Ole! Spain reign at the World Cup

SOCCER CITY (Johannesburg): After more than half a century of hurt, Andres Iniesta's goal gave Spain their first World Cup triumph, but not in the way they would have wanted.

As 84,490 fans, including Nelson Mandela watched, after 116 minutes of a slow, bruising blur of a final, the midfielder kept looking back at linesman Michael Mullkarkey before slotting in Cesc Fabregas pass past a Dutch defence depleted by the expulsion of John Heitinga.

This was the classic that never happened. Such was the tedium that you could argue that Jimmy Jump, the Spanish pitch invader, provided the greatest thrill of the evening when he pulled off the most audacious gatecrash in the history of sport, rushing the World Cup trophy just before the start.

The pitch invasion came after a stunning closing ceremony where the dapper Fabio Canavarro, captain of the victorious 2006 Italian side, had smartly walked up midpitch, and showed around the trophy.

After a soulless, goalless regulation time, extra time brought some urgency but by then it was too late to salvage this game.

Substitute Fabregas squandered the chance to etch his name into Spanish immortality when he hesitated in an open chance, put through by Iniesta.

A minute later, the man who had provided the pass himself hesitated. Despite having assumed a cold, killer-like persona of late, Iniesta then did a Fabregas. It was as if Spain were doing their familiar choke once again.

Then Jesus Navas hit the side netting. The Dutch finally paid for their stifling game when Heitinga earned his second yellow and was told to leave. Arjen Robben was saved by the skin of his teeth when he capped a frustrating evening after being denied twice by Iker Casillas he petulantly hit the ball in after being ruled offside.

It was that kind of tedium. The Beautiful Game, so much the subject of talk in the build-up to Sunday, seemed forgotten the moment the two teams kicked off the final. While Spain tried in vain to restore it, the Netherlands never had anything to do with it. All talk, all these days, proved it was just talk.

But what the Dutch managed in their own beautiful way, was to upset Spain's rhythm. It worked and then they continued to peck away in a dour 90 minutes of regulation play. Someone called them a card-carrying team. With their thuggish ways, they were proving the observation so right.

Fives minutes past the hour, Maarten Stekelenburg saved off his line a David Villa chance that the Spanish striker has been putting away, seemingly in his sleep, here.

On Sunday, he had lost his appetite for the spectacular, even the ordinary. The reason was Nigel de Jong, with his Hispanic gangsta looks and Mark Van Bommel, who managed to squeeze all the creativity that the Spaniards were capable of, thus giving the Dutch the crucial upper hand.

De Jong escaped with a sure red early in the game for a feet-up into the chest foul on Xabi Alonso. Ten minutes from the end, Robben beat an uncharacteristically lax Carles Puyol for pace, only to be denied a clear goal by Iker Casillas who was the busier of the two goalkeepers as the evening wore on.

It showed how Bert van Marwijk's men were winning the battle, even as they were collecting those bookings. Just past the hour, Wesley Sneijder won his little battle with Sergio Busquets and found Arjen Robben in the centre with a pass which just eluded Gerard Pique.

It had goal written all over it and as Robben raced to the Spanish goal with Puyol and Sergio Ramos in tow, it was Casillas to the rescue. But it was to end at that after a bruising 90 minutes.

Spain began early, attacking in waves. It frustrated the Dutch, who took some time getting into the game. Arjen Robben worked his way in and around the Spanish box, defenders trailing him feeder fish on the tail of a big one.

But as the fouls began coming in, all the talk of beautiful football was under the threat of vanishing when Nigel de Jong struck his leg out into the chest of Xabi Alonso.

It was a clear expulsion but referee Howard Webb chose to understand the magnitude of the occasion and let him off with a yellow.

The game was losing its rhythm. Villa was missing for most part and it was left to little Pedro, in only his second full start for Spain, to carry out the raiding.

Then a minute into first-half stoppage time, Robben forced a save off Iker Casillas.