¡Mundo, vete preparando!

¡Clasificados! 

Sudáfrica, allá vamos

Was there ever any doubt?  J

Albiol – Pique – Marchena – Capdevila

Senna – Xavi – Cesc

Silva – Torres – Villa

17:00 Hey, Estonia is a pretty damn good team!  17 minutes in, and the best chance by far has been for Estonia, with one player beating Pique in the corner to whip in a perfect cross, the other player in the box simply not heading it right to get it where it should go, into the net, but instead sending it high over the top.  Iker was so frightened he fell into the goal!    Yep, they’re not afraid of us at all. 

In fact, they’ve been on such level terms, and been so energic and disciplined in snuffing out every attack, that when another one goes awry and Nando finds himself with the ball surrounded by THREE defenders, thereby losing it – he hastily sprints back and chases down his defender, sliding in to take out his feet in deep frustration!  Awww, Nando!  Best chance of the game yet too!  L

22:16  ACK, NANDO!  Such a sexy protest.  This time he runs it down, it’s a longball up for him, and his speed is breathtaking.  He easily outruns his marker, but when he tries to pull on the brakes and cut inside to escape him, his defender ruthlessly pushes him off it, and he collapses in a stunning heap on the grass, and stays there – all long, lean body, suddenly bestilled of motion; the red silk of his shirt tugged up, revealing a hint of smooth, baby-soft skin; his blond hair a sulky mop as he buries his face deep into his hands and elbows, murmuring into the grass.  Oh my f*cking god.  There better be pictures of this – he is a f*cking model out there!

So it’s Xavi for the free kick.  And the spot is so tantalizingly close that a pinpoint drop of the ball can tuck it into the far left corner, that even the most rudimentary kick can place it somewhere in the chaos of the box for a shot on goal.  The spot is that good.  On the very edge of the penalty box, right side, 18 yards out.  And the girls with seats behind the goal snap up ravishing pictures of Xavi as he decides between the two choices: taking the glory all for himself, or setting up one of his teammates?

He sets up one of his teammates.  Except it appears to be Villa who gets a hoof on the ball.  It flies just over the bar – so close!!  Estonia looks smug.  Everyone else trots off.  Villa throws up his hands and complains.  Ahaha!

24:00  Oof!  *drops dead*  Pique, Pique, Pique!  So simply taps the ball and eludes the striker flying in, who goes sliding into the corner flag in comical fashion as Pique so calmly looks the other way!  Oooooh, and starts the counter – our best chance yet????  But Torres sends it WILDLY over the bar!  OMG, Nando, how could you?!  And he knows it too, complete anguish as he just throws his head into his hands.  UGH!

25:00  ANOTHER GOAL SO NEARLY MISSED!  Xavi with that jaw-dropping dew-delicate tap forward for Torres, so lovingly given, despite himself being swarmed by defenders and soon to be swallowed up – and Torres, all you have to do is beat the keeper!  But no!  It goes off the goalkeeper’s foot!  Nooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!  >_ 

Is this retribution?  Payback for those Estonia chances gone begging?  But man, we are upping our attack in waves!  THIS IS SPAIN!!!

27:53 Brief shot of Torres’ cheek, and you can see a big bruise there.  DAMN ESTONIA!  *grumble*

30:00 Holy cow, we’re just bombarding their goal with knifes and forks and kettlespoons!  Poor Nando cannot buy one, here’s another perfect ball for him with acres of space to shoot, except??  Some defender roars in from behind to block that shot, sending it sky high!  ACK!  Then more stout defending by Estonia, sending balls out for corners!  It’s only a matter of time, surely . .

32:00 GOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  CESCITO!!!!!!!!!!!!  Kick that 0-0 down, its 1-0!

What a beautiful little 1-2 with Silva, when you see it again it’s so simple, yet it’s that innate understanding between the two players that makes your jaw drop.  Cesc wins it, side-taps it to Silva, runs on, gets it back, and all in one motion shoots past the keeper and into the back of the net.  He’s having a great game today.

35:00 HAHA, NANDO!!  Bicycle kick!  Again, way over the bar, but now I don’t mind, I love seeing that from him.  Again, he almost gets to it, but for the defender sticking a leg out, and Nando must lunge in with that kick or else it’s the keeper’s.  Poor thing!  Then he gets up, sticking his thumb back at the goalie to ask “is it me or him?”, and that bruise on his cheek pulsates, red and black.  Just give it to him, ref.  Srsly?

37:00 Just wave after wave of attacking football!  A dream.

Half:

Pablo, the announcer: “The only thing wrong with Spain in the first half, was Iker’s beard.”  Ahahaha, even guys don’t like his beard!  Watch and learn, says Cesc!

51:00  SILVA GOES DOWN!

They want him red-carded!  They want him red-carded! 

Me too. 

They see the ref pull out the yellow, and are aghast.  From seeing it live, it was like a gun being shot, in his back – that’s how he goes down.  OMG David!  And all game long too!  Just b/c he’s small, doesn’t mean you can run all over him!  Wow, Pique goes to give him a talking to.  For a full minute, it looks like.  Still talking, as they line up the free kick.  YAY PIQUE!!!

56:45 Nando off??  For Guiza.  Aww, c’mon, Del Bosque, let the boy play! 

65:00 Villa off for Santi Cazorla.  We switch to a 4-5-1?

78:00 Is that MATA?  IT IS!!!!!!!  Wow, I barely recognized him without his Valencia shirt on!  Why so late to put him on? 

81:00 GOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  SANTI!!!!!!!!!!!  YAY, FINALLY, another goal!  2-0. 

Just when I am interpreting the chants around the stadium to be “andelay, andelay” (sp?) = faster, faster = so flummoxed am I that we cannot get past this little Estonia, who is already eliminated, who sits bottom of the table, not more than 1 goal past them???  And we are trying all sorts of things too!  Longballs up top to Guiza, side to side, counters, tiki taka.  And now even the announcers are looking for other things to say, advertising this weekend’s lineup. 

Pablo is counting the passes, saying that Spain has made 20 passes already, side to side, front to back – and now we pass it around some more.  What are we waiting for?  What are we looking for?  Ah, ah – now I know.  We are looking for that tiny sliver of an opening – for that one mistake that will gift the ball back to us, Cesc with a chip to Santi, who actually misses it and almost loses it, then flicks it on for himself but it actually hits the defender’s leg!  And somehow, somehow, the mistake is made, the sliver of space opens – and Santi takes no time at all, one touch and he’s on the ground and the shot’s off.  GOOOOOOOLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Now we can breathe easier.

82:00 LOL!  Xabi with a cute curl of his lip, he looks pissed that he’s not the scorer of that goal.  Or even in the game.  But Cesc has been so great today.  It was he who provided the assist for Santi’s goal – and so adorable, when he saw that Santi almost lost the ball, he had that little “oh!” look on his face.  You know!  The one where he makes an “O” with his mouth, his eyebrows up, his eyes big – and he runs after him, ready to help him out.  Then happiness all around when Santi strikes.  PLUS that first goal, of course! 

91:30 GOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  MATA with a power shot!  From that far out??  YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Wow, just when it looked like Spain would ease into the weekend, wind down the clock, and stroll to the end of the 90 minutes – Santi breaks their feet-to-feet passing with an arching pass overhead to Juan Mata, who is all alone on the far right side of the box.  He settles the ball perfectly from the air, fakes out his dead-tired defender, puts it onto his left foot, and whips that ball into the back of the net.  Awww, no Villa or Silva anymore on the pitch to celebrate it with him, but I’m sure they’re going wild.  3-0!!!

End:

What a team.  Throughout the whole game, Ray was praising Spain on what depth they have – this “golden generation” of young players coming of age and earning their stripes together on the biggest stage possible.  That after years and years of frustration and tears – Spain is finally starting to achieve the accolades commiserate to their style of play.  And they’re not done.  They can still improve.  We’re still missing Sergio Ramos and Andres Iniesta. 

Plus: when will my Sevilla boys be called up?  I like Santi and Mata et al, but doesn’t the prospect of bringing Jesus Navas off the bench make you drool??  What about Diego Capel, soooo impressive right now with the U-21, and who got 2 assists last year on his debut with La Seleccion?  And Alvaro . . the best young Spanish striker after Torres and Villa right now, in my opinion. 

And finally: CONGRATS, IKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  New record of 57 shut-outs for the national team!  Beating out the previous record-holder Andoni Zubizarreta’s record of 56 shutouts with La Roja, and doing it with less caps too!  Casillas has only 98 caps, while Zubizarreta had 126. The next milestone for Casillas is his 100th cap, which will gain him entry to the exclusive club of Raul and Zubizarreta, as the only other two who’s done it.  Holy cow, that’s elite company – go Iker!  I’m so proud of you!!! 

This victory really couldn’t have come at a better time as today the February FIFA rankings were released and once again, since July of last year we’re ranked number one. Sure these are just numbers given by football’s governing body using a questionable method but today when we stepped out on the pitch of El Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán we showed just why we topped the list again. This also marked the 29th straight match of our impressive undefeated streak which is quite an achievement all on it’s own.

Both teams started without a few of their key players as England was missing Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard, Manchester United and England captain Rio Ferdinand and his domestic teammate Wayne Rooney.

Meanwhile we were also missing our captain and star centre back Carles Puyol as he picked up a knock in his match for Barcelona against Sporting Gijón on the weekend which as a result made him withdraw from the squad that played today. We also missed Real Betis defender Juanito as he picked up an injury while training with the squad earlier this week.

At first I questioned Del Bosque’s lineup as it looked something like this:
Casillas
Sergio Ramos/Gerard Piqué/Carlos Marchena/Joan Capdevila
Marcos Senna
Xavi/Xabi Alonso/Iniesta
David Villa/Fernando Torres

No left footers causing Andrés to play on the left flank and Xavi who usually plays a central role started on the right flank. Despite all my doubt these two men impressed as always and showed just how valuable they are to La Selección.

Overall the game was a comfortable victory for us but the opening moments were pretty scary as Agbonlahor and Gareth Barry had chances to put England up but missed, luckily for us.

The Three Lions were probably left to rue these missed opportunities as on the 36th minute Xabi Alonso who was dominating the midfield put a perfect through ball to the feed of Euro 2008 star David Villa who then beat Everton defender Phil Jakielka and slotted it past David James. El Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán exploded as the fans realized how much this goal meant. Alonso and Senna both had decent chances before the half ended as well, but nothing doing.

