Spain Wins, OLÉ!

PAUL THE MATCH PREDICTING OCTOPUS WAS RIGHT. This was the first sign that this match was not going to go the way expected.

The second sign was that David Villa DIDN’T score a goal.

Image lovingly stolen from Google.

Who, you know, has been scoring in every game Spain played so far.

You know, Torres, if only you grew a goatee.

Then Torres got send off to bench again. Normalcy is restored!

Then the goal was scored by PUYOL.

Image illegally stolen from Facebook.

There is a certain satisfaction when the underdogs win.

This is Annie, official Spain Supporter of NFC. I should be doing my literary essay right now (it’s due tomorrow) but I don’t want to. Screw the essay.

Sure, the Spanish team definitely haven’t been exactly underdogs, but they don’t exactly stand out. Their playing techniques seems almost too “safe” and  they never seem to be after spectacular victories. Just enough? Yeah. That’s the word.

But numbers don’t lie. 50 games, only lost once. *whistle*

I was apprehensive about today’s game. Germany was strong this year with stunning victories and some very impressive plays against the strong countries (Argentina, par example), while Spain grazed by with victories barely over one point.

We were discussing the World Cup in summer school English hell inferno class. Everybody supported Germany in this match. Not one Spain supporter? My ESPAÑA bracelet kinda… glared…

(Don’t ask me how. I could feel waves of heat coming from it. Maybe it was me hallucinating from the heatstroke. 44 degrees with humidex in Toronto today! And I was stuck in a classroom of 30 people with no air conditioning…)

I was supporting Spain (of course), but I had doubts whether they would win. Germany has been very impressive this year, but Spain has been very steady. It was almost as if the two teams switched personalities — Germany with its aggressive, passionate  (but nevertheless effective) attacks, and Spain with it’s calculating little passes and careful maneuvering.

Throughout the tournament, Spain has been making pretty little webs on the field with their passes, dominating the possession in all games. It was a very safe method. Although it made for some frustrating games, it narrowed the chances of the opposing team scoring.

Their forwards are slightly lacking aim though. Torres is useless, and the rest of them have a weird tendency of aiming OVER the net.

But the German forwards are freakishly efficient.

So when people asked me who do I think will win, I answered that it would be nice that Spain won, but their chances were limited. Germany has been very impressive. I was afraid that I would get attacked.

One friend wouldn’t stop talking about why Germany would win, and another, in tears, almost choked me when I said I was happy that Spain won the Spain vs Portugal game.

So when I got home, checked the scores, I squee’d like a fangirl. Then laughed at how Torres was benched. Again.

Spain will face off against the Netherlands for the cup on Sunday.

Thank you Spain, you have made Inigo Montoya very proud, very proud indeed <3.

One more thing: Come on, people, why so glum? It’s just a game. Sure I may feel like choking Torres every now and then, but that’s only because his face demands it. The number of BAWW’ing Portugal supporters are phenomenal. Can’t you be happy for other teams? Get over it, be happy and finish the games in good spirits, m’kay? It might be an international event, but it’s still just a game. And all you fans aren’t even the players. It’s entertainment. You might get attached to the players/team/nationalism/whatever, but it’s not as if they died. They’ll be alive and kicking next season.

World Cup and sporting events will only have a huge impact on your life if you allow it to.

EDIT: I’ve been told that apparently support between Spain and Germany were kind of equal. I don’t know about if that’s true or not. I spotted more German flags than Spanish ones, but maybe that’s just because I’ve been driving around Oakville? Portugal flags outnumbered them all, even in Korea-town.

On a happier note, I will close this post with a GIF of Spain’s goal keeper Castillas.

Happily stolen from a GIF spam forum.