Stand up for La Furia Roja!!Yes, a new world champion bas been crowed at last.... spain! This Sunday, the 11th of June 2010 was indeed a very proud day in the history of Spanish football as La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) defeated the Netherlands to cement their status as the world's best. This has been Spain's first ever World Cup victory and the Spanish squad deserve to hold their heads up high after the inspirational performance they put together on grandest stage of all. Spain was one of the favorites this year and they proved their mettle when the world saw lker Casillas hoisting the trophy high above his head after the final match. Looking back at the initial matches of FIFA, there was not much hope for Spain as they were defeated in their opening match against Switzerland. It was a major upset and left Spain bottom of Group H, along with Honduras. Spain desperately needed to wins from their next two group games to qualify for the knockout phase of the World Cup. They were to face Honduras and Chile and anything less than six points could have see the favorites eliminated from the Group stage. The Hondurans didn't prove to be much competition for La Furia Roja and were sent packing after two goals from David Villa sealed their fate. Chile were expected to be a trickier propositi
on, but they also failed to live up to their reputation and a David Villa strike from close to the half-line coupled with an Andres Iniesta goal ensured Spain's victory over the Chileans. Progressing from there brought new challenges for the Spaniards as they came up against Portugal. The Portuguese proved to be a major hurdle for Spain and they found it difficult to crack their defense. But they had David Villa in their team. Andres Iniesta slid a through ball into the box which was immediately pounced on by Villa who slid home on the second attempt after first hitting the keeper. The goal proved to be enough of an advantage and the Spanish held on for a historic victory over the Portuguese. Next up... Paraguay. Paraguay held La Furia Roja at bay for a long period of time in the match, before David Villa (who else?, really) struck with seven minutes of normal time left to play, and Spain comfortably made it into the semi-finals of the World Cup. Here, however, came what was probably the greatest test of the Spaniards up till then. Germany awaited them in the semi-finals. Touted by many to be the game of the tournament, Germany vs Spain was expected to be a thrilling game. Spain played well throughout the match and completely monopolized possession (around 67%). They prevented the Germans from playing their brand of football. The defense stood firm and did not allow the Germany to take too many shots on goal. During the second half, Spain launched wave after wave of attacks but the German backline stood firm, denying the Spaniards time and time again. Finally, on the 73 minute. Carles Puyol jumped high above the German defenders right into their net! Spain took a one-nil lead to the finals.. 
In the final, La Furia Roja came up against the Orange of Holland. Both teams had never won a World cup. For Spain, this was their first ever final whereas the Dutch had already played two finals in 1947 and 1948, losing both. Thus, there was no doubt that both teams had great motivation to fight and win. The match started at frantic pace and both sides seemed keen to bombard the opposition goal. Sergio Ramos sneaked in a powerful header on goal five minutes into the match, but his nod was well saved by the waiting Stekelenburg. The match continued ad break-neck-speed and both teams had similar long spells of possession and control, but neither was able to break the deadlock and the first 90 minutes ended with no goal to savour. Extra-time ensued and just when it seemed the match was heading for penalties, a Spanish hero was born in the 116th minute in the form of Cesc Fabregas. He slipped in and passed on the ball to the waiting Andres Iniesta in front of goal. The Barcelona midfielder received the ball well before volleying it home. Spain were elated, the Dutch cruched. The Spaniards held on for four minutes as the Dutch threw all they had at the Spanish goal in attempts to level the scores, but in vain. The 2010 World Cup was soon brought to a close as referee Howard Webb blew the final whistle, erupting Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium and the whole of Spain into rapturous celebrations. Spain proudly lifted their first ever World Cup.