Pepe Reina came in for Palop who was solid throughout the first half. Not sure why Beckham was in the England squad but none the less, he did come on at half time. Even with the LA Galaxy star midfielder, the visitors never created any decent chances right away and the game was swinging more in out favour than ever.

Not long after Villa was substituted for his Valencia teammate David Silva who didn’t start because he came back from his injury not too long ago. Fernando Torres was also substituted by Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente. Our two best top strikers off and we still manage to score again, that’s a sign of a top class team.

Xavi was the provider for the final nail in England’s coffin when he sent in a perfectly weighted free kick on which new boy Fernando Llorente put his head through and this goal coming in the 83rd minute sealed The Three Lions’ fate.

England and West Ham front man Carlton Cole had a perfect opportunity in the dying minutes of the match when he dribbled around Reina but Carlos Marchena was lucky there to clear the ball off the line. That was as close as England would get as the referee blew his whistle to call the game to a close and sealed our 29th straight game in which we have been undefeated.

The city of Sevilla is naturally one which is rich in culture, tradition, and is always bound to be buzzing at all times of the night. The city after this victory was much different however, it was more full of live (if that’s possible!) and people were singing and dancing through the streets. The people were absolutely ecstatic, it was simply amazing.

A point that has to be said about yesterday’s match is this – Xavi is the best play maker in the world. If you watched the game you can’t not agree, the boy is pure class. He was the MOTM by miles and even though the team was pretty flawless, Xavi was in a class all on his own, what a stunning performance. He does everything, he’s a workhorse in the midfield running all over the pitch, breaking up plays, recovering balls, going in hard to win every 50/50, truly is the lynchpin for our squad.

If anyone was questioning our ability I can assure you it is still there and it proves the depth in our squad when we have players like Silva, Güiza, Árbeloa, Fàbregas (when healthy) and Cazorla coming off the bench. The win at home to a team of England’s stature is definitely a sign that we still have what it takes and can defeat some of the best teams around. It also proves that size doesn’t matter seeing as England has (physically) one of the largest squads but we danced around them like it was La Fería.

The only bad news last night was that Llorente after scoring his first goal for Spain did limp off the pitch and will miss his match for Athletic Club this weekend against Recreativo de Huelva.

Usually I would sit here and write more about things from La Furia Roja’s perspective, but this time I’m going to critique the match. England were awful, they may have started good but really lack the pace and appear just to be no more than an average European team. I don’t think anyone can be serious when they say England will be serious World and Euro challengers in the next coming tournaments because they’re clearly weak. I don’t care that Rooney, Ferdinand, and Hargreaves were missing, sure they may have helped a bit but the outcome would have probably been the same. Also it doesn’t matter what fans consider the “stronger league” because even though 3 of the last 4 teams in the Champions League were English they still greatly struggled yesterday in Sevilla. Domestic and international football are two different things, look at the foreigners in La Liga compared to the foreigners in the Premier Leauge. Needless to say the influx is definitely in the Prem.

I think we can definitely look forward to the coming months ahead when we continue on the road to South Africa 2010. We have the best squad in history and the highest confidence to go with it too, who will stop La Furia Roja is what I want to know…

Both of our nations have produced countless stars who shine ever so brightly domestically but when we step out there in those major tournaments we just seem to crumble. This year around we put some of those critics back in line as we convincingly won the European Championships under the leadership of Luís Aragonés in Austria/Switzerland. England on the other hand, failed to even qualify for the tournament.

Aragonés stopped the hurting for all Spaniards when we claimed out first piece of silverware for over 40 years but can Fabio Capello do the same for England? They’ve definitely had a resurgence since he’s taken over but playing against the defending European champions is a whole other ball game.

There is not much to say about this match because I’ve pretty much said everything that needs to be said in the previous two posts here and here.

Just a few bits of team news though. Carles Puyol did pick up an injury over the weekend and has therefore pulled out of the squad that will play The Three Lions, his Barcelona teammate Gerard Piqué will most likely slot in at centre back due to his absence. Real Betis defender Juanito will also not play due to a knock he picked up in training earlier this week. As scheduled Fernando Torres will play even despite Rafa Benítez’ rant earlier this week.

The squad will therefore be like this:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, José Manuel “Pepe” Reina
Defenders: Raúl Albiol, Álvaro Arbeloa, Joan Capdevila, Juanito, Carlos Marchena, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Ramos
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Sergi Busquets, Santiago Cazorla, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Albert Riera, David Silva, Marcos Senna
Forwards: Daniel Güiza, Fernando Llorente, Fernando Torres, David Villa

I think it will be a close match but playing at home The Lions have probably bit off more than they can chew.

When things go mad around you, you come home and realize what a sanctuary La Seleccion is. Tired, pissed off, I turn on the TV: and the little whimper in my heart soars when I see my Spanish boys. OH, look at how proud they stand! Listening to the Marcha Real song – do they realize, what an impact they have on people? How one look, one position forward in the lineup, can utterly affect a person’s happiness or sadness? How much they are inherent in the fabric of our lives not to break down, in the fabric of us all, for our joy and for our redemption . .

Because I’ve just had the business trip from hell. Yep, complete with the totally delusional and asshole of a boss, a shitpile of stuff to do, and a delayed flight making me miss an appointment in town. pjlkfajlsdfk#. The only way to rescue my evening now – is to turn on La Seleccion. And even though it’s a day late and I already know the score – I instantly smile when I see my boys in yellow line up for the national anthem!

 It’s not even my anthem – but oh, how I love the sound of it! How much it brings me back summer, when all around me winter is threatening to break! The pomp, the splendor, and the wordless notes float through the air, allowing you to enjoy the Spanish boys in all their regal bearing without having to endure (or laugh at) them trying to sing the words. Bravo, Spain! It’s become my honorary anthem – the song that will always hold for me the joy and wonder of discovering them and falling in love with them in this summer’s Euros.

4-1-3-2 ineup:
Sergio – Puyol – Juanito – Capdevila
Senna
Cazorla – Xavi – Iniesta
Torres – Villa

This is the first time I’ve watched a Setanta broadcast, and they are showing a few interesting shots before the match, including slow-mo dramatization of Senna clapping and clenching his fists to pump himself up, the two Belgian forwards chatting about formation and tactics, and Nando – LOL! – looking quite uncomfortable, actually, as if his mind was miles away, doing some stretching prior to kick-off. Oh, and what’s this? A girl in a parka laughs giddily as she kicks the ball in center circle, as if starting the game. She’s won some kind of lottery? Where can I apply????

1:20 These yellow uniforms with white shorts don’t flatter the boys at all! Along with the white socks . . eh. I miss them in royal red. Spain keeps neat possession in the opening minutes, almost losing it here and there, but just as I gasp, a midfielder will leap forward and keep it, win it with a neat step and a precise tap of his foot, and I am thrilled with every movement. Suddenly, from some 40 yards out, Fernando loses patience and volleys a hopeful ball forward! Surely it would go nowhere – its way too far out – but the goalkeeper spills it! He’s on the ground! It’s ripe for the picking!!!! VILLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH, so close! He pounces on it, and in two steps have snatched that rebound and strikes it with all his might towards goal, but the goalkeeper quickly swallows this one up. Great start to the game!

3:00 I love the crowd here! The stadium is filled to capacity and brimming with loud, happy fans, a sing-song of voices and banners and drums. Now this is the proper atmosphere for a game! (sorry, Estonia)

6:30 WHA-??????? GOL already for Belgium??!! What happened?? Iker didn’t even move! 0-1!

Poor, poor defending on this set piece. And it’s a fright to see a team beat Spain to a goal – that’s never happened before in the Euros!

Here, Belgium wins a corner. The corner kick swings out too far, and the ball is headed out to the right elbow of the box to Belgium’s #4, Kompany. Sergio goes out to defend – but instead of stopping the ball he tries to stop the man instead, and they wind up in a messy tangle of arms and shirts just as Kompany smartly taps the ball out right, then brushes Sergio away to put in the cross – which meticulously sails straight to #10 Sonck by the far post, who rises magnificently (and ALONE) to head in the goal. !!!!

It was as if the Belgians were playing in real time and Spain in extra-slow-motion!! Iker didn’t even move! He could only watch, horrified, as the ball arched over him and past him into goal. How can Sergio not only let somebody by him with such a dangerous ball, but to let him put in the goal-assisting cross??? How can we allow that ball to find #10 without even a fight? How can we allow a goal this easily? “Ramos is not concentrating,” the announcers decide.

10:30 Oooh, lovely stuff from Torres! First, he receives a fabulous ball from Xavi on the left side, looking like a deft deer in between 3 defenders looming in on him, but his beautiful cuts and weaves to find the right angle gets shut down. Then – a high cross this time comes to him, and he holds off his marker strongly with a fantastic chested control of the ball, then immediately sends it back into the air with a sombrero to elude his marker again – ah, only to lose it!

11:30 LOL!!!!! NANDO! Don’t despair! A hurtling cross once again finds Torres, full of run – but his leap to tap that ball back slightly to his striking partner Villa goes horridly awry, skips Villa altogether, and lands on the boot of a Belgian. Seeing that, Nando stops dead in his tracks and throws his hands and his head down violently, cursing the gods while at it. Don’t worry, Nando! We’ll get them in plenty of time!

13:00 Belgium with another chance! They stream forward, and they do not tiki-taka, oh no. They gallop at full speed down the wing and one good cross will do, one no-nonsense cross that nearly finds 2 forwards latching onto it, before Sergio is once again chasing down a dangerous ball in the right corner. This time he does better – tangles up the player and tries to clear the ball out of bounds – but he falls down while entangled! The ball is still in-bounds! OH NO! Their #9 Witsel gets a bicycle kick??? Quite ferocious too, it whips toward goal – only to go out just wide. The Belgians are more entertaining than the Spaniards so far! (and what a name – Axel Witsel!)

13:39 After that scare, the commentators begin berating the Spanish defense, naming every single one of our back four with the air of terrible doubt as to their defensive qualifications. Just as I’m about to sock them one – Sergio sprints for a loose ball down the right flank and tackles it away! Just as the Belgian winger is catching up to him. There! Do you doubt us now? “They’re falling apart,” is their conclusion. Oh, whatev.

16:30 OOOHHHH, what a chance!! Someone (#10? No Cesc can’t be there – Xavi?) with an eye-popping ball forward, straight as an arrow, for Villa to outrun the keeper!!! He’s come out too far! Villa is facing an empty net on the far, far right side!!! He waits just a little bit too long for Fernando to catch up, and then his cross his picked off by a Belgian defender. OOOOhhh, what a chance that would’ve been to capitalize on that mistake!

