember the offensive output of David Villa, and the creative distribution and final score heroics of Andres Iniesta, but it's Casillas for Spain and for glory. Seldom are goalkeepers given such accolades. They are typically the unsung heros. Matched with a stingy defense, Casillas still had plenty of outstanding work to do to help keep the ball from the mesh and with only two scores for the entire tournament, he managed beautifully. Winner of the Golden Glove (yes new for this tournament), the Rojas captain was solid throughout and managed many key stops notably a penalty from Paraguay's Oscar Cardozo and a crucial double block at the end of Spain's 1-0 win to thwart attempted equalizers by Lucas Barrios and Roque Santa Cruz. He singly backstopped everything Paraguay pushed his way in a game where he needed to pull the win out on his own to keep Spanish hopes alive.
So hats off to these new shining stars in a contest where the likes of Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robinho, and Gianluigi Buffon's name are not present. We now wait patiently for two long years for the next edition of the Eurocup to see if some of these stars will grace our tv screens once more.
