So FIFA has announced their pick for the golden ball, boot, glove, etc.
Golden Ball was exactly i'd hoped/assumed it would be, all things considered. Diego Forlan was there for his team every time they needed him without fail. I've never seen a player more clutch or perform more gracefully under pressure. Uruguay deserved their placement, even if their road there was marred by some unpleasantness. And Forlan definitely was the one who brought them there. Hats off to you, Forlan.
Silver Ball I was a little more surprised about. Wesley Sneijder is by no means a bad player - he is virtually the last Dutch player I felt the same about today as two years ago, but I can't say I saw this choice coming. I never particularly felt the team was looking to Sneijder for a miracle; I rather think they saw Robben as their guy instead. I know this doesn't really have a bearing on how well he played, but still... I was surprised to see him, especially ranked over...
David Villa's Bronze Ball. Okay, didn't see that one coming, either! I thought Xavi would get it for his amazing work in the midfield, even if Villa's creativity and foresight was what brought the goals. But I did feel that Xavi was the one setting pace and creating opportunities. I'm not upset at all with the ruling, though. Villa deserves recognition for his game winning goals.
In fact, he was almost tied door the Golden Boot, but alas! FIFA no longer seems to give ties for that. Mueller's three assists gave him the edge over the tied five goals that he, Villa, and Sneijder shared. And that is cool. If I were Villa going home with the Bronze Ball, the Silver Boot, and the World Cup, I would not be crying myself to sleep.
My own choices for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze balls? Forlan for sure is Gold. I'd give Xavi or Puyol silver, especially considering Villa ends up with the Silver boot. And maybe, just maybe, Landon Donovan bronze? It might be sentiment talking, but the guy did really carry a team on his shoulders and perform much better than anyone expected. But then, I suppose you could make a case for a lot of players in that way. Still, I like to see the awards spread a little.
Golden Glove is, of course, Iker Casillas. Of course. Two goals in the entire tournament rivals Buffon's in 2006. Now, Buffon's feat is technically more impressive considering the types of goals conceded, but the number is damn amazing. And both goalies do have to give props to their respective defenders that made it all possible. Puyol and Cannavaro were both exquisite.
Fair Play Award was awarded to Spain. 8 cards in the tournament. 8! And I think their first was in the quarterfinals or the round of 16. Certainly, the final almost doubled their amount, but one kind of expected that to happen considering the insanely rough style of play that was going on. (Also, I feel like a lot of their cards were pretty soft -- I know I saw Xavi Alonso get one or two that were ALL BALL.) But, overall I was impressed wih their sportsmanlike attitudes; lots of jersey trading and such after games, too. :) a very smooth, very sweet game to watch, the Spanish game.
HILARIOUSLY, North Korea almost won the Fair Play Award, since they only got two cards in their three games played. How awesome/ridiculous would that have been?
Best Young Player is Mueller, unspurprisingly. You had to know it'd be someone off the German team.
I'm looking forward to the naming of the allstar team. My guesses? Hmmm...
Lastly, lastly, I thought about Miroslav Klose. This was, in all likelihood, his final World Cup, and he didn't play his final match. I wondered about him and his 14 career goals, only a single goal behind that all-time great Ronaldo. Why not play that final game and make an attempt to leapfrog over? Why not give that last goal a shot?
The more I think about it, the more I think that Klose simply decided not to pull the trigger. I highly doubt that if he had been hungry for that title, /really/ hungry, he would have done it. He would have, at least, attempted. And he's a killer in the box.
So why not try for it?
I thought about all those things that came in my mind while it was possible -- that Ronaldo is, after all, the better striker; that Klose did get some of his goals in really cheesy ways, etc, etc. I wondered if, perhaps, Klose knew these things, too. I wondered if, perhaps, he didn't want that to be his legacy. Because with 14, he's one under, and he's still amazing, and nobody will be saying anything about his capabilities being more or less than anyone else.
Or maybe his back just hurt that day. Who knows? But I like to think there's some thought under there.
Congratulations to Spain, for finally getting what they deserve.
And congratulations out there and thank you to all of these players for another wonderful cup. I'm sure I'll spam more about it after this, but damn.
Four years is a long time to wait.
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