Wait a minute . . it is Cesc! I can recognize that kind of pass from anywhere, it is Cesc’s signature kicking style and pass . . but, when did he come on??? And for who?

20:00 I’m still confused on how we can have Cesc on the field. He wasn’t in the starting lineup, was he? Are we playing 12 on 12 here? No . . I mentally count every Spaniard I’ve seen so far. Cazorla, check – Iniesta, check – Villa – Nando – Xavi – Senna. We are of course fielding our back four. Ok. Plus Iker. That’s already 11. How does Cesc get to be player #12?

24:30 Jesus Christ, the Belgians are looking good!!! They’re tearing our back four to pieces here! Iker suddenly with much more to do, first heading a long, dangerous ball away (first time I’ve seen him use his head!), and now he comes out to scoop up another dangerous ball, so quickly throwing it back into play, his whole body language one of a ferocious captain, screaming and urging his team on, to race for the enemy guns! The whistle blows on a foul, and Iker goes hopping mad, yelling at the ref for the Belgian forward that’d plowed into Puyol and then himself in that mad scramble for the aerial ball. I’ve never seen him so emotional before – GO IKER!!! That’s the captain I want to see!

31:00 Yellow card on Belgian captain #3 Simons for holding Xavi back by the arm, shoulder, torso, you name it. I think I get it now. There’s been a substitution that I’m not aware of. Is Nando gone???? While they were busy showing some video or other? What happened???? How is this worth $15/mo, Setanta, if you don’t even show us how #9 got injured?!

33:00 Sergio?! What happened???? At first I didn’t want to believe it, but then I see his red and yellow wristband, worn for Spain, as distinctive as if his name had been on the back of his jersey. And my heart drops like a stone.

He’s writhing on the ground, his hands covering his mouth in agony, his eyes squeezed tight and his whole body alternatively curled into a fetal position and then turning to lessen the pain. A circle of players surround him, Cesc arguing/debating with a Belgian. Then they show the replay.

And you realize that this is a defender of the utmost quality – no one else compares to him. The replay shows Cesc and Belgian player #17 Fellaini watching a high aerial ball hurtling towards them. Then – Cesc steps out of the picture! He says no thank you! But Sergio! He sees it coming at him like a burning meteor, and he decides that he’s not in the right place, that he needs to go one step forward, in order to meet it head on! My lord! And there’s a Belgian player already there? No problem! He determinedly jumps up INTO it, higher than the Belgian, he so wants to head it, to get it away from him! Cesc, you bloody arse, thanks for nothing! Thus in his ardor for the ball he thinks nothing for himself, no precaution, all he wants to do is win the ball, and when he does – his head clatters into the head of the beaten Belgian, hammering his jaw, and he drops to the ground like a wounded soldier. My heart stops in its tracks. Oh Sergio! How can they ever question you? How can they ever criticize you as giving anything less than 150%?

And as I scan the crowd of Spanish players milling about – yep, I see no Nando. That’s the swap, then.

He’s alright!! YAY! As Sergio gets up and jogs back into place – the boos rain down from the crowd. Hey, hey – give him some respect, won’t you? Sergio rightly ignores them and checks his mouth for any loose teeth, his palm revealing a smudge of his own blood.

35:20 GOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! INIESTA!!!!!!!!! Brilliant finishing, 1-1!

Oh my god, what absolute majestic ball-control by our little magician! Routes the keeper and slips it cheekily into goal, almost delivering it to the doorstep! Oh, look at Cesc so happy! It was his assist, after all! Hey, Del Bosque! Smile a little, won’t you?

It starts with a ball from the back that finds no one up front. But the Belgian defender who intercepts it gives it to his buddy, who makes the terrible mistake of trying to pass it backwards instead of forwards, so that an enterprising Cesc steals it!

He immediately turns tail and Iniesta knows this is his signal, he comes steaming up the left, and the ball is slipped forward for him by Cesc, a beautiful ball that seems to run parallel to him and almost wait for him, arriving just as he does, Iniesta splitting the defense to get to it, luring the keeper out of goal before the most amazing sequence – sliding the ball with his foot while running, keeping it firmly attached to his feet, evading all defenders and even the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper who sees his nightmare dance by him, Iniesta leaving nothing to chance and even with a sliding tackle in to stop him he slips it in just on the goalline, a loving tap to spiral that ball into the far net, Xavi coming on to spike it for emphasis but they are already off celebrating, the patience of Spain repaid in spades!!!!! Oh, if Belgium wants to play with speed and power – then Spain will give you beauty. She will give you a goal that you will want to rewind and watch again and again, and still never tire of the brilliance of one splendid dribble by our magician to deliver it home.

ROFL!!!!!!! IKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God is he excited about that goal! Someone go out and celebrate with him plz!!!!!!!! Haha, with that gigantic finger wagging in the air as he screams his lungs out! FTW!!!!!

37:00 VILLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sergio with a beautiful delivery to place the ball at his feet! WAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!! All Villa has to do is control it and shoot!!!!!! But at full run with no one to takes these monsters off his hands now, Villa skies it over the goal and cries for it to come back to him.

And what an about-face for the commentators. Just a couple minutes ago they were still berating Spain on “Juanito looking lost,” Cazorla losing the ball like “taking candy from a baby,” Sergio “not concentrating,” and where is our central defense? Blah blah . . Now its suddenly “and this is why Spain are the reigning champions!” as they replay the Villa near-miss. Make up your mind, will you?

38:00 Sergio loses the ball! Shit! Now the Belgians stream forward again – except we are without our right back! That channel is wide open for him! He takes on Iker 1v1! DAMN! But thank god his shot is unimaginative, straight and low to the ground, and Iker eats it up with his mittens and his body, protecting that ball so as to not spill it. Phew! Thank you Iker!

44:00 Villa!!!!!!!!!!!! That was almost in, you bloody goalkeeper! What brilliant linkup once again, Sergio with jaw-dropping precision placing the ball just half a meter in front of our rollicking #7, then all you see is a blur of legs and desire and undeniable ferocity zip past you, takes it down with his chest and beat his marker with a deadly touch from an acute right angle but the keeper this time makes no mistake! So, so close!!!!

Corner! We take it short, but it really goes nowhere, so we reset. Now from the back surges a flying ball forward – for Sergio? Yes! With a header! Oh, that didn’t go as planned. Damn those pesky defenders in the way!

Oh wait. They’re injured? Wow – Sergio took out both #14 and the goalkeeper? LOL!

Second Half:

46:30 Ah. They finally decide to inform us that Torres was indeed lost at 16:00 in the first half due to injury, swapping Cesc on. Jeez, that’s really timely reporting, guys!

48:40 WOW. Spain is just devastating in the second half opener here, moving the ball around as if by instinct, seeking each other out and darting in and out of the confounded Belgian defense as if children playing hide and seek. Oh, what movement! What cleverness on the ball! Watch as Iniesta once again dares them to touch him, playing that sliding game with his feet. And now, as he runs back into the center, he crafts a yard of space and promptly lashes that ball to the top left corner, so so accurate that the crowd holds its breath! Another inch and it would’ve gone in! But alas, it whispers just above the crossbar, the top corner of the goal, and the Belgians let out a huge sigh of relief.

51:00 PUYOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Saving Spain for dear life! MY GOD, IKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Coming out too far!! The goal stands defenseless and the shot is whipped in, fast and furious – and if not for Puyol sliding in to save that off the line we would’ve gone a goal down once again! All hail the Barca stopper!!! Oh god, my heart’s still racing 100mph from that one!

Replay: Jesus, that #18 Dembele skips by everyone, “makes mincemeat of Capdevila,” dodges past Juanito too, Iniesta chases and chases but can get no closer, and now Iker is forced to come out and help, he slides in with his mittens up – BUT it doesn’t stop him! Stop him!!! SOMEONE STOP HIM PLEASE!!!!!!!!!! He SHOOTS!!!!!!!!!! There is no one in front of goal!!! Then – like a miracle Puyol slides in, tackling the ball with his leg in one quicksilver moment, everyone’s hearts in their throats as they watch the ball careen away and out of bounds . . my god, my god, this is an epic game.

And we’ve just seen one of the top ten saves of the year. For sure. Thank you, Puyol – we owe you our everything.

53:00 Great save! Iker redeems himself by stopping a shot on goal by another runaway Belgian, this time their #9, with his legs. Corner for them – *gasp* – the ball is loose! And Iker races out to grab control, looking around to who to give it to for the quick restart. Everything about him is fast today – you get the sense that this is war, and there is simply no time to lose.

54:10 Haha, Villa! Every time he is even slightly pushed/shoved off the ball, he looks back at the referee with those scathing dark eyes and clenched jaw as if there’s been highway robbery. No call.

55:00 Jesus Christ, that was close!!!!!!!!! From my angle it looked like it had gone in for them! If this is Belgium then what will Turkey be like???? Ok, calm down, calm down . . breathe . . remember to breathe . .

Replay: Puyol is once again the hero. I cannot even believe my eyes. How much will and concentration does that take, to be gunning at full speed, keeping a big, strapping forward at bay – all the while seeing the ball come hurtling towards you, one wrong step and you know its an own goal, one slower step and it’s a goal by Belgium, your keeper has gone god knows where, the goal is empty and defenseless once again, there are just a sea of red shirts everywhere, Juanito and Capdevila once again are useless . . what do you do????? My God, if you are Puyol, you do the impossible and tap that ball just enough to skirt the goalpost and out of bounds, out to safety – while you continue hurtling towards the net at 90mph and then falls inside with a heart-attack and a HUGE breath of relief all at the same time. Seriously, if not for our dear Puyol, we would be down 1-3 right here. I’m not kidding. He is man of the match, for sure.

60:00 It’s been back and forth, back and forth – 80% Spain holding and probing and crafting, so patient are they to paint a masterpiece. Then they lose the ball, and Belgium pours forward, as fast as Thoroughbreds off to the races, caring nothing for artistry but for the sheer power of lunging towards goal, and the 10 Spanish strikers must instantly turn into 10 stout defenders. Riveting stuff!

Hey, don’t touch his hair! Haha, Puyol and #17 Fellaini get into an argument, Fellaini tries to reconcile by putting both his hands out to touch Puyol’s cheeks/hair, in a show of goodwill – but Puyol wants none of it! Instead, he gives him a wag of his finger accompanied by an icy glare that all but screams, “Hands off my hair plz!! They’re not for you!”

