Oranges for the Spanish Armada

And now, the end is near, and so we face the final curtain. Yes, Frank Sinatra, it is. Very, very early Sunday morning, we will witness the FIFA 2010 World Cup final game between two-time finalist Netherlands and first-time on the block Spain. I won’t have to wake up at 2:30am anymore to watch 22 guys kick and chase a Jabulani for an hour and a half.

Two of my favorites, Brazil and Portugal went out of the picture unexpectedly and this time, me, my wife and children will be united and cheer for Spain. Viva Espana!

The star-studded Spaniards won’t have an easy time with the almost clinical Dutch in this match. Whoever wins will have their first-ever FIFA star on their national uniforms, signifying a World Cup victory. Both teams have two of the tournament’s highest scorers in Spain’s David Villa and Wesley Sneijder of Netherlands with five goals each. Sneijder, who plays for Inter Milan in the Italian Serie A is reportedly being pursued by Manchester United for 25 million pounds.

If either one of them scores in the final match, they should get the Golden Boot Award, FIFA’s equivalent to the MVP award. Both teams also have produced scorers in Arjen Robben, team captain Giovanni van Bronckhurst, Robin van Persie, Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Dirk Kuyt for the Dutch. For the Spanish side, Andres Iniesta and Carlos Puyol delivered. This could either be a high scoring match or will be decided in a penalty shootout. 

Netherlands reached the WC Finals in 1974 and 1978 but were not successful in both tries. The Dutch, then led by Johan Cruyff in 1974, lost in the Finals to host Germany, anchored by the legendary Franz Beckenbauer. The solid-gold trophy hoisted by Beckenbauer that time was a replacement for the Jules Rimet Cup that Brazil had retained after the 1970 WC, the end of the Pele era.

In 1978, again the Dutch are in the Finals, against host Argentina. The home squad is out for redemption this time as it was 48 years since they had tasted victory. They last won the WC in its maiden staging in 1930. Argentina relied on striker Mario Kempes and the balletic tiny midfielder Osvaldo Ardilles. Diego Maradona was a then 17-year old who did not make it to the squad.

Fernando Torres should wake up from his stupor on Sunday and please use Cesc Fabregas to help Gerard Pique and Puyol on defense. Team captain Iker Casillas still has his reflexes and will have his gloved hands full of Sneijder’s and Robben’s rockets. And the Dutch play rough and tough. Oh, well. Its not football without the tackles and everything in between.

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa). What the? You’re from the deepest recesses of this planet if you still are not familiar with this. From the Central African language called Fang, this means “do it”. Originally sung by a Cameroonian group called Golden Sounds in the 1980’s, it became popular and was brought by African DJs to Colombia.

Adapted as the theme song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and sang by Colombian singer Shakira, it celebrates the merging of Afro-Latin culture with its infectious beat. So, lets waka waka.!

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I would like to seek indulgence from my readers for missing out on my column last week. Because of the holiday declared on June 30, I was with the impression that the following day was a Monday. These are signs of aging, kamo ba’y matiguwang, lalim ba.

Also, belated birthday greetings to one of the biggest set of twins around, literally and figuratively, Michael and Raymond Mendoza. It’s easy to pick who’s who among the two. Raymond is the honorable type, being the TUCP party list rep, while Michael is muscularly huge, he probably should have his own zip code. We share the same date with our wedding anniversary so Boss Michael, I have to be with the wifey and family. Bana ra gud intawon ta.

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