Oranje red over Cruyff remark
Johannesburg, July 9: Dutch legend Johan Cruyff has angered fans of the Netherlands by putting his money on Spain in the World Cup final.
The central figure in Rinus Michels’ Total Football team says a Spain win will be good for football. Spain, according to Cruyff, have a pleasing style like the country’s premier club, Barcelona. Not many would disagree with the Dutch maestro because Spain have become the new torch-bearers of the beautiful game.
Spain, indeed, look like an extension of Barcelona. La Roja fielded seven Barcelona players against Germany in the semifinal at Durban on Wednesday. More importantly, Barca players have scored all seven of Spain’s goals in South Africa. David Villa has five to his credit. Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol have one each.
Pep Guardiola, the Catalan club’s manager, will be delighted by the success of his players at the premier international event. He will be happier to note that Vicente del Bosque has stuck to his club’s philosophy of eye-catching football.
Few can doubt that the Spanish are the modern masters of passing. Spain frustrate their opponents with the accuracy of their passes and nimble movement. Xavi pulls the strings from the heart of midfield like no other. Taking the ball away from Xavi’s feet is next to impossible. His vision is exemplary as well. He sees spaces his opponents are hardly aware of.
Xavi, the MVP of Euro 2008, is so confident on the ball that he takes his own sweet time to spot an unattended teammate. He doesn’t have the physical strength to hold off robust opponents but he has total faith in his abilities to keep the ball glued to his feet.
Andres Iniesta has been phenomenal here. He has put his injury worries behind him to help Spain break the stubborn resistance of Portugal and Paraguay. Like Xavi, Iniesta is also not a giant. But he makes up for his physical shortcomings with his skill sets and imagination. It takes some talent to keep a player of Cesc Fabregas’ calibre on the bench.
Every member of the Spanish squad is capable of playing the ball on ground endlessly, but La Roja owe their newfound status of the world’s favourite team to Xavi and Iniesta.
“Spain, a replica of Barca, is the best publicity for football. Who am I supporting? I am Dutch but I support the football that Spain are playing,” Cruyff is quoted as saying. Cruyff is not wrong.
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