63:20 WTF????? The whistle’s blown a long time ago and everyone else has given up, but Fellaini is deaf?? Hello, offside! But he keeps going! Iker comes racing out for it, but Fellaini just bulldozes right through him – literally! Iker, surprised as hell, goes flying into the air. Meanwhile, Fellaini bears down on the wide empty goal all by himself, as if this is normal, as if he senses absolutely nothing is wrong, and plods that ball into the net before turning right around to celebrate, as if – he hadn’t heard? Yeah right. Iker is scowling like mad. “Please give him the benefit of the doubt, you can’t hear yourself think!” the announcer pleads. No card is given.

64:00 Xabi on for Santi Cazorla. Don’t you think we need another striker, Del Bosque?

65:00 Iniesta shown the yellow card for a studs-up challenge on a high ball with Belgian #10.

66:15 Puyol shown the yellow too! Oh no no no! He slipped, referee, he slipped! You gotta give him the benefit of the doubt!

But no one gives a defender the benefit of the doubt. Awwwww . . poor Carles. The replay shows that he did, in fact, slip – trying to get in front of the #10 Sonck and tackle it away – but instead slipping on the grass and then landing with a thud in front of the rampaging Belgian striker, so that it looked from behind as if Puyol was trying to put a doorstop on that man. Just a yard outside the penalty box too!

Immediately upon seeing that and hearing the whistle, Sergio, who was trailing them, jumps in the air in protest and tries to passionately appeal to the referee, to no avail. Senna tries too, but Puyol can do nothing except wait, hands on his hips, looking forlorn and innocent. Their cries, however, fall on deaf ears, as the ref continue jotting his name down in his book. Resigned now to the free kick given so close to goal, the players gather for the defense.

It’s cleared out by Puyol! YAY!

68:00 Suddenly the boos rain down from the stadium, simply for Puyol touching the ball! “They’ve found someone they don’t like,” the announcer chuckles. Well, they’ve booed Spain every time they’ve given it to their back four to restart the possession, but I’m guessing Puyol’s saves and defense has really riled them up today. Rival’s boos = respect in disguise, right? Well, I’ll like to think so. 

Sergio!!! Making a devastating run up the right wing! Its so surprising to see him attack after watching the whole first half where he kept passing the ball backwards that I almost can’t process it, and before I know it he’s already taken down by some crazed defender flying in at him with studs up, and now he is getting up cursing to himself and to the gods, slapping both his hands on the grass and squeezing his eyes tight in regret. We got a corner kick, Sergio! Don’t despair!

The replay shows him circling the defenders like a wolf around sheep, breaking off his marker just as the ball is played forward for him, swung high and fast, him controlling it with his chest and then getting the slightest of windows to shoot before an alarmed defender tries to kill him in mid-air with a boot out, flying in, Sergio just getting a touch on the ball before he has to turn away to protect his life, and then the defender is crushing him to the ground and the ball out of bounds and the announcers confused in saying he’s offside. You are offside, you ***! Sergio did great! He is quickly helped up by a teammate, while everyone else gathers for Xavi’s world-famous corner kick coming up.

Oh, it’s raining? That’s why Puyol slipped!! And even here, now – taking the free kick, Xavi slips. Damn!

76:00 Cesc with a rasping shot on goal! From 30 yards out, Villa has to duck to get out of the way, LOL! The keeper just does enough to push it off over the top, and we are awarded a corner. A close-up on Cesc reveals the rain just pelting down on them, soaking every player to the core. I’ve remembered jogging and a little rain the perfect tonic to cool off, but it cannot be fun to be playing in this hailstorm!

77:00 Every Spaniard not only knows how to pass it forward, threading the keenest of needles, but also how to pass it back, with just one sideways tap of their foot when the enemy is almost on top of them. So cool to see! It is a chess game, a ballet of exquisite choreography . .

81:00 A breathtaking one-two between Sergio and Cesc!! Sergio is so eager for the game-winner and getting impatient with all this fluffing about, and Cesc understands, he holds the ball for him and the two of them cut a terrifying triangle around dazed defenders – until Sergio runs into a wall and back-passes to Xavi, who promptly applies the brakes. ARGGGHHH! And a disappointed Sergio, already positioning himself along the last line of defense near goal, raises his hand again and again in hopes of getting the ball back. So cute!

84:00 Guiza! Ah, there’s our 3rd sub! But why the long face, Guiza? Is it because there’s only 6 minutes left in the game? And he comes on for . . Iniesta??? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why him?! Why not take out . . I can’t think of anyone to take out. They’re all so good. Crud.

84:45 And there is some spine from Cesc. So much improved from 2 years ago! He is shown a yellow card, yes, but it had to be done. We had no choice, you see. With Guiza coming on, the intention is clear: win. Let’s win this thing and put everyone forward into the box. But now suddenly Belgium breaks off on a counter-attack so swift and so deadly that Cesc can only hope to stop that ball, chop him down – and his sliding tackle, way too late, indeed gets the man.

There’s nothing even to argue. A terrible cry of objection rises from the crowd, and as the ref motions sternly to Cesc, waving him back towards him for the yellow card – Cesc gives him a few words, pointing to his head for acknowledgement (or was that “you’re nuts”? “I couldn’t hear you”? “My hair’s >>> your hair”?).

88:00 GOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, sweet mercy! VILLA! Who else???? 2-1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s the game winner!!!

All I saw was a double barrel of players charging towards goal, both of them so wanted it, this was the chance, and it was Villa who beat Sergio to the ball first and punted it into the goal with glee. OH THANK GOD IN HEAVEN!

They have no chance. There’s no chance for Belgium to come back now. In sheer joy and adrenaline Villa skips past the goal and races out onto the wide track that surrounds the pitch, seeking out his fans, seeking his reward, running into that wall of noise with his own screams added in and tugging on his shirt, kissing it and wanting to rip it off to the crowd, so goddamn happy!!! And when he looks back – awwww, Sergio!!!! Running up to him, coming to grab him into his arms, his smile a mile wide, hoisting our hero up in his arms, carrying him a little bit as they do their victory lap for the crowd!!!!! Cesc too!

And it was Guiza who assisted on that beautiful ball forward. LOL, IKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Too priceless!! I changed my mind – I love Setanta! Look at him celebrating that goal!!!!! HAHAHA, Iker doing the electric slide – pumping his fist low along his waistline, screaming with the fans – hahaha, what is that, Iker? A new dance? Someone from the bench come celebrate with him, plz!!

89:00 Well. That was fast. Villa with a yellow card for banging into a Belgian for a header, some 90 yards away from the rival’s goal and deep into our own half. Now the motive has switched sharply from pouring forward to seek a goal v coming back to defend, and Villa, his head still in the clouds for that game-winning goal, shrugs at his over-eagerness on this one.

90:00+1:00 Eeeeeeeeek!!! Iker, you’ve got to be more decisive than that!! A high ball comes in from the Belgian winger, and Sergio does his job by holding off his man from reaching it. But Iker who should quickly scoop it up instead misses it altogether, and has left his line to boot. What to do??? Sergio sees that ball careen towards goal in alarm and boots it out of there just in time! Phew! Then he glares back at Iker – who’s come back in front of goal – and Iker puts his hands up in mock innocence, protesting that it wasn’t his fault.

90:00+2:00 CESC!!!!!!!!!! WHY DID YOU STOP????????? You should’ve run on, shot that ball on goal! You were 1v1 with the keeper! What happened??

Guiza had slotted him a beautiful ball to run onto, deep along the left wing, and Cesc outguns everyone to it and taps it forward, cackling with glee with how easy that was. We can catch Belgium napping! They’d sent everyone forward for attack! No one’s back to defend!

But just as Cesc reached the edge of the box – he pauses and turns away! Hesitates and would rather wait for his teammates than shoot! WHY?? Now they bring up every red shirt again, we are surrounded – but oh, SENNA!!!!!!! With an unapologetic urge to kill! See? That’s what we needed, Cesc! But the ferocious shot on goal is just deflected by the keeper’s leg, and Senna sighs as it goes out wide.

Our last corner, deep in injury time. Xavi takes it short, we play it back – it looks like we will hold it until the whistle – oh? No! We continue going forward! WOW! We try to release Villa again! But he is bundled off the ball and as he sits on the ground, raising both arms in rabid protest – the ref blows the whistle. Game!

Man of the Match:
Puyol.

Post-game Thoughts:
This was the best game ever! Ok, ok, one of the best. I’m so happy I feel like on a cloud, having entirely forgotten and forgiven any ills done to me this week. So this is what happens when you play a team better than Armenia or Estonia or any other team that sits 10 men behind the ball, huh? Can’t wait for Turkey!

Sad, too, for Nando – why didn’t they show us his injury?? That’s a pretty important thing to show your viewers, no? So I am in complete denial over his injury. Kisses for you, Nando – hope you get better! Poor Cesc and Sergio too, injured yet with so many important matches coming up! The Derby, Juv . .

I am slightly worried about Iker. If not for Puyol this would’ve been 2-3, or maybe 3-3, but those 2 miraculous saves by the Barca captain still rings and astounds in my mind. Iniesta’s goal . . Sergio racing with Villa for the game-winner and either one of them could’ve had it, then Villa jumping into his arms as they sought out their fans on the wet track . . Nando’s sombrero in the opening minutes, before he got hurt, his eyes following that ball in the air with all the concentration and desire of a striker starved for goals, of a player who refused to rest on his laurels . . Cesc dodging out of the way and Sergio stepping up to handle that aerial bomb, crumpling to the ground afterwards in unspeakable pain . . Iker with his face of horror and alarm in the most dire of moments, swarmed by danger – and his face in the most happy of moments, laughing and dancing upon seeing his teammates score at the far end of the pitch, having no one to celebrate with him but the fans, and going bonkers regardless! Oh dear god, how I love our Spanish boys!! ♥ ♥ ♥

Our next game is Nov 19 in a friendly against Chile. Ooooh, isn’t this the team that just beat Argentina and got their coach to quit? Wow . . bring it on!

Maybe they carried their bug back to camp with them, because all week long we heard injury reports to various players, including Capel having to leave camp altogether, Iniesta and Sergio missing trainings, and Albiol practicing by himself for a day or two. Sergio still seems to be carrying the knock that he got from the last international get-together, requiring massive amounts of tape on his shoulders/waist/legs to hold in check.  This game being against Estonia, however, means that Del Bosque can afford another science experiment. The lineup:

Sergio – Puyol – Juanito – Capdevila
Cazorla – Xabi Alonso – Xavi – Iniesta
Torres – Villa

It’s a cold, rainy night in Tallin, Estonia, so its long sleeves for Spain today. I don’t know if I like Sergio’s shorter haircut now that it’s wet, though you do get to see his tattoo behind his ear . .

