“The Germans.....crap at comedy, war, Jewish relations and music (well apart from classic era Scorpions of course) but you can't knock them when it comes to football and pornography.” James Tyler, British Rock God (lately Citizen of Canada)
Today is the day we decide what matters… passion or technical excellence.
European champions Spain go up against the football machine that is Germany in Durban today to decide who faces Holland in the final of the 2010 World cup. The Germans are looking to exact revenge on the Spanish for the Euro 2008 final.
Germany have a host of bruised players with hamstring and foot injuries only just recovered from and also have a key midfielder on suspension. BUT they also have Miroslave Klose who just needs one more goal to equal the record of 15 goals at the World cup Finals. This is more unbelievable when you consider that Klose is an ageing footballer who struggled to get a game for his club last season. You can’t underestimate the technical excellence when this squad are on the pitch… they play to win regardless.
The Spaniards too have injuries to contend with… shoulder knocks, leg injuries and players with blurred vision. But Spain also have The Divine David Villa. (For JaxWorld readers who have been on Mars or the USA for the past few years… David Villa is left-footed, right-footed, passionate and technically gifted. He has to be combated with a whole team, not just one defender – hence his £30million price tag.) You can’t underestimate the passion of this squad, they play a beautiful game.
There are no favourites in this tie. The bookies are giving short odds. It could go either way. The true favourite will be the one who ends this game as the winner. With Klose and Villa on the field this match is gonna be played out in the 18 yard box. This is football at its most exciting.
No disrespect to Holland they have done well to get to the final (taking Brazil’s scalp on the way) but THIS is the final we all wanted to see… Spain V Germany’s semi final has stirred more passion than the actual final ever will. THIS is the de facto final. And sides are being taken.
Unlike the vast majority of my country men I am in the camp of passion… no surprise there… I declared my allegiance to Spain long before a ball was kicked in World Cup 2010.
Given the turbulent history between these two nations and the UK… it’s been an interesting build up to the semi-final. Historically, Spain is the older enemy of these shores… every school child can tell you all about the Armada they sent to try and bring us into line (and how we dispatched it to the four winds!). As for the Germans… the 20th century was mostly spent with us beating them in wars, the 1966 World Cup, and to sun loungers in Spain.
True, the Germans are not alone in romancing fascism, the Spanish only got around to giving that up in 1975. And the Germans did give us or current royal family and share our protestant take on Christianity… we have more in common with our northern European cousins. But the southern part of this continent has an infinity with the UK our teutonic neighbours gaff just doesn’t give us. 790,000 of us chose Spain as the place to build our homes and we’ve been the main stay of their tourist industry for years. One in ten of us have visited Spain at least twice against the one in forty that have even been to Germany once.
And it’s not just history and geography - to the UK mind the Spanish image is warm, friendly and accommodating and the German image is cold, calculating and precise. We gravitate towards passionate Spaniard every time over and above the technically minded German.
So you can imagine my surprise that the British Press (and the majority of the nation with them) are backing the Germans tonight.
And I quote:
“It'll be a travesty if Germany doesn’t win this. Spain has been dull and lucky to sneak through their last 2 games while the Germans have been scintillating and unstoppable.”
“I've a bad feeling that Spain will win this, which would be devastating … with the way the Germans have been playing it would be hard to begrudge them”
“Spain are just jammy cheaters lucky to be there… Germany has blitzed almost every team that’s opposed them, I worry Spain will win given the fickle and sometimes very cruel nature of the game...”
“What has sealed a German place in our hearts above all, though, is Saturday’s result in Cape Town: Argentina 0 Germany 4.Not only did they beat the hated Argies but they did so by a margin that made our pitiful display against them six days earlier look a little more acceptable. I never thought I’d say this while sober but “Come on you Germans.”
Well… Sorry I TOTALLY DISAGREE.
Spain has a totally superior midfield. They have ONLY conceded 2 goals and as strange as this sounds about a team in the World Cup Semi Finals… we haven’t seen anything LIKE the best of them yet. I hope they plan to move David Villa into the middle, as they have looked a better side whenever that has happened. Thing is Villa just can't stop scoring; tap-ins or great goals, and Germany don't need me to tell them he is the one man they have to stop. The fact that Spain have scored six goals and he has got five of them says it all. The only thing Germany had that they don’t was Mueller and he is suspended… so I reckon the Germans will play an open game which will be their downfall.
Spain deserves to win this one. This is their best world cup performance for “The Red Fury”. Germany have won the tournament multiple times sure… but who EVER feels happy about a German win that isn’t German?
The final should be Spain V Holland. It should be because I for one have not yet forgiven Germany for Euro 96, when they knocked us out on penalties, with a squad of Panzer commands like Kahn, Freund, Eilts, Reck, Strunz, and Kuntz. I know that squad are long gone, but I don’t think I could bear to see Spain wearing the same pained expression that we wore that sunny day at Wembley.
So… when all is said and done, THIS is all that JaxWorld has to say on the matter…
¡Gane La Victoria Roja de Furia! Su es su tiempo.
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Well written and typically passionate but VERY mislead .Spain only got to the semis by edging through on both occasions thanks to opportunistic strikes by David Villa. The Germans have been fantastic and are not a one man team. IT WILL BE A GERMAN VICTORY. (or I'll eat my speedos!)
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