Sunday, July 11, 2010

World Cup Final 2010: Spain vs Netherlands Pre-Game Match Preview - An Excerpt

World Cup Final 2010: Spain vs Netherlands Pre-Game Match Preview
Written by David Delano on Sunday, July 11th, 2010


World Cup Final 2010: Netherlands 1974 and 1978 – Netherlands vs Spain might just defy Paul the Octopus and eventually be the long awaited World Cup Championship for the Netherlands.

In 1974, Netherlands faced West Germany. The team back then was composed of the best of Ajax, the inventors of Total Football and the Holland National Football Team.

During the 1974 World Cup finals, West Germany was led by Franz Beckenbauer and Netherlands has Johan Cruijff. The Dutch carried out their Total Football which had stunned both the fans and their opponents.The Netherlands opened the scoring via a Johan Neeskens penalty in the second minute, only for Paul Breitner to equalise with another penalty in the 25th minute before Gerd Müller scored the winning goal in the 43rd minute, claiming West Germany’s secondWorld Cup.

It was a devastating defeat for the Dutch but they never lost hope. They have trained and refined their skills and made improvements to Total Football/ Then, in the 1978World Cup in Argentina they are in the finals once more. This time they are up against Argentina and the match was one of the most controversial in the World Cup.

During the 1978 World Cup Finals, the Netherlands lost again to the host team, 3-1. The game started late as the host team came late and then questioned the legality of a plaster cast on René van de Kerkhof’s wrist, which the Dutch claimed allowed tension to build in front of a hostile Buenos Aires crowd.The Netherlands refused to attend the post-match ceremonies after the match ended.

Argentina won in extra time as the match ended 1-1 during the 90-minute regulation time. Mario Kempes, who finished as the tournament’s top scorer, was named the man of the match.

Today at 14:30 EDT, Holland will once again have the opportunity to win the World Cup championship. Will they be able to win it? Watch and take your seat on your television sets or online through available Netherlands vs Spain live stream.

This is judgement day!
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FIFA confirm Howard Webb to referee Spain vs Netherlands World Cup 2010 final

By Matt Monaghan 8 Jul 2010 16:47:00

English referee Howard Webb will take charge of Sunday's World Cup 2010 final between Spain and the Netherlands, FIFA have announced.
Webb, 38, will form a team with assistants Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey for the showpiece clash. After missing out on the quarter and semi-finals, the Rotherham-born official will become the first Englishman since Jack Taylor in 1974 to be handed the prestigious post.
The former police officer and his partners had been widely praised for their handling of the Brazil vs Chile second round and Slovakia vs Italy group stage matches. Webb also officiated Inter's Champions League final victory against Bayern Munich in May, despite experiencing criticism in some quarters for a sub-par domestic campaign.

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