Viva España!!!

So this is it. The World Cup is over.

I was very happy to see Spain win. Justice in football!

Holland played reasonably well, but if they had won I would have been sad. At one point I said to the bookgit, who was rooting for Holland, that if they won I'd stop watching football for good. They were violent, did not concentrate on playing the game, but on finding subtle and not-so-subtle ways of hurting the Spanish players. The latter, on the other hand, managed to stay calm even in the face of some of the most egregious ruling and absence of ruling by the English referee, Mr. Web. They were completely focused.

It is a shame the Spanish coach didn't put Fabregas in earlier in the match. Maybe if he had, the Spanish team would have won by a 2 or 3 goal difference. But he was hurt, apparently, so only came in 5 minutes before the end of regular time, injecting the team with new energy.

I can't remember another match in which Brasil wasn't playing that made me cheer so much.

In terms of the actual playing, there was nothing outstanding, except for a few plays toward the end of regular time. The Spanish master short and rehearsed passes.

Robben, the Dutch centre-forward, did everything he could to score, it must be said. He is an invaluable player and I felt a little sorry for him - despite his violent approach - in the end, given this was his second failed World Cup final. And quite likely his last.

In short, I was happy to see the better, more deserving team win. It's something we get to see so seldom in other areas of life... Easy to understand why sports events are so popular, in this context. We can see cheaters losing and hard work, skill, and passionate commitment prevail.

Brasil: See you in 2014!