Soccer fans seem very much divided as to the quality of the just-completed World Cup. That’s primarily because everyone defines “quality” differently. Some want entertainment (and lots of goals). Some will be satisfied only if their teams wins it all. Some want less controversy; some want more. (One complaint I haven’t heard is that soccer should be visited, as cycling and baseball and other sports are, by more scandals over performance-enhancing drugs; is this an argument for letting sleeping dogs lie?)
My Spanish friends are of course ecstatic, and I am happy for them, and I very much enjoyed Spain’s play throughout; how could you not?
My Dutch friends are bitter, and I feel for them, although I do not disagree with commentators who argue that the Dutch team was borderline-thuggish in the final — which, given the fact that no referee wants to send off players willy-nilly in a final and will therefore let even a cleat to the chest earn only a yellow card, was (if intentional) a wise strategy.
My question for you this morning is: What will you most remember from the 2010 World Cup? A few things drifting through my head:
- Will this be the World Cup in which the referees — especially Howard Webb, Koman Coulibaly, and Jorge Labbadia — are remembered more than the players?
- The general failure of superstars (Rooney, Messi, Ronaldo, et al) to shine, and Diego Maradona‘s interesting explanation thereof: that today’s stars aren’t too selfish, but rather not selfish enough.
- The fact that England once again tortures its citizenry with false hope and outsize expectations.
- The much-maligned Jabulani ball. For the record, after I noted in the early goings of the tournament that scoring was very, very low — despite some predictions the new ball would inflate scoring — the 2010 World Cup, with 2.27 goals per match, failed to become the lowest-scoring tourney in history (an honor still held by the 1990 Cup, with 2.21 goals).
- The tourney was a good one for shootout-hating purists, as penalty kicks didn’t play a very prominent role (relegating our kick-down-the-middle strategy to the sidelines).
- Only one team went undefeated in this tournament. I’ll be surprised if you can name it.
- Or maybe we’ll simply remember that Xavi is a magician, and is beautiful to behold.
See you in 2014.
and 
. You can also watch it on 
One word: vuvuzela
One word – vuvuzelas.
The image of Paul the Octopus holding up eight yellow cards comes to mind.
I’ll remember “Paul the octopus” showing of his talents and the buzzing sound of thousands of vuvuzelas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Octopus
PS: The only undefeated team was new Zealand after three draws against Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia.
What will I most remember from the 2010 World Cup?
That the Championship game ended in regulation with a 0-0 tie, thus validating Americans ridicule of the “world’s sport”.
No mention of awful French referee Stephane Lannoy of Brazil vs Ivory Coast?
I’ll remember most the contradiction of changing the ball with the “latest technology” but no technology to lessen controversial calls. Maybe if Adidas made some of that technology then …
The fact that every year, we have more American Eurosnobs who think that they show signs of sophistication by pretending that this boring sport is worth following.
I’ll remember it for displaying that Africa can pull off international events!
I am a South African – went to two games at Soccer City – loved the vibe throughout the country – and yes… it was not without incident – but I think that we mostly managed to keep our welcome visitors from harm and feeling welcome!
And for the record – Jabulani may have an African name, but, like Paul (the octopus), was born in the UK!