Johan Cruyff wrote an article for El Periodico which outlined his thoughts on yesterday’s final in South Africa. The original can be found here.

It was a very close game but of a very questionable quality. Holland didn’t want to play, at least not true to their typical style. Spain tried to remain faithful to their style but were lost a good bit of the match. In the end Spain decided to win the game by playing more individually than as a team. And they were able to due to a miracle goal from the player from Fuentealbilla that was raised in La Masia, the youth system of Barca, which is one of the best schools in the world.

1 - When Holland played like Inter

People in Holland asked me ‘can we play like Inter? Can we beat Spain in the same way that Mourinho beat Barca?’ I said no, no way. And I said no because I detest that style of play. I said no because I didn’t think that the Dutch would dare to do that. I didn’t think they’d renounce their style. I said no because they have their own style even though they lack the big names from the past. I was wrong. True, they didn’t park the bus but they almost did. They didn’t want the ball. And unfortunately, they played dirty. So dirty that they deserved to be two men down early in the game because of two ugly fouls that hurt even me. I wasn’t hurt that my initial answer was wrong. I was hurt because Holland picked an ugly way to try and win the trophy.

Cruyff with Dutch coach van Marwijk before the tournament

2 - When Spain became discombobulated

That ugly and rough style put the Spanish team in disarray. If that’s what they wanted they got it but they still lost.  Spain, after twenty stupendous minutes, during which they played as a team and above all, with only one striker even though it seemed like there were five, started to fall into the Dutch trap. Spain fell apart after those twenty minutes.  They weren’t compact on the field. Their lines were separated by 10 meters or more. They couldn’t find their game and lacked pressure. And this went on for a good while. One team practiced ‘anti-football’ because they thought that was the only way to win. The game ended 0-0 because Spain couldn’t find a way through the rough play that the Dutch employed. Afterwards, in overtime, it was more fun, more appealing to the eye even though the game wasn’t that much better.

The yellow card side of the Oranje (though perhaps it should have been red)

3 - The worst refereeing display in the World Cup

When we say from time to time that we don’t like to talk about referees, it’s true, but when you see last night’s game it’s hard to shy away from the debate. You’re free to have a bad game and make mistakes but you’re not allowed to create your own justice or invent your own idea on how the rules should be interpreted. Not only did he forgive two Dutch players (even Robben deserved a second yellow), he also looked the other way when he was needed most. The World Cup Final deserves a great referee and above all, a referee that isn’t afraid to do his job.

4 - A dedication straight from the heart

I could talk about and congratulate the two great goalkeepers (Casillas and Stekelenburg) but I’ll focus on Iniesta because he’s had a tough, injury plagued season that wasn’t helped by the loss of his friend (Dani Jarque). You’ve got to have a big heart, a lot of courage and be a special person to write that on your jersey and show it to the entire world (Dani Jarque, always with us). Spain won, Iniesta scored and triumphed ‘a la Barca’.

Iniesta wins the World Cup