So Spain finally won the world cup. Definitely badass. With all the talent they had on the field, one would have been forgiven for thinking that it should have been easier. Their badassitude took a little bit to show but show it did. Netherlands gave it a good solid try. They worked hard, they were tough and rough (the high kick by de Jong to Alonso’s solar plexus comes to mind). Very badass. You could not miss their badassitude. Hey, it was the world cup final. You bring it all and leave it all on the field. In fact to this fan, the Spaniards cried and protested one too many times for my taste.

Both teams had great chances, Robben had the 2 most open chances in the game and failed to put the game away both times. Iniesta got a clean one and he put it away for Spain. His quality is beyond belief. On a side note, hopefully Fabregas came to his senses from spending a month with a bunch of Barcelona midfielders, each of whom was clearly preferred and started ahead of him. His choice is a simple one – warm the bench at Barca or become great at Arsenal. Looks like an easy choice to me.

So we watched the first few games of the world cup and we have some thoughts. For opening games of the tournament, the games were okay, with occasional flashes of excellence and excitement. With first round games, coaches on both sides generally prepare their teams pretty well because they know who they are going to play. Coaches also do not want their teams to look bad. Opening games are used a lot as confidence builders.

Having said all that, what did we see and what did we think?

South Africa v Mexico
What a story!! The first game in the first World Cup tournament held in Africa, and the first goal was scored by an African, Shabalala, a forward for the hosting country. The game, exciting as it was, ended in a draw. Bafana Bafana had to feel good about the result nevertheless and for the pressure situation they were in, they did their country, their continent and the tournament proud. Bafana Bafana are badass without a doubt.

Uruguay v France
Les Blues entered the tournament amid a lot of skepticism. They needed a handball assist from Henry to get past the Irish in the play-off qualifier. But they have a team with big name stars and there is no saying what can happen whenever you put enough talent together. But the French football fandom long ago soured on coach Domenech’s ability to do anything with talent. The draw in this game did little to disabuse them of the notion. We hear that Patrice Evra was blaming the noise from the vuvuzelas for their performance. Tough shit we say. This is the world cup. Every world cup has a unique flavor. This one has vuvuzelas. Deal with it.

Korea v Greece
We have always thought Korea might be the sleeper team in this tournament. We like their style of play and their speed. Greece was not helped much by what seemed to us like a very soft effort. Nevertheless, Korea comes out smelling very good and in the pole position for the race to win group B.

Argentina v Nigeria
At the end of the game, Nigerian fans must have been scratching their heads trying figure out whether their national team came to South Africa to play or to watch the World Cup. It looked like they did not want to engage the Argentineans perhaps for fear that they might not then be able to watch the Argentineans play! Or was it Maradonna’s animated presence on the side line and the ball tricks he pulled off while in his sleek suit. And that is not to say that the star studded Argentineans were impressive either. It was pathetic. And how about the coaching decision to start Obafemi Martins on the bench for Nigeria and Millito on the bench for Argentina? Come on!

England v USA
This was the big game of the opening week of this 2010 World Cup. For some reason, up till this point England fans were persuaded that their team was a legitimate, even favorite candidate for the championship. At the end of the game, they had to be thinking differently. The US, decided underdogs, played a steady, solid game. Their game relied largely on solid defense, good midfield play, and efficient counter attacks. Onyewu was an animal in central defense. The rest of the team was solid. Altidore was very good. He should have exploited Carragher’s lack of pace a lot more. Watching the game, we were more and more perplexed that Capello had not included Walcott in his squad. This game needed Theo Walcott. We also wondered why he had never considered Ashley Young for the team. We came away with an interesting note – if you did not know who Wayne Rooney was at the beginning of the game, you still did not know who he was at the end of the game. You wouldnot know who Frank Lampard was either. But you surely would know who Glen Johnson was and who Emile Heskey was. And Robert Greene, the goalie who gifted the US with the goal.

Algeria v Slovenia
On the heels of the Robert Green disaster, one would be forgiven if one did not expect to see another crucial goalie mistake. But surprises are the staple of the world cup. Fighting to hold on after being reduced to ten men courtesy of a red shown to Abdelkader Ghezzal for a rather silly handball, the Algerians could not have been too concerned when the Slovanian captain attempted what looked to most of us like a rather ordinary shot with average power and a non challenging trajectory. But the shot bounced off the grass just a tad and that was enough to cause Faouzi Chaouchi, the Algerian goalie to gift the Slovanian with a goal and a win.

Serbia v Ghana
Awesome game. Serbia are a good physical team with some world beaters on their squad. Ghana is a good athletic team with some world beaters on their squad, most of whom were injured and not in the game. But the Ghana Black Stars, after a hesitant start to the first half seemed to find their footing. Prince Boateng was excellent as was Assamoah Gyan who scored the winning penalty shot. The Serbians were solid. Chelsea’s Ivanovich and Man U’s Vidich showed their quality but the Ghanians seemed to get better as the game went along. We thought it would be just a matter of time before the Black Stars claimed a goal even though the Serbians looked pretty good after they were reduced to ten following the red card for Lukovich. It came via a penalty, the Ghanian goal, but it was well deserved. We like Ghana to progress. We think the Ghanians are badass.

Germany v Australia
Whatever diet the Germans are on, I want in. They looked good, confident, efficient, awesome. If I was a betting man, as of today, I know who I would pick to win this tournament. They abused the Australians, did the Germans. It did not help the Soccerroos that they lost Cahill to a very suspect red card. If that was a genuine red, I have a lot of plays I want to show you from the preceding games. The Germans looked dominant and they were. June 23 will be very interesting – The Germans play the Ghanians. We think the Germans are also badass.