Last Wednesday he wasn’t even a household name in his own house but now the golfing world knows exactly who Louis Oosthuizen is. The South African is the Open Champion, the Champion Golfer Of The Year after an astonishing three days which have seen him catapult into the big time with a major title & judging by the way he romped home on the final day he has the temperament to add to this stunning debut.
Ooosthuizen had only ever won on a links course once when he won the Irish Amateur Open at Royal Dublin a decade ago & he won his second at the daddy of them all, the home of Golf- St Andrews.
The 200/1 outsider jumped into contention as Rory McIlroy’s dreams crashed & burned on Friday. Oosthuizen leapt into the lead with his early round before the weather destroyed the mercurial youngster’s chance of joining Messrs McDowell & Harrington as irish Major winners. McIlroy does have an amazing record at HQ in 13 rounds he has never shot anything in the 70’s. His best was his opening 63 on Thursday, his worst the 80 the following day but with back to back rounds in the 60’s again he kept that remarkable statistic alive. Despite that dreadful round on Friday the Hollywood lad had a Hollywood finish to end up joint third.
Paul Casey accompanied Oosthuizen in the final pairing & at one stage got to within three shots of the remarkably unperturbed South African as his coronation as champion gathered pace. By the time he sank his final putt he had almost beaten Tiger Woods’ modern day record of the easiest winning margin- but his 7 shot spread didn’t come close to the winning margins of the oldest & youngest ever winners of the Open Old Tom Morris who won by 15 & Young Tom Morris who won by 12.
So the world of Golf has a new superstar who looks like he could be a serious contender with McIlroy, McDowell & Harrington snapping at his heels.

At last one of sport's biggest frauds could be about to be exposed. For years Lance Armstrong has been hailed as either a modern miracle after recovering from cancer to win 7 Tour de Frances or as the biggest drug cheat in the history of sport binning Ben Johnson as the sporting world's pariah.

Sportspeak understands that Greg LeMond has been served with a grand jury subpoena as part of the US Federal Food and Drug Administration probe into the alleged doping practices of the US Postal Cycling Team, according to The NY Daily News.

The investigation centres around the revelations of Floyd Landis in recent months, which include allegations that Lance Armstrong and other members of the team doped whilst on the US Postal squad, all of which have been denied by the seven-time Tour de France champion thus far.

The subpoena, which was issued by a grand jury in the US District Court of the Central District of California, demands documents and testimony from LeMond concerning his knowledge of the alleged practices of the four teams for which Armstrong has ridden since his return from cancer in 1998: US Postal Service, Discovery Channel, Astana, and Radio Shack.

Food and Drug Administration criminal investigator Jeff Novitzky, who uncovered the BALCO doping ring in 2003, has already enjoyed the co-operation of several riders who agreed to speak with investigators as the probe gathers momentum, the aim of which is to discover whether Armstrong and members of his teams committed sporting fraud by allegedly using money from sponsors to undertake an elaborate doping program that may have helped the American win seven Tour de France titles.

Armstrong recently commented on the situation from France, where he is currently riding the Tour de France for Team RadioShack under the directorship of Johan Bruyneel, who, according to Landis' statements, was also involved in suspect practices. Both men vehemently deny the allegations and have moved to discredit Landis.

The NY Daily News reports that the subpoena "orders LeMond to appear at a federal courthouse in Los Angeles on July 30 to answer questions from the grand jury, which meets in strict secrecy. Witnesses testify under oath and may not be accompanied inside the room by an attorney".

LeMond's wife, Kathy, told the publication: "We are overjoyed. I hope the truth will come out."

It comes after years of bitter dispute between the first American winner of the Tour de France, LeMond, and arguably the best-known, Armstrong, which started in 2001 when LeMond spoke with British journalist and LA Confidentiel co-author David Walsh about Armstrong's relationship with disgraced Italian doctor Michele Ferrari. The feud eventually spilled over into the commercial sphere, with Trek Bicycle Corporation dropping the LeMond brand of bicycles which it had hitherto distributed.

The NY Daily News reported last week that the Trek Bicycle Corporation was also subpoenaed for documents as part of the investigation after Landis' allegations that its bicycles were sold during his tenure with US Postal when it sponsored the squad. And while Armstrong has denied those claims, LeMond has still been ordered to produce documentation relating to his dealing with Trek.

Wolves began their preparations for their opening game of the new season against Stoke with a comfortable win over League of Ireland champions Bohemians.

The champions started very well and almost caught the visitors on the hop, Jason Byrne worked a lovely ball to Aaron Greene but  his shot lobbed over the bar.

