Barca Captain Steers Spain To Final
Spain setup a mouth watering World Cup final clash against Netharlands after seeing off a much fancied, but young German side confidently. The Spanish National team dominated the match, depriving their opponents off any meaningful possession. For all their possession it took a second half goal from the most unlikeliest of source, Carles Puyol from a Xavi corner to see off the Germans. This young German side has been on the rampage packing England and Argentina home, scoring eight goals in those two matches. But this Spanish side's midfield is the best in the world, may be one of the best of all time and the Germans had no answer to their tiki-taka style of playing. Barcelona fans would have been extremely happy to see seven of their players starting in the line-up. Pedro came in for Torres and joined his other club mates - Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Villa, Puyol, Pique, who all retained their places. It is a very proud moment for La Masia with five players in the starting line-up.
David Villa for once had an average match, eventhough he was much better than in the Swiss match, there was something missing in him last night. Otherwise on any other day, he would have finished off the early chance from a delightful Pedro through ball, eventhough the chance was pretty tough. Pedro, who had a good game was guilty of being selfish and not helping Spain finish off the game, when he failed to pass to Torres in a 2 on 1 situation. Lucky for him that he didn't have to regret his decision. Iniesta was once again at his consistent best and Xavi had a very good game after a serious of avergae performance. If it wasn't for the stubborn German defense, he would have send in half a dozen through balls to Villa. The man of the match for last night's victory has to be the Barca captain Carles Puyol. He not only scored the goal but was absolutely brilliant in defending in and around the box. The last ten minutes saw Puyol diving all over the box, clearing any dangerous crosses to safety.
Now Puyol and company will have a much more difficult task on hand dealing with the Dutch side. It is difficult to break down this Spanish side through collective brilliance, as found out by the Germans. But individual brilliance should be able to do that. I mean a magical moment from Robbesn or Sneijder could be a hell of a headache for this Spanish side. But then it is easily said than done, especially against a team which hold on to the ball like a child to his favourite toy.