Spain exemplifies the winning formula

JOHANNESBURG

For far too many instances, and for far too many teams, the 2010 World Cup became about destroying rather than creating.

This was never the case for Spain.

Even after Switzerland succeeded in knocking off the Spaniards in their World Cup opener, and succeeded in frustrating the reigning European champions, they never wavered, nor did they ever change their philosophy.

THIS IS IT

No matter who you root for, you'll want to check out the best action from the World Cup final between Holland and Spain.

The mission was always to play creatively -- to pass, to move, to think, to act rather than react. Spain used this approach all the way to a 2008 European Championship, and with six straight victories after that loss to Switzerland, the Spanish did so once again in South Africa this summer.

They did so one last time on Sunday against a Dutch National Team that provided the ultimate final test in what became a tournament-long course in beating defensive-minded teams. The Netherlands were more than just foul-happy thugs throughout the World Cup, but in the final the Dutch were reduced to hacking and fouling and chasing and trying to keep up with Spain’s passing and movement. They succeeded in limiting Spain’s chances, and even created some of their own, but the Netherlands felt like the second-best team on the field for much of the time.

There is a reason for that. While the Dutch did put together a few flashes of attacking inspiration, it was too often lost amid a flurry of thuggish fouls and cynical defending. Spain started out attacking, and tried to keep pressing the issue, even as the Dutch did well to shut off the middle of the field. Spain adapted, and began working the flanks with fullbacks Sergio Ramos and Joan Capdevila, but as Xavi and Iniesta kept trying to pass and create, they were met at every turn by the tag team of Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel.

To their credit, the Dutch stayed disciplined defensively, and goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenberg was stellar when called upon, but it always felt like a matter of time before Spain would break through. It took more than 100 minutes, but Iniesta provided that moment of magic when he collected a Cesc Fabregas pass and calmly blasted home the most important goal of his prestigious career.

FIFA WORLD CUP

---

• Memorial set up for Paul the Octopus
• Bin Hammam rubbishes winter idea
• Corruption duo set to appeal FIFA ban
• Ex-Nigeria star takes own life in Texas
• Sepp Blatter endorses winter World Cup
• FIFA looks at golden goal rule again
• AFC chief backs call for winter 2022 WC
• U.S. hoping for World Cup bid spark

PHOTOS AND VIDEO

• World Cup images homepage
• USA bid: Wynalda looks back to '94
• Spain celebrates world title in Madrid
• Final: Spain vs. Netherlands
• Ticket to SA: Spain's ultimate glory

Fabregas’ inclusion provided the perfect spark, and served to show even further what Spain’s intentions were on Sunday. Head coach Vicente Del Bosque replaced the ineffective Pedro with Jesus Navas, as well as inserting Fabregas for the less-than-spectacular Xabi Alonso. While Navas did provide some energy, his time on the ball ultimately proved frustrating at times for Spain’s other midfielders, who are more effective moving the ball around rather than watching Navas try to race by defenders with the ball.

Fabregas was a much more effective substitute. With Sergio Busquets capable of dealing with Wesley Sneijder, and with neither de Jong or van Bommel much of a threat to get forward, Fabregas pushed ahead and made a consistent impact.

The Dutch tried a similar maneuver by replacing de Jong with Rafael van der Vaart, but van der Vaart failed to make the same impact he made in the semifinal against Uruguay. In fact, it was van der Vaart who’s poor clearance attempt helped set up Iniesta’s game-winning goal, a goal van der Vaart helped keep Iniesta onside for.

Dutch fans will lament the officiating and blame referee Howard Webb for being to harsh, but the reality is he could have been even harsher to the Dutch. While Johnny Heitinga’s second yellow and subsequent sending off could have been deemed as harsh, Webb could have just as easily issued de Jong a red card for planting his full cleat into the chest of Xabi Alonso. Webb could have also issued a penalty when Heitinga stuck a boot in from behind to catch Xavi as he was teeing up a close-range shot.

Webb’s officiating was heavy-handed at times, but he called it tightly both ways. He might have settled things down if he had sent off de Jong in the first half for his karate kick on Alonso, but a red card there may have also made it that much easier for Spain to pick apart the Dutch.

Edging the Netherlands completed a run of four straight shutouts and four straight 1-0 victories for Spain, a stretch that left Spain as the lowest-scoring World Cup champion in tournament history with just eight goals. That stat doesn’t do the Spanish attack justice because perhaps more than any previous World Cup winner, Spain faced a stretch of opponents, with the exception of the fearless Chileans, that were intent on defending first and foremost.

As much as this tournament didn’t turn into a goal-fest for Spain, their overall performance was still one worth admiring. The seamless relationship between the defense and the attack, with all four defenders capable of handling the ball and moving the ball around the field, made Spain that much tougher to try and stop and that much more fun to watch. While you can argue that the last four teams they played “stopped them” by limiting them to one goal a game, Spain was usually in such complete control of those matches that the close score lines never truly reflected how much control the Spaniards had over their opponents.

Although they didn’t give us many goals to savor, the Spanish gave us a style to admire and an approach to the game we can only hope more teams adopt, or rediscover. While it is unrealistic to expect teams to start playing like Spain overnight, you can’t help but believe that far more players and coaches around the world were inspired by Spain’s performance than by the Netherlands.

That’s what made Sunday’s victory special despite being a card-filled affair some considered ugly. It wasn’t just Spain's first World Cup title. It was also a victory for creative soccer over negative and cynical soccer.

That is a victory the sport needed after a tournament where far too many teams were content to defend and destroy, and not enough teams were willing, like Spain, to keep passing and moving and trying to play a game worthy of being called beautiful.

Ives Galarcep is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com.