Moments later there was a first goal. From a Wolves corner from Ronald Zubar, Jody Craddock got his head to it and it flew past Chris O'Connor in the goal and Wolves took the lead only after 6 minutes. An early goal to give the 200 odd fans who travelled over something to cheer about but it was a totally un inspirational opening period and that goal was their only shot on goal in the first 20 minutes

Bohs had another golden opportunity on 21 minutes and really should have scored. Jason Byrne making his first start since returning from injury worked his way into the area and tried to launch the ball over the  keeper but got an un lucky bounce and it just went over the bar.

Bohs from then were putting pressure on the Wolves defence and once again managed to break them down. Lee Dixon was putting in an impressive performance and was certainly trying to claim his place on more starting teams, on the 25th minute he caught the entire Wolves defence napping and smashed a shot off Hennessey and out for a corner but the keeper did well to claim the ball coming across. Pat Fenlon said earlier in the week that this game was only going to be a run out for Wolves but credit to the Bohs team they really were causing problems.  Wolves went in leading 1-0 at the break.

The second half started the way the first finished with no pace at all, although this was only a friendly both teams could have put alot more of an effort into the game. It wasnt any surprise that Wolves had the first goal scoring chance of the second half and it was Stephen Fletcher but he shot well wide of goal.

Bohs had a good penalty shout on 52 minutes he was working up a good shot on goal and he was pulled off the ball by Andy Keogh in the box right infront of referee Richie Winter, but the atrocious referee clearly still hadn't made a switch to Specsavers waving play on and it allowed Wolves to clear their lines.

Wolves second goal arrived straight after that penalty claim, Kevin Doyle put a through to Stephen Fletcher who to his credit hit a beautiful shot into the net.

On 72 minutes Mick McCarthy decided he would confuse the living daylights out of everyone including journalists in the ground by bringing on his entire bench, Van Damme, Jones, Craddock, Berra, Doyle, Fletcher and Jarvis all came off replacing them, Elokobi, Halford, Ebanks Blake, Mujangi Bia, Edwards, Vokes and Foley. Then to make it easier for everone 10 minutes later after everyone in the ground figured out who came off and on, Monaghan native Aaron McCarey replaced Wayne Hennessey in goal.

Last kick of the ball was a third goal for Wolves, from a corner substitution Geoffrey Mujangi Bia got it into the back of the net. And that was where the game finished.

Bohemians: C O'Connor(GK), M Doherty, O Farrell, G Cronin, J McGuinness, M Rossiter, L Dixon, S Traynor, A Greene, J Byrne, G Burke SUBS; C Sexton, S Keeley, R lopes, Y Laro, J Dwane, C Forrester

Wolves: W Hennessey, R Zubar, J Van Damme, D Jones, J Craddock, C Berra, A Keogh, K Henry, K Doyle, S Fletcher, M Jarvis SUBS; G Elokobi, A Mc Carey, R Stearman, S.E Blake, G Halford, G.M Bia, S Vokes, D Edwards, K Foley,S Ward

Sir Alex Ferguson, in Toronto on the first leg of the club’s pre-season tour of North America, had a brief taste of international management when he replaced the late Jock Stein to take charge of Scotland during the World Cup finals in Mexico in 1986.

Having transformed United’s fortunes in the early-1990s, the Scot is understood to have been the first-choice candidate to manage among senior Football Association figures to replace Terry Venables in 1996 and Glenn Hoddle three years later.

The then FA executive director David Davies has since suggested he was “vaguely encouraged” about the prospects of hiring Ferguson in 1996, before admitting that conversations were “very brief” when attempting to hold similar discussions prior to the appointment of Kevin Keegan in 1999.

Ferguson, speaking on Canadian television, did not clarify the circumstances of the approaches from the FA.

But the 68 year-old admitted that he rejected the offers due to his Scottish roots and a sense that managing England is an almost impossible task. “I was offered the chance to manage the England team on a couple of occasions but, of course, it was just out of the question.

“It’s a poisoned chalice anyway. I think it’s a terrible job, plus the fact that I would have had a tremendous handicap being Scottish; no matter which way you look it, that’s important.”

After their dismal performance in South Africa, Ferguson believes that fatigue is a recurring problem for English players at major tournaments.

He said: “The English season is exhausting. Look at December, for instance, when we play eight or nine games even though it’s the worst time of the year for the pitches, when they are heavier and the weather is at its worst.

