I wish I was Spanish!

I wish I was Spanish! It is as simple as that. Not only do they have great wine, great food, great weather, sun drenched sandy beaches and the deep blue Mediterranean sea, they also have the most sublime footballers on the planet.

Pass

Pass and move, pass and move, pass and move. They almost do it too much but I could watch it all night. This is how football was meant to be played. Slick, scintillating, skilful and sumptuous.

This Germany team have been superb throughout the tournament. They have been the top scorers and they humiliated both England and Argentina. Many people thought the World Cup had their name on it. What did they do when they came up against the European champions? Well, they chased the ball for most of the game!

Remarkable

Spain had 61% of the possession. That is a remarkable statistic in a World Cup semi-final and a remarkable statistic in a game against Germany. They had thirteen attempts on goal and restricted this exciting German team to just five. Not only did they dominate proceedings but they also only gave away five fouls in the entire game. I suppose there is no need to foul if the opposition rarely have the ball!

Sir Alex Ferguson once asked the question “Has Xavi ever given the ball away?” The answer is still, no.

Telepathic

Iniesta and Xavi have played together for Barcelona and Spain for a long time and they are almost telepathic in their understanding. They pass the ball as well as anyone and their movement is mesmerising.

Behind them is Xabi Alonso who also never gives the ball away and starts nearly every attack. Behind them are the Barcelona duo of Pique and Puyol. For all their magnificent pretty football here are two men who just love to defend. In goal is Casillas who had a nervy start to the tournament but looks to be back at his commanding best.

Up front is the brilliant David Villa and/or the out of form but equally brilliant Fernando Torres.

That is as good a spine to a team as I have ever seen.

Lovely

In a game where Spain played lovely passing football it was ironic that their goal came from a ball into the box and a bullet header from their centre-back. It just showed that they have more than one way to win a game.

It won’t be easy for Spain against Holland on Sunday but they must go into the game as fairly firm favourites. They are team that has absolutely no weaknesses. They can defend and attack, they can keep the ball for fun and they can score goals from any angle, all over the pitch.

Chasing

I don’t know how Holland will approach the game but their main problem will be to get enough of the ball to cause Spain problems. If they spend the first hour chasing the ball the way Spain have made their opponents do so far, I have no doubt that they will grind them down in the end and a piece of magic from Villa or Torres or Iniesta or Xavi or a header from Puyol or Pique, will be enough for Spain to add the World Cup to their European Championship.

Holiday

I’ve been to Spain for holiday’s a few times and I really like the country. I have been to the coast and to Madrid and Barcelona. That must make me almost Spanish mustn’t it?

I wish I was Spanish.