Walter Wilson Nana, AfricaNews reporter in Buea, Cameroon
It took 120 minutes for the Spanish La Furia Roja to win the 2010 World Cup against the Oranje of Holland. After 90-minute of regulation time, with both teams holding tight to a zero all tie, Spain made the difference at the 116th minute when offensive midfielder Andres Iniesta netted a smooth pass from Cesc Fabregas.
It was a goal that brought Spain into the circles of great football nations in the world. Winning the World Cup for the first time, the Spanish team has come to confirm their progress in football in recent years.
They are the current European Champions after winning the Cup in 2008. A lot of football observers had tipped Spain as one of the favourites of the football jamboree in South Africa.
This was a match preceded by much talk of two like-minded footballing cultures, of the influence of Dutchmen like Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels on Barcelona, of ‘tiki taka’ and Total Football. In many ways it was also a case of the irresistible force versus the immovable object. The Dutch had won 14 straight games to get to the final, in qualifying and the tournament proper, and Spain 15 out of 16, their only slip the defeat by Switzerland in their first game during the group stage in South Africa.
With this victory, their fourth successive single-goal win in South Africa, Spain became the eighth name on the FIFA World Cup Trophy and also the first European team to have triumphed on a different continent.
For the Netherlands, who lost defender John Heitinga to a red card in extra time, there is only the heartache of another story of what might have been after previous Final losses in 1974 against West Germany and 1978 against Argentina.
The 19th FIFA World Cup has come to an end, with observers giving a thumps up for South Africa and the African continent for a magnificent world cup organized with all the minute details taken into consideration.
It took 120 minutes for the Spanish La Furia Roja to win the 2010 World Cup against the Oranje of Holland. After 90-minute of regulation time, with both teams holding tight to a zero all tie, Spain made the difference at the 116th minute when offensive midfielder Andres Iniesta netted a smooth pass from Cesc Fabregas.
