The maestro has spoken. So let there be no more dispute about it, no more limp special pleading from their manager.
Blogs
Gavin Hamilton: A wretched Final but Spain deserve their first world title
Inevitably the Final leaves a lasting impression on our memories of a World Cup tournament as a whole, but that was a wretched game at Soccer City between Spain and Holland.
I cannot recall a major final that was so beset by nastiness, where two teams carried out so many bad fouls.
It’s hard to escape the feeling that Howard
Gavin Hamilton: World Cup diary, July 11
After 30 days, 63 games, thousands of air miles, countless late nights and unspeakably early starts, here we are, waiting for the 64th and final match of the 2010 Word Cup at Soccer City.
Africa’s first World Cup has been a strange tournament. In many ways it has been a huge success, at least off the pitch. On the pitch, there
Brian Glanville’s World Cup Diary: 8th July
No, it hasn’t really been much of a World Cup, but what’s new? Go all the way back to 1966 of blessed memory and what do you find; even in an era when there were only, blessedly, 16 teams involved rather than the present gargantuan 32?
Gavin Hamilton: Two best teams are in the Final
Four semi-finalists, two tense games, but the right Final line-up in Johannesburg on Sunday.
The two semi-finals could not have more different, producing contrasting styles of football and scorelines, but the right teams will compete in Sunday’s finale at Soccer City.
Brian Glanville’s World Cup Diary: July 6th
Grin and bear it. We are stuck with Fabio Capello for another two potentially sterile years. The Football Association, led, if that be the word, by that perpetual holder of offices he hardly adorns, Sir Dave Richards (remember him as the ineffectual chairman of his home club, Sheffield Wednesday?) found himself and the FA over a barrel.
Gavin Hamilton: what makes a good international manager?
What makes a good international manager? It’s a question that is currently taxing minds at various football federations around the world, from Argentina and Brazil, Australia and Cameroon, not to mention England.
I also ask the question because I’m not sure there is a clear answer.
Currently the best international managers are, by definition, Vicente Del Bosque, Oscar Tabarez, Bert
Gavin Hamilton: English football’s trouble with youth tournaments
An interesting story from England that may have got lost in the World Cup melee.
Harry Redknapp has “allowed” for Tottenham youngsters to join up with England ahead of the European Under-19 Championships in France next month.
Redknapp’s new found enthusiasm for international football may have a lot to do with his status as favourite to succeed Fabio Capello as
Gavin Hamilton: Germany’s youngsters point the way forward
International football is increasingly a young man’s game. The success of Germany, who destroyed Argentina in Cape Town yesterday, ending the World Cup dreams of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi in the process, is proof of that.
Germany have the third youngest squad in the competition, with an average age of 25.0, the youngest being Ghana (24.1) and North Korea
Gavin Hamilton: World Cup diary, July 4
Driving on South Africa’s roads is not one of the memories I shall cherish from the 2010 World Cup.
The lack of a public transport system has made driving a necessity to get to many stadiums, especially those outside of Johannesburg.