“In the second half of the season, you then find lots of players are carrying little strains and pulls. But because of the importance of the games they keep on playing and, when they get to the end of the season and there’s an important tournament such as the World Cup, they are not 100 per cent.

“They can’t be because they need that rest factor to bring the energy back into their system.”

The failure of Wayne Rooney to shine in South Africa, having scored 34 goals for United on the way to being crowned Footballer of the Year last season, continues to provoke debate and a search for the reasons behind the 24 year-old’s displays.

But Ferguson claims that Rooney suffered the same fate as players such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, who also failed to live up to expectations at the World Cup.

“It was the expectation,” he said. “All the main players for whom the expectations were high had bad tournaments, including Messi and Ronaldo. At the outset, the expectation was built up that this was going to be Wayne’s tournament, but don’t forget that he doesn’t have great experience of World Cup football.

“For many players, they only get one World Cup, but Wayne will have other opportunities and he will be much better with experience.”

Asked why Ronaldo did not perform, he said: “It’s difficult to say why. I spoke to the Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz after the tournament and he was as baffled as anyone.”

Ferguson also defended referee Howard Webb after criticism of his handling of the World Cup final between Holland and Spain.

“He was given an impossible task with the behaviour of the players,” Ferguson said. “I think it got to the stage in the first-half that showing a red card would have put him under pressure, criticism-wise.

“A World Cup final, having a player sent off, it’s not the done thing and you don’t want to see that.

“The public doesn’t want to see that, the spectators who have gone to the game don’t want to see that, and he was left in that position.

“There was no way out for him. If he had sent a player off, he would have faced criticism. If he didn’t send a player off, he would get criticism.

“I think at half time he realised that, and in the second half, his momentum got less and less.”

United are due to fly to Philadelphia on Saturday ahead of their friendly against Philadelphia Union on Tuesday. Ferguson’s players are also due to play games in Kansas City, Houston and Guadalajara before returning to England on July 30.

The Shamrock challenge is now being led by  Ireland’s latest member of the Major Club Graeme McDowell on -5 after a truly horrible day for our latest superstar Rory McIlroy who saw a 13 shot swing between his first & second rounds after his record breaking opener. It’s ironic that G-Mac is the only man to have beaten that score of 63 at the home of golf St Andrews.

Surprise package Louis Oosthuizen is  sitting top  of the leaderboard .The South African won his first European tour event this year in Spain but he is playing for much bigger stakes now. A second-round 67 compiled in the early morning rain, before the winds came in and the scoring headed north, gave him a three-shot advantage over the field that seemed unlikely to diminish as the day went on.

Rory McIlroy, the overnight leader, was among the late starters, one of those who endured a fitful, fretful day – a victim of the links lottery. Two windblown bogies in the first six holes and all of a sudden the first-round champ was looking a bit of a chump. At least he was in exalted company. Tiger Woods was another who dropped two shots early in his round.

Play was halted for 65 minutes mid-afternoon when balls started moving on some greens & that changed everything. Darren Clarke is also moving into contention & will complete his second round early in the morning – he has moved to -4.

The Football Association of Ireland today confirmed that Steven Reid has decided to retire from international football to concentrate on his club career. Steven has 23 caps for Ireland  and made his debut in the 2-2 friendly against Croatia in Lansdowne road on August 15 2001 after he caught the eye of Mick McCarthy with impressive performances for Millwall and the Ireland Under 21’s.

Speaking today, Steven Reid said that it had been a very difficult action to take. “It was a tough decision because I’ve had some terrific times with Ireland,” said Reid, who earlier this month signed a two-year West Bromwich Albion deal, plus a further year’s option.

“But having weighed everything up, I know this is the right decision. The injuries I’ve had over the past couple of years have been well documented and I’ve taken this step to prolong my club career and to spend more time with my family. It’s a decision I came to after lengthy discussions with the club’s medical staff and my family. I’ve had some unforgettable times with Ireland, the highlight being making two appearances at the World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea in 2002 and it has always been a huge honour for me to wear the Irish jersey. It’s just a shame my injuries cut short the number of caps I possibly could have won over the past few years.”

He added, “I wish the squad every success for the forthcoming European Championship qualifiers and thank the players, the back room team and the management for their help, support and friendship over the past nine years. I would also like to say a massive thank you to all the Irish fans for their support. They always got behind me and it was an honour to represent them.”