9:05 So . . nothing terribly exciting to report so far. Visions of a 7-0 victory a la Bosnia is slowing limping out of my head, having been beaten up by Estonia’s foul-mad players. It’s clear what their game plan is here today. Sit all 11 men behind the ball, try to sneak out a cigarette break if they can, but if they can’t, then they will bully the Spanish players off the ball, using whatever means necessary.

Already we’ve seen Estonia players elbow Sergio in the face (“that should’ve been a foul,” says the commentator), toss Cazorla aside chasing down a ball on the right flank, trip Puyol up at the endline over a ball that Carles saved just inches from becoming a corner kick, and now, they foul Xavi by tugging and shoving him off the ball in the midfield. The rainy night is probably not adding to anyone’s mood – nor the memory of their last, disastrous defeat at the hands of Bosnia. Even Torres cannot break down their stick-to-you-like-glue defending, and I haven’t even seen Villa yet . . is he on the pitch?

14:30 HOLY LORD! THAT WAS DANGEROUS!!!!!! What happened??? Suddenly the Estonia #8 is all alone 1v1 with Iker?? But even with that gift they cannot finish. Iker comes out very far and I am afraid it is too far, but no! He forces the player to panic and shoot rather than round him and hold possession, and the shot is thankfully deflected by Iker and bounces out wide.

Replay: As the commentators are snickering that Estonia is relying solely on the long ball to get upfield because they cannot possibly hope to out-pass the Spanish midfield – the Estonia players suddenly pull out of their hat such a marvelous string of passes that so neatly splits the central defense of Puyol and Juanito (both 30+ of age) that I am agog. In the blink of an eye, Estonia #8 is unmarked and running amok, played onside by Sergio (damn it!) who seems to raise his hand calling for the offside even as the striker turns with the ball and no red shirt within yards of him to bear down on goal and possibly a place in Estonian history – only for Iker to outwit him and force him into a premature shot. Balon d’Or voters, ahem! Please take notes here! If not for Iker it would’ve been 0-1 right here.

20:15 Poor Nando is getting sandwiched and shut down by 2 or 3 defenders anytime he’s even near the ball. He raises his hand to ask for a foul, but he’s smiling about it – as if he knows its dubious at best. Villa is still MIA . . though I think I saw his shirt running around once or twice. The action’s been slow so far. 20 min in and we are tied at shots on goal, 1 apiece? That can’t be right. Even the announcers are urging Spain to make something happen, saying that not only should you win, but you should “pile up the goal difference too”. You know, Mr. Announcer, you’re not exactly helping things either. If this is how you think football games should be called, then you clearly haven’t heard Ray Hudson (GolTV) or Andy Gray (ESPN) call them. I haven’t heard you say a single thing that I didn’t already know. Plus the pitch is a putrid yellow-green color . . ugh. Time for a drink.

21:00 Oh, there’s Villa! With a horribly weak shot wide. Fantastic, Dhaveed. Way to send chills down their spine, huh? LOL – and as the ball rolls harmlessly past their keeper out of bounds, Nando stands there at the edge of the 6-yard box with his hands on his hips, as if he couldn’t believe his striking partner to be capable of such a bad shot. Everyone else has jogged off towards the central circle, allowing that shot to be purged from memory . . but not Nando. Our #9 is still standing there, all by himself, as if he’s still trying to understand what the hell just happened . .

27:00 Why won’t Sergio take on his defender 1v1 and tap that ball forward for both of them to chase like he’d always loved to do? Why won’t Cazorla? Sigh . . even Iniesta isn’t doing his magic tricks today. I miss Capel.

29:00 “In case you’re wondering, Estonia is ranked 137th in the world.” Oh, thank you, that makes me feel heaps better! And FINALLY we get some excitement! Torres with a burst of speed to meet that through-ball from Xavi, bearing down towards the right edge of the box and then trying a quick, slightly-off-balanced shot that the keeper barely gets a hand on, letting the rebound fly back into play!!!!!! But Nando can’t track it down, and the moment is over.

30:30 Torres again with a HEADER!!!!!!!!!!! It’s bobbled!! And Nando is so adorable, looking up hopefully with raised eyebrows from the ground to see if that bobble turned into a goal . . but alas, it does not.

33:30 Spain is finally coming to life!! Some beautiful, awe-inspiring movements now in the midfield, as everyone has been heartened by Fernando’s recent exploits. Ughhhh . . just as I was getting excited, Estonia’s #9 sticks out a leg to trip up the magisterial Iniesta, and doesn’t even look apologetic about it. Free kick! It’s 25 yards out to the far, far left . .

GOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT A BALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUANITO! 1-0!!!!

What a priceless, ferocious ball whipped in by Xavi, it needed almost no help at all to go into goal – but Juanito takes no chances and just puts the slightest of touches on it with his forehead, guiding it full-force into the net, past the keeper, past Fernando already at the goalmouth, and he puts his arms up in celebration!!!! Iniesta, Xavi – you know this one is as much yours as it is Juanito’s!!! And the players hug and hope that this is one of many as they mob Juanito. The Betis captain is soon jogging back to position, though, so duteous, so serious at making sure his starting job today ends in a clean sheet. Juanito, c’mon, smile! You’re on camera!

37:00 PENALTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s more like it!!!!
Wow, there is the Villa we all know and love! Tearing off to the far right for the ball, watching, watching for his strike partner, then whipping in the fierce cross – EXCEPT! What happened?! Torres storms into the picture at 90mph and ends up rolling head over heels inside the box, in a complete tangle with his defender! He was just inches away from meeting that cross, which now bounces out harmlessly wide! Whistle! And the ref points to the spot. No questions asked, just whips out the yellow card to the defender on the ground. The culprit, #3, throws up his hands helplessly. After suffering from the wrong end of penalties twice now with Real (v Betis and v Espanyol), now we get one! YAY! Who gets to take it?

Villa. Suddenly his miss against Bosnia flashes painfully in my mind, and I’m wondering: why can’t Torres take it? He was the one who got fouled, ain’t it? But Villa makes no mistake this time. Ice cool, as always – he sends the ball hurtling into the roof of the net, so that for a brief second I’m almost afraid it hadn’t gone in – but NO! There is Villa celebrating!! GOOOOOOLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2-0!

Replay: He comes in from an angle on the left, fools the keeper completely to diving the wrong way, before turning his hips and rifling in that shot by his right foot. Classic, classic finish.

Replay on the penalty foul: The Estonian #3 just grabs Torres by the waist and twists and turns him onto the ground, both of them going head over heels. Jeez – if that is not malicious intent and waving the white flag all in one I don’t know what is.

39:30 XAVI!!!!!!!!!!! So close! Fantastic one-two with Villa, he suddenly breaks clear of the defense and bursts clear, and you’re already standing up screaming for a goal – only for the shot to be saved by the keeper! Ah, but that was beautiful one-touch football, and Estonia right now is starting to get that deer in the headlights look.

42:50 WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Just finish it, Torres! Everything up to that final moment was picture-perfect, our midfield maestro Xavi is absolutely untouchable, at the height of his powers. And Iniesta! What a pure little devil! Even leaping up over the legs being stuck out on him, LOL!!!! Jesus Christ, it is almost orgasmic watching them play!!!!! Now if only Torres could shake the 2 or 3 defenders always attached to him like super-glue, and finish it, goddammit!!!!! Let’s show them how its done!

Second Half:

52:48 Sergio! I knew something was wrong! He still isn’t 100% after his muscle injury a couple days ago, and has been really quiet today. He is the first to be subbed off, as #13 Iraola comes on. In comparison to Sergio, Iraola looks – like a kid, a boy! So slight! I hope he’s ready?

61:20 Iker with a frantic SAVE! Estonia is suddenly attacking with glee, taking full advantage of the vacancy Sergio has left at RB to go down that channel again and again, and both Puyol and Juanito must come to help out. Phew! Now they get a corner kick – and its chaos in the box! How, how did their #4 miss?????? Not that I’m complaining. But this is perhaps why they are #137 in the world. From 2 yards out, they manage to not only miss, but not even get a shot on goal? Wow. Then said #4 claps his hands together high above his head, as if asking for it back, so he can try that again. Not very likely, bud. Well, lucky lucky Spain.

62:50 See??? Again! Iker comes out too far and their striker has a HUGE chance with the empty net at his mercy! But he somehow elects to shot it over the goal instead! Thank God for that! Haha, Iker is lying face-down on the ground, his nose buried in the grass, slowly willing his heart-rate back to normal as he relives that one. Not even daring to look up! It’s ok, Iker. The record you seek of keeping a clean sheet for 700+ minutes is within reach.

65:00 This game has not been as good as I’d hoped it would be. Every game by Spain I will treasure, of course. But aside from some fantastic moments in the first half (though brief) and one or two decent chances in the second . . this is NOT Spain at its full glory. And its entirely Estonia’s fault. Sitting everyone behind the ball is evil. Sitting everyone behind the ball and fouling left and right wantonly is even eviler. How in hell did Bosnia put 7 past them? And why can’t we do it? I was hoping for a goal-fest today but by now I’ve realized it won’t ever happen. And perhaps we don’t need to either. Already the players are thinking of the next game, in Brussels. Del Bosque, no doubt, is doing the same, musing on who he should take off to save for the next one. God . . it’s already a lost cause, ain’t it, Estonia? Why not just let up and allow us to play? Grrrrr . . .

68:00 GOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FERNANDO!!!!!!!!! PUYOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3-0!!!!

And no one marks him this time!! God, Xavi is the king of free kicks, isn’t he? Without him we would have no goals. Iraola wins a free kick on the right side, some 35 yards out. Now Xavi steps up to survey his domain, and in comes the free kick, wicked and dead-on as always. Nando rises imperiously to head that home, except he knows he’s tall and the bar only so high, so he almost ducks his head to try to shorten himself and get that header down into goal! Thank God too, because the ball slams against the underside of the bar, another inch and it would’ve ricocheted to who-knows-where, the keeper misses it entirely, and now its spinning the air! Rife for the picking!!!! And Puyol, in that exact spot, guns for it and knocks it home.  Fantastic sequence, and it tells you something when Spain cannot score from the run of play, but instead grabs 2 of 3 from set pieces, how miserably clamped down Estonia is playing them.

69:30 Cesc on for Villa. Oh, and not Torres? Cesc! What’s up with your hair?! Just because you’re a Spaniard does not mean you need to grow it out! Respect your fanbase, plz!

