Rio de Janeiro: No one saw it coming. Even the most prescient of observers would not have foretold such a mauling for the defending champions. The Dutch revenge for losing the 2010 final was swift and bloody. To eviscerate a team as accomplished as Spain was a stunning coup for a young Oranje team with modest ambitions.
Louis van Gaal, who failed to steer the Netherlands to the 2002 World Cup, is back with a bang. Robin van Persie paid glowing tributes to his boss. “The victory is a dream come true for me and we owe it to the coach,” he said.
Manchester United fans can start dreaming after a forgettable season under the overawed David Moyes as the Vans are set to join hands at Old Trafford after the World Cup.
If the losses suffered by Argentina and France against weaker opponents in 1990 and 2002 respectively were shocking, the result in Salvador on Friday was an earthquake. If one were to go beyond the numbers, a philosophy has been defeated.
Has the time come to write the obituary of Spain’s signature tiki-taka style? Recent evidence suggests an answer in the affirmative. The travails of Barcelona in Europe in the last two seasons show an inadequacy that is hard to ignore. Spain won three major trophies replicating Barca’s short-passing style in which ball possession was central.
Yes, Spain recovered from an opening loss in 2010 en route to their maiden title. But comparing the narrow defeat to Switzerland in South Africa to the Dutch hammering here would be an attempt in obfuscation.
The Spaniards looked shattered in Salvador. Manager Vicente del Bosque, a sort of person who looks as if he would only be alarmed by the apocalypse, said Friday’s loss made him “sick”. Xavithe midfield heartbeat of Spain, said it was the hardest defeat of his career.
Statistics don’t lie occasionally. It was the heaviest defeat for the defending champions in the tournament. It was also Spain’s worst result in more than 50 years.
The champions need a monumental efforts to be able to say “the obituaries about our demise are grossly exaggerated”.
Most of Spain’s problems stemmed from the back. Captain Iker Casillas looked like an emperor without clothes. The goalkeeper was at fault for two of the Netherlands’ five goals.