Steven Reid was part of Mick McCarthy’s World Cup squad in 2002 and featured in games against Germany and Cameroon. He subsequently played under Brian Kerr, Stephen Staunton and Giovanni Trapattoni. He scored two goals for his country, the first against Russia in February 2002 and on the eve of the World Cup against Nigeria in May 2002. He also had the honour of captaining Ireland against the Netherlands in August 2006.

Speaking today in recognition of Steven Reid’s contribution to international football, Giovanni Trapattoni said: “We are sorry to hear about Steven’s decision to retire from international football to concentrate on his club career at West Bromwich Albion. His commanding presence for the Republic of Ireland will be missed by his teammates and fans alike. Steven always showed tremendous commitment to the Irish jersey even during difficult times in his career and for that we thank him most warmly. On behalf of the Irish team, we wish Steven well for his future club career and we thank him for his outstanding commitment.”

Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane said, “Steven was always a great player to have around the Ireland camp both on and off the pitch. His talent and experience was invaluable in midfield and on a personal level, it was always a pleasure to play alongside him. On behalf of the squad, I would like to wish him all the best for his future club career.”

Uruguay striker Diego Forlan was named the winner of the Golden Ball as the best player of the World Cup.The Atletico Madrid forward, 31, scored five goals and was a major influence as his team unexpectedly reached the semi-finals in South Africa.German Thomas Mueller, who also scored five, was named by Fifa as the best young player of the tournament.Mueller, 20, also won the Golden Boot for most goals – his three assists acting as a tie-breaker.The German thus beat Forlan, Spain’s David Villa and Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands to the coveted prize.Bayern Munich ace Mueller saw off Mexico’s Giovanni Dos Santos and Ghana’s Andre Aynew for the young player prize.

“It’s a huge honour to be part of a group including the likes of Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Michael Owen and the most recent winner, Lukas Podolski.

“For me personally, it’s terrific confirmation of the work I’ve put in over the last year. I’m delighted my great run has continued here, and I’ve really enjoyed it too. The honour will be with me for all time, and it’s a wonderful memento too.”

Forlan finished top of a Fifa shortlist for his award following a vote by international media.

The former Manchester United player polled 23.4% of the vote, narrowly beating Dutch playmaker Wesley Scheijder- second with 21.8% – while Villa was third.

“This is award which I won thanks to my team-mates,” wrote Forlan on his Twitter account, a post accompanied by a photograph where the striker is standing with other players.

“It was taken before they threw me in the swimming pool,” he explained.

Uruguay’s performance at the World Cup was the country’s best in 40 years.

Forlan succeeds Frenchman Zinedine Zidane, who was named top player of the 2006 World Cup despite his infamous red card in the final defeat to Italy.

It rounded off a fine year for Forlan, who also won the Europa League with Atletico Madrid last season, with the striker scoring both goals in a 2-1 extra-time victory over Fulham.

“It’s as great as it is unexpected,” Forlan told FIFA.com.

“I never even imagined something like this, nor did I have my sights set on it.

“As I’m a striker, I perhaps could have seen myself chasing the Golden Shoe, and in fact I came close. That would have been more normal. But to go from that to winning the prize for the best player…

“I’m enjoying it and I’m delighted, but I’m very aware that it’s the result of the spectacular tournament the team has had. It’s another reward for this positive period for Uruguayan football.”

Meanwhile, Spain goalkeeper Iker Cassilas who twice denied Arjen Robben of the Netherlands with the score at 0-0 in the World Cup final – won the Golden Glove award for being the best keeper at the tournament.

Casillas conceded only two goals in seven matches.

Spain 1 ( Iniesta 116)

Netherlands 0

A game that had been hyped to the heavens was a real damp squib as the occassion seemed to get to two of the best footballing sides in the world. The Spanish just about deserved to win it although the Dutch showed superb steel defensively to stop the Spanish having too much joy. The joy came in the closing seconds of extra time as Andes Iniesta netted the goal that made the Spanish the world champions the first to win the trophy after losing their opening game & the first european side to win it on another continent.

The  first clumsy tackle of the evening came only 2 minutes in from  Robin van Persie as he caught Sergio Busquets, and the Dutch seemed to have been controlling the opening stages very well.

The first chance of this World Cup final came on the 5th minute, Xavi whipped a free-kick in from the Spanish right and Sergio Ramos bravely got there first, powering a header goalwards that the big Dutch stopper does well to turn away to his right.

Iker Casillas admitted he was feeling nervous in the build-up, and there are hints some of his team-mates were too as only on the 12th minute  Sergio Ramos nearly threw the ball straight to Dirk Kuyt only for Carles Puyol to intervene. At the other end, Ramos went past Dirk Kuyt only for John Heitinga to whack away inside his own six-yard box, and a moment later David Villa volleyed into the side-netting from an angle on the left.

