Paint it yellow, paint it red: Spain wins the World Cup

Yellow and red because those are the colors of the Spanish flag and the flag of Catalunia. Yellow and red because Webb, the referee, decided to give out a myriad of punishment cards (12). Most notable was the red card for Heitinga deep into extra time. Spain was victorious today because of the whole of the team. . . and they taught us how to play soccer once again.

There would be no Fernando Torres starting today. Most of us knew that. But was Pedro the right call? He had shown a bit of trepidation in his play. Maybe he wasn't ready for the big screen. Llorente and Navas were the other options. Navas would come in to add some spark to the game.

No winning goal from Torres, not this time. No sixth goal for David Villa, he would settle for five in this World Cup. No heroics from Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol or Gerard Pique. No magic from Xavi or Xabi Alonso. It was Iniesta this time, and just in time. The man that sent Barcelona to the Champions League final in 2009 was the man that would give his country the one tournament they always knew they could get but had not been able to acquire. Gooooooooal! We screamed and cried and laughed as the net opened its petals when the ball hit the polyester strands. Spain would win it without penalties. Spain would redeem soccer once more and bring the beautiful game back to the glory it deserves.

Another chapter in world football closes today. Another four-year cycle comes to a close. We return to our everyday lives and begin to train our hearts and minds to dream once more. Maybe your country can go far in 2014. Maybe your country can win. Now we watch our players grow and fall and score and cry so that they can share the dream. This is why we love this game.

Que viva Espana.

Two to Tango: Argentina and Brazil rule South Africa

Okay, make that three to Tango if we count Holland. Unless you have decided to watch baseball or the NBA or the Gulf spill, you probably already know that there have been upsets galore in South Africa 2010. Starting from the top: France ties 0-0 Uruguay and falls 0-2 to Mexico, England ties 1-1 versus USA and 0-0 versus Algeria, Italy ties 1-1 versus Paraguay and New Zealand, Germany loses 0-1 to Serbia, Spain loses 0-1 to Switzerland. Discounting non-traditional outliers (Mexico, Paraguay, Slovenia, etc), we are left with only Brazil, Argentina and the Netherlands. If we go, strictly speaking, with history, then Holland is taken out of the equation and we are left again with just Argentina and Brazil.

Perhaps this "disarray" is due to a non-traditional location for the event: Africa. Perhaps the game is much more competitive now and teams from powerhouse leagues like England and Spain don't really match up with international success. Maybe the players are too tired from so many competitions. Wait, nearly all players tend to see each other once or twice if they play in such prestigious leagues (Drogba, Rooney, Dempsey, Vela, etc.). Clearly, this isn't the way to explain it since it would be a worldwide phenomenon of lowered quality in the game. No one wants to slump at the World Cup, right?

Then there is the African nations. With so much power and a "home field advantage," shouldn't they be tearing through teams like Australia, Japan and Slovenia? What's going on with Eto'o, Drogba, Gyan? Nothing. It's just that the teams as a whole just aren't quite there yet. More discipline is needed, perhaps, but haven't we been saying this all along? Aren't we always looking for a breakthrough African team that reaches the semifinal or, why not, the final? Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002) left us wanting more. Maybe South Africa can still pull off of a miracle entry to the round of 16 (still possible) and evade the title of first host nation to be eliminated in group play.

So we come back to a natural conclusion, one that is supported by historical evidence. It's as simple as this: a team that is meant to win it all does not lose a game. Never in World Cup history has a winner lost a game during the competition. Ties, yes (Brazil-Sweden in 1994, Italy-USA in 2006, etc.). With that in mind we can also argue for Italy to have a shot still. But, we are left with two teams that have thoroughly defeated their opposition: Brazil and Argentina. Historically, it takes Argentina or France to knock out the Brazilians (this goes back to 1986 for perspective). Argentina, on the other hand, can go out any number of ways: Germany, Romania, England, Netherlands.

This has to be the most competitive World Cup to date. Most teams (excluding Cameroon and perhaps one or two others after tomorrow) still have a chance to advance. Most "contender" teams could be sent packing. This could also be a World Cup of firsts: the host nation eliminated in group phase is a first. Maybe wounded nations such as Spain and Germany can break the curse and lift the trophy. If that is the case, then they have mountains of history to climb as well as two formidable gatekeepers: Argentina and Brazil.