Spain vs Netherlands WC 2014

I have never felt so excited before for a football match. There are many reasons for that. The most important one is me being an Indian. You might wonder how someone’s nationality can decide his love for sport. But that’s a fact. Let me break this for you. Cricket is a religion in India. Since I was an avid cricket fan, I never felt the need to follow football. And India ranks 154th in the world football ranking, with a handful of matches played every year, it doesn’t make any difference whether I follow it or not. But football is all about playing for a club rather than your own country. But as a fan, I never felt a real connection to any of this clubs. Things have changed and now I can finally relate myself to a football team, The Netherlands! It was the third match of 2014 FIFA World Cup – Spain vs Netherlands. A rematch of 2010 world cup final. There were many questions to be answered. Can Netherlands give a fitting reply for their defeat in the 2010 final? Can Arjen Robben get past Iker Casillas? Can Netherlands defy the odds? There was so much excitement going into the match with people gathering in pubs, in front of giant screens – all dressed in orange with an electrifying atmosphere. There are only two occasions when the entire country turns orange – Kings/Queens day and when Netherlands plays an important football match. Definitely this was one such occasion! Most part of the first half was dominated by Spain, until Robin van Persie started flying! I would say his diving header was the turning point of the game, which lifted the spirits of his teammates. That was also the emotional moment of the match. Robin ran all the way to give a high-five to Louis van Gaal. How often do you see a player doing that to a coach? Second half was a complete turnaround, with Netherlands attacking from the word go. That actually paid off with Arjen Robben and Stefan de Vrij making it 3-1. These two goals in the second half almost sealed the match for Netherlands. After that it was more like a ritual for Spain, from defeat to embarrassment with the final score line reading 5-1 in favour of Netherlands. The final goal by Robben was a class act. He single handedly scored this goal by running 2/3 rd of the ground, almost a 100 meter race between the Spaniards defenders and Robben, which he won comfortably. No one ever dreamt a score line like this. The last time Spain conceded at least 5 goals in an international was in 1963. That sums up the tremendous win for Netherlands in their opening match in 2014 World Cup!