73:45 CESC!! When he comes on there’s always magic! And Santi, you shoulda had that!!!!!! Instead, he slams it just wide! And he trots off, frowning at himself. Santi hasn’t had a goal yet for Spain, has he? Been so close a couple of times, though. But that pass from Cesc is just pure gold. The whole thing was magic. Iniesta on the left side, holding, then tapping it forward for Cesc, who gets the fortune of coming on at a time when the defense’s starting to run ragged, so he actually finds an acre of space to be able to see Torres and Cazorla charge up the middle – and the pass is spot-on, in fact Santi takes the shot first-touch, so nearly burying it into the top corner of the goal, but instead finds it sailing towards a lucky fan in the stands. And poor Nando is once again left staring at it, wondering what if?

78:00 Capel’s replacement Albert Riera comes on for Iniesta.

78:50 #kfdsjfoae%p! Say what? “Sergio Ramos is flagged for offside,” the announcer says matter-of-factly to the whistle blown on Fernando Torres. Umm . . right. If you do not value your job, sir, please let me have it? Does Nando or his #9 shirt look anything close to Sergio Ramos or #15 to you?! He’s sitting on the bench, for god’s sakes!! Get a clue!

81:00 Not bad! Riera charges down the left flank and whips in a cross for Torres thundering up the middle to finish – only for the ball to go straight into the keeper’s clutches. Nice to see the Liverpool linkup, even if it didn’t work out.

84:20 Oh Cesc! I’m almost weeping tears of joy! For you are the only person to understand our Nando, it seems! Deprived of the ball for the bulk of the second half, as one defender or another always managed to beat him to it, Cesc all of a sudden tries a longball that finds Torres almost perfectly positioned off his markers – and my heart jumps into my throat! OH FERNANDO! BURY IT!!!!!!!!!! Please, for the love of god! But Fernando’s control of the ball is just a touch too heavy, it betrays him by such a few inches, and though he tries to win it back, 1 vs 2 almost never works and both defenders fight to snuff that out as if their lives depended on it. Sigh . . the hunt continues for his goal . .

84:50 Santi, how can you miss that???? I’m really starting to wonder here! Yes, yes, offside. But still! Fantastic through-ball by Xavi, Santi at an angle that he should bury, and instead he sends it out wide. He gets a consolatory pat on the back by a teammate, but he winces, knowing he should’ve done better. How this game is not 6-2 by now is beyond me.

86:50 WOW, Fernando, what fire!!! That’s the boy I know and love!!!

After the crowd whistles and boos Puyol for shoving an Estonian player off the ball just seconds ago, Fernando is pushed and shoved around likewise – in fact both he and the Estonian #4 go down in a heap for the ball! But he gets right back up. Fuming, ticked off, finally 1v1 and not 1v2 or 3, Fernando keeps going; he doesn’t just wave his hands up in the air for a foul. He knows by now that he’s gonna have to fight for every scrap he gets, and he guns for that ball, teeth bared, blond hair flying. Twisting, turning, those long legs of his a blur as he looks to control the ball, to fight off his opponent – until the #4 has no choice but to grab his arm from behind.

The linesman nods to the referee. Tweet-tweet! Yellow card for #4. And I marvel at our #9, fighting as ferociously as if it were still 0-0 instead of 3-0! And then I realize – it is 0-0. At least for him it is.

We line up for our last free kick. Xavi’s delivery, as always, is excellent – but Juanito tries to redirect it too far and it just misses both the far post and Capdevila by it, before spinning out of bounds.

90:00+1:00: That’s it! 3-0 at an away game, I’ll take it.

Man of the Match:

Xavi!

Post-game thoughts:
First, let me just say that this game isn’t going onto any top-ten lists anytime soon. I will follow Spain anywhere. But this game was one of those “trap” games where: its away, its against a low-ranked opponent, and its just 4 days before another match that is much more important. So for much of the game, it played exactly like so: 10 men behind the ball and 10 men trying to break down the gate but not exactly hurtling themselves at it. This results in a few scintillating moments, a few flashes of brilliance where the sun breaks out and rainbows appear over the horizon. Then its back to the rain and the gloom, and wondering how much more fun it must be listening to Spanish commentators rather than the FSC ones.

That being said, 3-0 is still a fantastic away victory. And for each game, even if the overall run of play does not inspire, you are still left with the impression of individual talents, and for me, watching Xavi’s performance today was just awe-inspiring. Even though he recorded no eye-popping assist in the run of play (a la Cesc in the last 2 games) – both his free kick mastery and his uncanny ability to find people despite 10 opponents trying to prevent him was just such a joy to watch. To have him and Iniesta anchor Barca – how can you lose at anything??

My God, to have three Spaniards fighting for the Balon d’Or, on the short list of five! Stunning! Amazing! Truly a remarkable achievement! And every one, proved his worth today. Iker was instrumental in not allowing Estonia to sneak one past us, especially early, and get themselves into the game. Fernando ran their best defenders ragged, created that third goal for Puyol, and kept on fighting right to the end.

And Xavi . . oh Xavi! For a while in previous games when we kept playing every corner short, I wondered how we could shore up our obvious set-piece deficiency. And obviously Estonia is not Germany in defending set-pieces, so we didn’t need to play them short. But seeing Xavi being able to deliver such deadly balls has me wondering: are there any weakness in this Armada of ours? And perhaps the biggest compliment I can give him, as a Real Madrid fan: if I had enough room in my heart to love two teams equally, then Barca would be it. For style of play, for attacking options, for the tiki-taka that’s endeared me so much to Spain – Barca is like Spain v2. Why else would Cesc call it “a dream” to go back someday?

On to Belgium!

PS: For US viewers, the Belgium game will be on PPV Setanta at 4:30pm ET (delayed), not FSC or GolTV.

Match day, I have given up guessing who will start, and now the players are out, as Dani Guiza and Santi Cazorla happily join the lineup for their first starts, in the Euro-winning 4-1-3-2:

. . . . . . . . . Iker . . . . . . . . .
Ramos . . Puyol . . Albiol . . Capdevila
. . . . . . . . . Senna . . . . . . . . .
Cazorla . . . . Xavi . . . . Iniesta
. . . . . Villa . . . . .Guiza . . . .

Of all the WC qualifiers, Spain plays last, so the players already have this eye-opening confidence-booster under their belts: Bosnia beat up Estonia 7-0??? Jesus Christ! Turkey tied Belgium 1-1. And the surprise of the day: England 4-1 Croatia? IN Croatia? Good job, Theo!

History: Armenia has NEVER scored against Spain and has allowed 10 goals overall, including 4 from the last encounter in 2003. Expect a goal-fest tonight.

5:00 With both Guiza and Villa up front, they are linking up nicely with the midfielders and creating a lot of movement. A great near-chance between Guiza and Santi! Except Guiza’s pass just missed Santi’s run.

6:40 GOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Already??? Holy cow! 1-0.
All the action’s been on the left side, and from Spain’s second corner – this one, played short as we always do, finds gold. From Xavi’s pass, Iniesta circles the front of their defense, like a wolf against nervous shepherds, drawing all eyes . . while his teammates crept into position amidst their backline, 3 across, ready to spring the offside trap, ready on a moment’s notice to punish them for not putting 10 men behind the ball.

And with laser-like accuracy, Iniesta slips the ball straight to Capdevila, the defender tries but cannot get to it, and that allows Capdevila exactly what he needs to turn and shift that ball onto his left foot before cracking it towards goal, it is almost too easy, and the goalkeeper can only dive in desperation before the ball hammers past him into the back of the net. That’s more like it!!! That’s the Spain that this crowd has come to see!

Haha, Joan Capdevila is so modest about that goal, almost to the point of being sheepish about it, that he shrugs and laughs when Puyol pulls him into a headlock to celebrate. Sergio kisses him! Iniesta should get all the credit here, that was an amazing assist. No wonder Sergio said he wants him on his team!

11:34 Iniesta again, he owns the left side, and now he tries to dribble through 2 defenders and loses it – or was that a “pass” to Villa? It was a pass! Villa grabs it, now he swings back to face the goal from 30 yards out and fires one towards goal! The keeper must sky to deflect that –

OOH, it bounces out!!! Sergio gets it! Except he’s being dragged down by a defender who’s got one knee on the ground, still trying in vain to stop him. “WTF, just let me have it already!” The ref blows the whistle to stop the shirt tugging, and a free kick is given. What the . . we do a “decoy”, where Santi runs towards goal and it is Villa who gives him the pass – but ARGH, he is no Iniesta, is he? And the ball rolls too fast for Santi to catch it, hopelessly out of bounds.

Ray Hudson, the GolTV commentator, LOVES Marcos Senna. He describes him as “fireman and policeman all in one”! LOL

14:45 Ack, so close! Short corner for Spain, Xavi to . . Villa? Can’t tell. But they fire up a high cross that comes straight for Sergio on the near post, he has no trouble beating his marker, but he is a bit too far towards the right side of the goal to really put more power onto it, and the keeper takes his header in stride.

16:00 GOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VILLA!!! 2-0 in a matter of minutes!
Oh, oh, Iniesta is some player, huh? Once again, it is his ball that finds our striker in position, of course it is Villa who squares and pummels that into the net, but it is Iniesta who fights through countless defenders to get it to him, who delivers it on a plate, who watches with avid eyes as it is delivered into the back of the net. The commentators are full of praise for the little Catalan, calling his dribbling skills “better steering mechanism than a Ferrari”.

Replay: Iniesta guides the ball in from the left, one defender is not enough so a second one closes in, and just as they mug him, he manages to squeak that ball through the closing door towards Villa, saving it from the fire, and the defender in front of Villa knows he’s doomed, he tries to see what he will do, if he can block it, but there is no mercy from Villa, who so coolly positions himself and squares up before lashing it past the keeper into goal.

I have to remind myself that the replay is in slow-motion. Now that you see it again, you marvel: how can you make such a decision so fast? How do you beat a defender in front of you AND a keeper who’s eyes are trained on you? By chipping it into the far, far corner, out wide past the outstretched hands of the keeper, so that even as they dive, they cannot get to it. Cold, predatory, and precise. And now Villa gets mobbed with kisses from his teammates!!!

18:30 LOL, the commentators are already chatting about which second-half subs we’ll see on shortly. Uh, we’ve only played 18 minutes? But there is a sense that the game is already over. They are taking bets on whether we will see 18 year old Bojan, or Cesc, or Capel . . del Bosque’s got to “keep the clan happy”.