After 15 minutes you got a real indication that this wasnt going to be a classy game on 16 and 18 minutes we had our first yellow cards, no messing around from Howard Webb.  Mark van Bommel committed his first foul of the evening , going in late on former Barca colleague Carles Puyol. Robin van Persie is then booked by Howard Webb for a late challenge on Joan Capdevila, his second of the night. Then, Webb flashed yellow at Carles Puyol for catching Arjen Robben on his ankle. By the looks of things these wernt going to be the only yellow cards handed out by the Englishman.

The Dutch were giving the ball away a bit too much. Spain though hadn’t quite got into their very best rhythm, in losing so much possession the Dutch were getting very frustrated, and the most obvious booking of the final, Mark van Bommel lost his head for a second and slid straight through the back of Andres Iniesta. No choice for Howard Webb there, the Spaniards wernt exactly keeping their cool, Sergio Ramos was cautioned for fouling Dirk Kuyt. Webb’s life getting harder by the second in Johannesburg.

This game started to look very rough and it was indeed looking like a horror show, with the amount of stoppages and yellow cards issued, and the cards just kept coming,  with only 29 minutes gone in the game 4 players had been noted in Howard Webbs book, and Nigel de Jong became the fifth and it really should have been a straight red, for a chest-high boot on Xabi Alonso. At this stage the game had yet to see a first real chance for either team.

There were far too many stoppages for the game to flow properly in the first half. The blame by no means could be pointed at Howard Webb, but it was getting quite niggly. He gave a free-kick for a non-foul on Arjen Robben, before the Dutch almost score when the ball takes a horrible bounce as they tried to give it back to Spain after an injury stoppage. Iker Casillas is at full stretch to feather it behind, but the Netherlands gave the corner straight to the Spanish captain.

The opening stages of the second half saw alot more control and passing and at last some chances.  straight away Arjen Robben turned beautifully away from Xabi Alonso inside the Spanish half, but his slide-rule pass to Robin van Persie was just too strong for the Arsenal striker. Good start to the second half and a good change in the pace of this game.

It appeared to be all Holland in the second half. The Netherlands’ turn to attack as Gregory van der Wiel did well to get forward down their right, but his cross along the six-yard box was a good 10 yards ahead of any Dutch forwards and Spain cleared comfortably. It’s a little livelier, though.  Spain had yet to but in any threats on the Dutch goal.

On 52 minutes Arjen Robben hit a speculative left-footer from 30 yards, but Iker Casillas was paying attention and saved low down to his left.  Moments later Giovanni van Bronckhorst was booked for sticking his arm out and bringing Sergio Ramos about 25 yards from the Dutch goal. You could feel Howard Webbs first red card was looming.

On 56 minutes John Heitinga kicked David Villa after the ball had gone and Webb had no choice but to flash yellow once more. The players were not making this easy. The Spaniards were furious. Moments later Andres Iniesta fouled Wesley Sneijder and this time Howard Webb kept s his cards in his pocket. Webb had done well, most of the yellows so far had been warranted. In fact, he was probably trying hard to keep it 11 v 11. The players certainly weren’t.

It took an hour for the first substitution to be made Pedro was taken off for Spain and tricky Sevilla winger Jesus Navas came on in his place. Seconds later, Robin van Persie headed Dirk Kuyt’s cross from the Dutch left over, under pressure from Carles Puyol.

Biggest moment of the match came just over the hour mark. Wesley Sneijder, on the halfway line, managed to slip a pass forward that Gerard Pique slightly misjudged and suddenly Arjen Robben was clean through. Time seemed to stand still as Robben got in on his trusty left boot, but after picking his spot Iker Casillas made a brilliant save with his legs.

After Arjen Robben’s miss, a Spanish corner found Sergio Ramos unmarked, six yards out in the middle of the area, but he could only power a header over. A minute later he still had his hands on his head.  Spain were cranking it up a bit at Soccer City, they after 80 minutes looked the likelier of the two teams to nick a late winner.  Some gaps were starting to open up for them, and even Xavi was pushing forward more.

Definite gaps appeared. Andres Iniesta jinked his way into the Dutch area down the left and he is only prevented from shooting by a desperate though excellent challenge from Wesley Sneijder.  There wasnt much time to rescue something from this game in the regulation 90 minutes before it going to half an hour of extra time and possibly penalties, but only one more chance came in the 90.

