No its not colours and nor is it about fruits. It is the FIFA World Cup Final between the Dutch and the Catalans.
Coming into the tournament, Spain would have been the bookmaker's favourite with perhaps the strongest lineups on paper. So strong that even Arsenal Captain Cesc Fabregas has to be on the bench. With the backline including skipper Casillas, Barcelona captain Puyol, Pique, Capdevilla and Ramos, they fear no Messi or Rooney. The midfield is the one to be talked about. Alonso playing the holding role, Barcelona playmaker Xavi holding the centre midfield together and Iniesta and Busquests or Silva running up the flanks, they are a bunch of clever and dangerous athletes. The chemistry they have as a group is thrilling to watch. And waiting for the ball from them is the deadly duo of Torres and Villa, always hungry for goals. Spain has continued to improve throughout the tournament despite losing their first match to Switzerland. Conceding just one goal after that, Spain have beaten Chile, Honduras, Paraguay, Christiano Ronaldo's Portugal and an all conquering Germany (who sent out England and Argentina in their two previous matches). With Torres looking out of sorts, Villa took the responsibility upon himself and was the wrecker-in-chief with 5 goals. With Xavi's acumen and Iniesta's pacy footwork, it will take an extra effort to challenge Spain, if not beat them.
If Spain has to prove everyone right, Holland have proved everyone wrong. Till reaching the finals, they have been modest. They have seldom been under the spotlight but for a couple of extraordinary midfielders. Two Real Madrid discards, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben have made the football fans gasp with breathtaking footwork and tremendous goal scoring ability. Real's double loss was a gain each for Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, the two finalists of the 2010 UEFA Champions League. Arjen Robben was the main architect of Bayern's run to the finals only to be defeated by Inter largely due to the sheer excellence of his Dutch counterpart Sneijder. With Dirk Kuyt, van Bommel and De Jong forming the other 3 in this 5-man midfield, the lone striker van Persie can hope to be fed from multi directions. But it was not to be as the Arsenal striker hardly got the ball, partly because he was tightly marked but largely because Sneijder and Robben decided to finish it themselves and with great success. Sneijder now equals Villa's tally of 6 and Robben is not far behind. Coming of a 100% win record since the qualifiers last year, Dutch are brimming with confidence after beating Uruguay and the mighty Brazil.
Football fanatics say you should not support more than one team. But cricket being my first interest and India not into football, I have been supporting Germany and Spain throughout the World Cup. But the Dutch have been so impressive, that there is an irresistible forcing to support them as well. That it would be a historical match is without doubt. Although I want Spain to win the cup, at the bottom of my heart I do not mind Holland lifting it either.
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