21:18 Awww, Santi!!! So adorable! Sergio passes to him, stationed on the far right wing, and Santi tries to tip it forward for himself, but it rolls out of bounds. As he walks back, disappointed, his eyes on the ground – he lifts them up for a brief moment to glance at Sergio, to tell him he’s sorry – and flashes those dimples that are just so boyish, so puppyish . . *melts*!

23:30 Villa with a backheel to Iniesta! Now the ball threads its way from left to right, it is mesmerizing watching Spain’s confident ball-control, and Sergio goes down in a tangled heap on the right wing trying to keep possession from a Santi pass. We get a throw-in.

25:30 Hmm. The cross comes in from the far left side, and it is too fast for Sergio to control, so he does well to trap it with his foot, but then he slides onto the grass, letting the ball bounce and roll helplessly out of bounds. What’s up with you today, bb? The commentators, having just gotten done paying no attention to the match and telling the story of Pepe and Iker’s #1 v #12 shirt mix-up in the last game, now wonders too about Sergio today. “Ramos seems to be on a different page”.

True . . this is the 2nd ball that he’s failed to control from the left wing, and just now, too, when Armenia counter-attacked, he had been almost too easy on them, letting them get away with all sorts of antics to get a (soft) shot on goal, as if we’d already won the match. Well . . we are up 2-0. Against the worst team in the qualifying group. But still . .

26:20 See? See what I’m talking about??? There’s a danger on the right side, the ball is in the air, Sergio heads it to Albiol, who is forced to head it out under pressure – and now Armenia gets a throw-in. From that, they are trapped into a corner by Sergio, who tries to push a little and use his body to intimidate that ball out of bounds – but in fact, the Armenian player manages to turn around and sneak that ball out of there to a teammate, who links up with another teammate in front of goal, so that now Iker must save their shot by the far post! That was dangerous!!!

27:00 Iniesta is brought down by a hard tackle by their #15, and the fans are livid over the suffering of their hometown pride and joy. The ref promptly whips out a yellow card.

30:12 OOOOOHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VILLA! So close!!! From a ball that looked like nothing would happen, a bad pass that ends up in Armenian hands – suddenly the defender makes a mistake clearing it away from Sergio, so desperate was he to simply get it out of there that he doesn’t look to see if there’s a anybody there – there isn’t! – and now faster than lightening Santi is tearing off towards it, he chases into the far right corner, and with one look he knows Villa is there. Left of the far post, the cross whips in for him, and the keeper somehow gets a hand on it but it spills forward for Villa! It’s still his ball! And now David must scramble for it, recover it, steady it – but the shot is deflected!!! AGH! He was only 2 yards from goal!

32:30 WOWOWOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO DAMN CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!! Villa is on the ground, hands on his face and screaming silently to God, for having missed such a chance!

What a great effort by Sergio! He gets the ball on the right wing, almost invites the defender to step closer, c’mon I won’t bite – then he side-taps it to Santi, who slots the ball forward for him to run onto. And I am almost screaming – it is too far, it is too fast for him! But Sergio just flat-out sprints for it, he wants this one, and he so barely catches it that it is millimeters from going out! But now that he has it, he’s in full control. And look at that! Taps it forward for himself, it’s almost too easy, he beats his marker and lines up the perfect cross for Villa, who jumps for it – but OH! The header’s just wide! How close was that?! How close? 2 feet from goal?

The keeper breathes a huge sigh of relief. Haha, now they are full of praise: “Great run by Sergio Ramos, when he joins in, he’s a big Joe, and he fires this gem to David Villa. Who, by world-class standards should’ve done better, b/c David Villa is world-class.”

33:22 Villa again! With a stinging shot that’s saved by the keeper, great 1-2 with Guiza, the two of them weaving the ball in between the white shirts as if they’re just lampposts, it is Guiza who guides the ball from the goalline for him, and even though it was saved, the two are so happy they hug!

33:52 ROFL – too funny! “Double scorpion!!” Sergio and David both wanted to do the bicycle kick, to claim their spot in the ESPN Top Ten highlights that day, and maybe got into each other’s way. But no worries! Sergio laughs and claps Davy on the back. We had gotten a corner from David’s goal attempt, and Sergio gets a header that he smartly directs towards Albiol, who returns the favor by crossing back in for him and David. Two double flips later – and they get up laughing as if sharing a joke on the training pitch. Classic!

35:09 AARGGHH!!! Armenia rifles a shot at goal, and it just so narrowly clips over the bar, the player having slipped! Biggest scare so far for Iker!

39:00 Crap! Sergio comes in full of determination to tackle that ball away, but the Armenian player just waltzes on through! He tests Iker with a shot, which Iker saves but lets it spill out, and thankfully Sergio is there to quickly hoof it away. And now in the mad scramble, Senna has fouled a white shirt = free kick = buried right into de wall. “Tight knit wall,” Ray praises, though its short – what is Villa doing?? He is part of the wall, but is making as if to sprint off the other way at the first sign of movement, so eager is he to get back to what he should be doing, attacking.

43:00 Phil is theorizing about the Armenian shot that just went over the top of the bar 8 min ago, what if? What if it had gone in? It would’ve been 2-1, and put Spain on their heels? But Ray is simply so aghast at that suggestion that he can’t even say anything for a second, so shocked is he, and it’s hilarious to hear him try to describe the impossibility of it, to even entertain the notion! “But it’s – but the quality! – but it’s just – I mean, like between a racehorse and a donkey. With all due respect! It’s – under complete control by Spain.”

44:00 Albiol? What are you doing so far up?? Is no one back there to keep Iker entertained? He saves the ball though for Guiza, whose shot, too hurried and weak, is saved by keeper.

Halftime: Something is off. This game is just not as much fun as the previous two, for some reason. Oh, how much I loved Denmark and Bosnia! But this one? I dunno . . maybe it’s the bad camera shots, which leaves one almost wanting to break out the binoculars to see what’s developing on the left side, so small are the figures even on my 52”. Having just come from Goal 2 yesterday, where the soccer shots were simply stunning, it makes you never want to see a regular game again. Maybe it’s the stupid DirecTV technology, which automatically backs up 15 seconds from where I want it to stop, trying to “autocorrect” me but who do you think is smarter, me or the remote??? Or maybe its b/c I already knew they’d scored 2-0. Bloody GolTV showing it on delay and yet still calling it “live” . .

47:00 LOL, did Iniesta just hit the ball against Villa? No, I think it was a defender . . Anyway, we get the ball back, Villa just saunters down the left side of the box, and then chips in a curling ball that is meant for Guiza, very nearly finding him! But the keeper reads it well and takes it away.

48:45 Xabi and BOJAN are warming up!!! Will we see the Barcelona teenager soon?

49:00 OH, beautiful, beautiful buildup, exquisite linking, Iniesta just takes it too far, but this Spanish side is just begging for another goal, a table 5-topping goal, and every single pass they make seem full of that fatal attraction, the doom for Armenia that nevertheless must fill them with a joy to watch, to behold, so many leagues closer to the beautiful game than us the poor viewers.

53:00 Oh, Puyol! Great, great clearance to beat the Armenian to a dangerous runaway ball and hoof it clear just in the nick of time. Heck, this game is so dunzo already that the play by play guy is giving us the scoreline from the other WC qualifiers, and even delving into how Spain’s U-21 did! 7-0 Bosnia, 4-1 England . . please call the game, will you?

55:00 Xabi on for Guiza. And Dani boy comes off looking very sad, very disappointed, nodding blankly to the well wishes that his teammates give him on his exit. Awww . . I really feel sorry for him now. I’m not a big fan of Guiza, but even I am touched to see the big guy go out. He can’t sulk like Cesc, but he’s biting his lip on the inside. I mean, think about it: this was such a rare start for him, he really wanted to do well, and he did have some good runs and close chances – but with a 2-0 scoreline, we don’t really need 2 strikers, so he becomes the first to be subbed off. Xabi, though, will be a good buffer in midfield for us.

Huh, interesting! The announcer astutely notes that there might be a bit of politics involved here, that Guiza is being taken off for Xabi b/c the even worse scenario would’ve been him being taken off for the 18 year old Bojan, and that would’ve really riled his cage. So Xabi plays buffer. So like him!

57:20 LOL!!! An Armenian player works himself into a corner and is all by himself, he’s got no chance, yet he tries a sideways shot on goal anyway. The “shot” rolls so softly towards Iker that he ambles out to collect it as if he was picking up the Sunday paper!

58:00 Um . . Guiza is walking towards . . the locker room?? Not the bench? What’s going on – he can’t stomach the rest of the game? It’s that tragic for him? The commentators are wondering too – is he injured? Not likely. So then . . what is up? If he is really going off to shower and change, that is not good for the unity of the team. I mean – your teammates are still playing. Would it behoove you to simply stay put and watch?

58:45 AAAAAWWWW!!!!!!!!!! INIESTA! You should’ve had that!!!! Great, great ball that he gets all alone on the left wing, boy, the Armenians are really pushing forward trying to look for a goal, huh? This is nothing like the Bosnia game, where sometimes the box area seemed like the mall traffic 2 days b4 Xmas. Iniesta so cleverly sombreros his marker, then takes off towards goal and dances around 2 more defenders before teeing up – who? – but the pass is deflected!!!! Villa wasn’t there! You should’ve SHOT that!!!!! Oh, oh, to be 3 yards out from goal, and not shoot . . !

59:15 Sergio makes a fantastic move to strip the Armenian winger of the ball, saves it from going out of bounds, then shepherds it onto the feet of our midfielders, who immediately turn tail, they cannot get enough of this drink, this intoxication of finding a goal, a treasure chest, and VILLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Breaks loose into the box and guns that ball into the far left corner of the area, then whips that ball across, it is so full of promise – but no one is there! Xavi or Santi arrives a step too late, and it’s cleared and goes out for a corner. LOL – the Armenian defender that’d just cleared it looks at the camera and is so winded, so bewildered, so cannot keep up with La Furia Roja, he looks almost dizzy – brilliant!

63:00 Bojan is coming in! Still wearing his yellow warm-up jersey, he listens intently as del Bosque explains his vision for him.

64:00 Bojan, now wearing the royal red of Spain, #13, is coming in for Santi. This kid, just turned 18 a month ago, has just trumped Cesc as the youngest debutant for Spain in 70 years. And see, Santi isn’t mad. He knows how big of a moment this is for Bojan, and as he jogs off, he gives the crowd a nice hand to show his appreciation. See, Guiza? Hopefully there’s no hard feelings. Ray Hudson is certainly excited, as are the fans: “[Bojan]’s sharp as a carpet tack”. What the hell is a carpet tack?

