Holland vs. Spain should be a classic

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This article was published 09/07/2010 (5933 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa —

A new champion will be crowned at

the World Cup on Sunday, when Spain

meets the Netherlands in a final which

has the potential to be a classic.

Well-organized and experienced but

blessed with finesse and flair, Spain

has the roster to outplay any team in

the world.

The Dutch have forwards, wingers

and midfielders capable of slicing

through any defence.

The first World Cup final to be staged

in Africa should be a memorable one if

both teams bring their best game to

Soccer City on Sunday (CBC, 1 p.m.).

Although some of its stars looked

short of fitness and form in the early

stages, Spain produced its best performance

in Wednesday’s 1-0 semifinal

victory over Germany. It looked more

like the squad that brushed teams aside

to win the European Championship two

years ago.

"We’ve shown that in the big moments

we can grow even more," said striker

David Villa, who is level with Dutchman

Wesley Sneijder as leading scorer

with five goals. "We should have scored

more goals, but one from (Carles) Puyol

has put us in the final.

"This is one of the greatest moments

for Spain, for us to be in the final of the

World Cup, it’s history. And we want to

make more history in the final."

The European champion faces a

Dutch side which at times oozes class

but has a habit of falling short when it

really matters.

Although the Netherlands too has

won a European title, that was back in

1988 and this is its first World Cup final

since ’78 — when it lost to Argentina in

Buenos Aires.

"It’s quite something to have achieved

this after 32 years," coach Bert van

Marwijk said. "That only really sank in

right at the end of the match when I was

sitting there on the bench. But we can’t

stop here. We have one more match to

go."

Van Marwijk is striving to brush

aside the tendency to choke in the late

stages. The team lost finals in 1974 and

’78 when it had probably its best ever

team and has since wilted in semifinals

of both the World Cup and European

Championship.

"We lost that (1974) final (against

West Germany) when we should have

won it," Van Marwijk said. "We had a

unique generation at the time, and Johan

Cruyff was the best footballer I

ever saw. What we’ve done in the last

two years, though, is to try and eradicate

that complacency and overconfidence."

The Dutch have won six World Cup

games in a row after eight in qualifying.

Van Marwijk is confident he has

a team who fight for each other, with

attacking players chasing back to help

out defenders whenever they lose the ball.

 

-The Associated Press