The most attractive offensive team in South Africa, Germany, featured seven field players from Bayern Munich, which is now of course coached by van Gaal.Д¬onversely, the Netherlands came very close to taking this year's title by abandoning 'total football' for a rough-and-tumble style reminiscent of German teams of the past. The current, more tactically disciplined team is built around an axis of players from Barcelona, a club that was for the better part of 11 years (1997-2008) coached by two Dutchmen, Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard.ДЄnd it wasn't just Spain that defied stereotypes. The Spanish teams of 1986, 19 were twice as productive offensively than the 2010 squad - all were knocked out in the quarterfinals. Historically, Spain were always a team that scored a lot and didn't get very far in the World Cup. One thing that this World Cup made clear in that cliches about how various national teams play the game are in need of serious revision. Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Iniesta anchored a superlative midfield In every one of their games, Spain not only had more possession, but more shots on target than their opponents. Germany and the Netherlands ran themselves ragged trying to win the ball back, while Spain waited and waited for gaps to open up.Д«oring, a lot of football fans thought. That made Spain less incisive going forward - Villa scored the last of his 5 goals (putting away a rebound off the goalpost) in the Spaniards' quarterfinal against Paraguay.Д«ut the adjustment also put the focus of Spain's remaining matches even more squarely on the midfield, where Del Bosque had his biggest advantage. Spain weren't packing it in at the back, however, as much as they were playing keep-away just inside their opponents' half. The result was something that oddly resembled an Italian catenaccio. Villa - whose official height is listed at 1.75 meters (5'9') - replaced Torres in the middle, while the hole in the squad was filled by diminutive wingers Pedro and Jesus Navas. The answer lay in a clever, if unorthodox tactical change. But how could Spain win if there was no one big up front to serve as a target man? There was no question that the midfield, anchored by the exceptional Xavi and Iniesta, would dominate possession and frustrate opponents with their short passing. The Spanish survived the group stage, thanks largely to striker David Villa's individual brilliance, but at that point many people were writing them off. That essentially left Spain without an effective center forward, a crucial element in what had been the squad's free-flowing attack. Striker Fernando Torres, who was coming off knee surgery, proved to be a shadow of his normal self, rarely capable of getting behind defenses and unable to turn on the ball when he did. They were the reigning European champions, having scored 12 goals in 6 matches on their way to the 2008 title and being blessed with a starting midfield drawn exclusively from powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid.Д«ut the squad contained a potentially fatal flaw. Spain rightly rolled into South Africa as one of the pre-tournament favorites. Torres was unable to make a meaningful contribution

2010 fifa world cup results