65:15 AAAARRRGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So close! We are just passing the ball around, everything’s calm – and then all of a sudden Xavi sees something that nobody else can see and splits the defense with such a high quality ball that we are screaming, the announcers are screaming, Bojan has run onto it like a deer and on the far left corner swings in a cross for Villa – but the linkup is just inches missed! INCHES! Villa has run a bit too far or the cross is a bit too late, but anyhow the chance is missed and a second later its gone and cleared out. Already this kid has our pulses jumping – “there is that jackrabbit pace!” and “slippery as an eel covered in Vaseline” indeed!

67:00 Iniesta! I forget to breathe as he fights and fights and with one deft turn somehow steals that ball clean off the feet of the Armenian! Then they are tugging and shoving as he tries to take his precious gift towards goal, he loses his marker but finds himself tackled to the ground by another, and now the crowd is baying for a foul! Iniesta himself just stays on the turf, propped up on his elbows for a better look at the referee, smiling and silently begging for a free kick. Ray Hudson chuckles and calls him a “scallywag” sometimes for trying to “buy a penalty”. We do get a corner . .

68:20 Just breathtaking football from Spain, even in defense they can make the ball dance, there is absolutely no uncouth bone in them. Every movement is fluid, every pass and lightness of touch an instinct, a marvel, and here, even the rearguard can give you spellbinding tiki-taka as they are confronted with a danger, then so calmly deal with it by taking the ball away from the Armenian winger. There is no panic in sight, no hurried movement, no desperation to clear the ball out – no, all that is beneath them, beneath the mission of juga bonito, and even with Armenians in plain sight 25 yards out from goal they are stroking it around, letting everybody have a touch. It must be mind-boggling for the white shirts to see the speed at which the ball is taken out of their hands without even the slightest raised eyebrow from the Spanish. The announcer is so in awe that he begs the US national team to “watch this” to learn – not to do it, but to try to learn to do it. $*@)$(*#)%#(%*)(#udjfosjf! *faints*

And it doesn’t stop. It continues – it only gets better once we start picking up speed and getting near goal. “OH!” Ray Hudson can only exclaim as Senna finds Bojan on the right wing perfectly, the teenager trying to loop it forward for Villa, then when it deflects back, guns forward again trying to win it anew, and now Villa has got it again, he twists and turns, Bojan has gone on ahead but now Xabi steps up and fires! Just wide of the net! UGH!!

70:45 Cesc is up and about, will he be coming on for Villa?

71:00 Bojan gets the ball on the right wing and with a wink Sergio hurdles forward, Bojan releases it for him, he taps it to Xabi without breaking his run, and now Xabi slots it forward for him, Sergio has acres of room to run and only then do the defenders look alarmed and race in to close him down. Surrounded by white shirts from all 3 sides, Sergio nonetheless manages to sheperd the ball away from them and into safety towards the left side – uh oh, but Iniesta and Capdevila looses it! Iniesta chases it down against the Armenian, it’s basically gone out of bounds – but Capdevila has to come in and bump him! Now it’s a foul! Crap! The ensuing free kick is pretty good – but it’s cleared out safely.

72:45 Cesc on for XAVI! Huh, okay.

73:15 AAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VILLA ALMOST GOT WONDERGOAL #2! But not to be! And now you understand how tough that Bosnia game-winner was, how miraculous, how full of skill and luck. This one is almost exactly like it, it is a mirror image, Cesc coming on for all of 2 seconds immediately finds our target man, Villa, with such a pass that will break your heart, and then Villa runs onto it with so much cunning and desire that you are leaping out of your seat, screaming yourself hoarse –

– but no, no, no!!!!! GODDAMN IT! This time, the keeper is smart to keep on his feet, he has obviously watched tape of the last game, and he has come out so far that he is basically another defender. He in fact parks himself in front of Villa for so long that when David finally lets that ball go, it cannot round the first post and clanks against it, just as the other one would have, could have, but through skill and luck, did not. So, so close, another inch and he would’ve had it, but this one, is not to be. David is so mad at his failure that he pummels the ball against the side netting before jogging away in anguish.

78:25 GOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Villa doubled!! 3-0! And this one, this one he does not let get away.

After a couple minutes of stoppage due to Armenian player #15 getting injured and subbed off, we start again, and its almost as if the Armenians are in a daze, because the Spaniards are moving like a dream. Everything is one-touch, there is nobody to get in our way, and it is almost too good to be true when the ball makes it into the box in 6 seconds flat and the shot bangs in for the exclamation point. Super Villa!

Replay #1: It is Bojan on the right wing, luring 2 defenders before cutting it back for Cesc, who slots it perfectly forward for Xabi, who looks up once and knows where Villa is, gives it to him, and Villa, with one deft touch settles it for his right foot to blast that in, straight as an arrow, no diagonal this time, and the keeper is left guessing too long and drops to the ground as the ball whizzes by him for the goal.

Replay #2: Only in the slow-motion replay from the goal outwards do you realize the brilliance of Villa – to come to the ball with his body open as if to slam it into the right side of the net, so that the keeper is ready for that, ready to lunge towards that – only for Villa to turn at the very last second and swing his right hip inwards so as to strike it straight and true, to the left side of the net, and thus leave the keeper stranded and dogged and lost. Pure, pure class, this one was like a knife through butter, and Villa tops off the passing virtuoso with a cherry on top.

80:00 Puyol is tripped up defending and #16 is given a yellow card.

81:54 GOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SENNA BABY!! 4-0!
And Marcos Senna, finally, after so many near-chances blasting from space, gets an entire park to work in on this one and cannot turn it down, runs onto Iniesta’s inviting pass some 25 yards out and just blasts that thing into goal, it seems to pierce time and space altogether before spiraling into the net, the keeper cannot hope to put a hand on it. “The coup de grace!!” And so deserved!

After all his hard work, after the questions about whether del Bosque will have the stones (or stupidity) to take him off for Xabi Alonso, Senna steps up to catch the defense napping and fires home the emphatic fourth goal. Beautiful, exhilarating shot, and Senna is so happy he is on the ground, soaking it all in, with Capdevila kicking him just to make sure he’s awake and not dreaming. Haha, and he smiles at the cameras with a thumbs up! HIS FIRST GOAL!

84:20 Iniesta with a breathtaking twist of his body, so full of control, almost like a ballerina, dare I say, to beat a man taller than he and heavier than he for the ball on the left wing. And as Capdevila tries to put in a cross that goes out for a corner – what do you mean “Marchena has to wait”, Mr. Commentator?? They do not play the same position!

86:00 Sergio makes up so much ground, so fast, to track back on defense – then expertly parks himself in order to deflect an Armenian pass for a corner.

87:20 Iniesta seems to have that ball on a string, I am still awed at how he beat clean thru his marker, then Cesc with a backheel to Bojan who squares up and FIRES! AGH! But the keeper is there to palm it away. The replay shows that the ball was going a bit wide anyway. And now we get a corner. Unfortunately, Albiol wastes it into the crowd. Um, is this what del Bosque meant when he said he wanted more attacking full-backs? He meant Capdevila and Albiol?

90:00+1:20 Cute Sergio, Xabi is trying to defend against a winger along the sidelines and having no luck, so Sergio comes in matter-of-factly and dinks that out of bounds.

90:00+1:44 A breakaway! A fast break! A counter attack! Go, Go, Go! What happened??? Aww . . Bojan! It was 3 on 2, I don’t think we’ve ever sprung them 3 on 2, it is a gift, but as Iniesta pushes the ball out wide to Bojan, while he and Villa position themselves . . Bojan just taps it a little too hard ahead of himself, and it gets poached by a defender. The boy pulls up from even trying to contest that ball, and walks away. Huh?

90:00+3:00 And that’s the game! 4-0 Spain, that is more like it, they were in control all the way, and now they are atop their qualifying table. I am still curious about the Guiza saga . . hope he’s fine, as Bojan showed spirit but certainly won’t be threatening any of the top 3 ahead of him right now for a starting spot.

Post-game Thoughts:
Here’s what Dani Guiza said after the game, from goal.com:

Güiza: I Care, I Am Not A Bricklayer

The Fenerbahçce striker was fuming when his number was shown after 56 minutes of the World Cup qualifier on Wednesday evening in Albacete and he made it quite clear that he was not happy. But Güiza admitted that if he had not been frustrated then he would have been doing himself a disservice after being unable to score or create many chances.

“If it did not annoy me I would not be a football player, I would be a bricklayer,” he stated. “The ones that criticise me would prefer to see me walk off the field laughing before the end of the game.”

“When you are playing for Spain, which for me is the ultimate, and things do not go as you would like them to, it can make you angry because it is more and more difficult to find a space in the team. If I am angered by it then it is because it hurts not have played better or to have scored, because that is what I live for.”

After sitting on the bench for a few minutes, Güiza gave his boots to a fan and then trudged down the tunnel for a shower and the critics were unhappy he did not stay and watch the rest of the game. “There is nothing in that. Spain won and that is what is most important. I hope to have more chances and to continue enjoying playing for the team,” he added.

Güiza has had a slow start to his time in Turkey having not scored since the Champions League qualifiers against Partisan last month in Belgrade.

I loved his comment about coming off the field laughing – LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So true! Though Santi was happy for Bojan replacing him, and Xavi welcomed Cesc. And I really, really, love his second answer, when he says that it is harder and harder to find a spot on the first team for himself. That is the truth, from the bottom of his heart, and when you are the reigning pichichi winner in Spain – to have to fight that hard just to play some minutes with la seleccion must be a bit startling, if not downright insulting, to look towards the bench and fear that an 18 year old is getting ready to replace, and possibly trump, you – and, worse, that he will be welcomed with more fervor and gusto than you. So he had to head for the showers, see?

And so, for the second game in a row, someone comes off with a thunderous face. Cesc, however, came back in this game none the worse for wear, immediately slotting through a fantastic ball for Villa to chase down and so nearly convert. We’ve also seen Fernando taken off and replaced in half his recent games with Spain, no? So it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

Except . . this one, was such a direct contrast. You had Guiza come off with such a sad face, refusing to sit through the rest of the game, while not 10 minutes later Bojan bounded on, happy, smiling, to huge applause, and was so eager about his debut that he had all the players sign his kit later on the bus, and gushed to the media that he was always gonna play for Spain, not Serbia. I know Guiza fears that his one chance to shine in this game went up in smoke, he was the first to be subbed off, and that he may not get another chance – ever – with Torres soon to come back in the fold.