Arjen Robben did Carles Puyol for pace, burning past the defender as they chased a flick on into the Spanish half and with Puyol trying to haul Robben back, he stayed on his feet, only to be met by Iker Casillas, who raced off his line to gather. Robben raced up to Howard Webb and demanded a free-kick – to be fair to the Bayern winger, he was penalised for staying on his feet there. So that was it for the 90 minutes and both sides took a break before an extra half an hour of play.

There was certainly more intent from both sides in the opening stages of extra time as neither would have wanted the game to be settled on penalties.  Straight away though, the Spanish bench were furious because they wanted a penalty for John Heitinga’s foul on Xavi inside the box. Howard Webb pointed to the corner spot instead. Moments later, it was Cesc Fabregas’s turn to be distraught. He ran on to a perfectly weighted through ball from Andres Iniesta and it looked to the whole world he had  to score, but the Arsenal captain’s shot was blocked brilliantly by Maarten Stekelenburg.

OHH JESUS!!!!!  on 104 minutes Jesus Navas got into space down the Spanish right and surged into the area – his shot took a wicked deflection off Gio van Bronckhorst and flew into the side-netting. Could’ve gone anywhere.  That was it for the first half of the extra time and it was mind boggling to how it had ended 0-0.

It was only a matter of time, but was controversial. Andres Iniesta plays a one-two and latched on to the return, but he went down under a challenge from Heitinga, who was shown his second yellow of the game by Howard Webb, the first he has given in the competition but the question remained was it going to be his last . Xavi slamed the resulting free-kick over the bar.

On 113 minutes Arjen Robbenwas flagged offside and the Spaniards crowded around Howard Webb trying to get him booked for playing on after the whistle. It’s unseemly and unnecessary. The game desperatly needed a goal.

And it came. Fernando Torres got the ball on the left and cliped a cross into the box. It was half cleared to Cesc Fabregas and he found Andres Iniesta in the area – the little Barca magician took a touch before volleying past Maarten Stekelenburg. He whips his shirt off and the Spaniards went  mental. Was that the goal to win Spain the World Cup for the very first time. 2 minutes were added on at the end of the half hour and the Spanish were desperate to keep the ball.

Spain scored the latest goal ever in a world cup final, they also became the first team who lost their opening game to go on to win the competition. At times this seemed like a horrible game but it did pick up in terms of pace as time went on. At the end of the day a truely deserved victory for officially now the best footballing nation in the world.

Soccer City will look like a colour blind clown’s wardrobe tonight as Holland & Spain’s fans shake their flags & blow their vuvuzeelas to cheer on the two sides who will contest the World Cup final. A tournament that has been a huge success financially & socially for the host nation of South Africa has had it’s moments of laughter(Engerlund’s disallowed goal), it’s moments of drama & the odd bit of barefaced cheating(Luis Suarez’s handball against Ghana). Not too many people will argue with the final pairing as both were consistently good throughout the competition as more vaunted & fancied sides fell by the wayside. The Argentinians, inspired by the madcap lunacy of the living God that is Diego Armando Maradona played by far the best football but turned out to have a marshmallow defence when those pesky Germans were having one of their more ruthless afternoons.  A functional Brazil side never really convinced, a youthful German side surprised & a Uruguyan side inspired by the golden maned lion that is Diego Forlan astonished the World by making it to the semi finals & gave us the game of the tournament against a brave Ghana. The last two finalists World Champions Italy & France had both qualified at Ireland’s expense & they got exactly what their play deserved- a first round exit. The permanent conundrum that is England remains unsolved as yet again reality failed to meet arrogant expectations.

This was the World Cup where the vuvuzeela became  the constant soundtrack & where an octopus named Paul suddenly started to make Paddy Power & his colleagues sweat like the poor chap who’s had to run around dressed as the tournament mascot.

And then there were two- Holland, the country who gave us total football in the 1970′s & saw them lose two World deciders in 74 & 78 to West Germany & Argentina. The Spanish are the reigning European Champions tring to emulate the Germany of 72 & 74 & the France of 98 & 2000 by holding both the major baubles at the same time.

Both sides owe a huge debt to the great Johan Cruijff who has spent time moulding youngsters in both camps. His association with Barcelona has seen him watch the Catalan backbone of this wonderful Spanish side grow & breathe on the biggest stages of all, while the Dutch still look for the approval of the godfather of total football. Who will win? We will know later tonight, but it would be fitting if we get the game this tournament deserves, one which will put a smile on a billion faces around the World , one of the sides winning by the odd goal in seven would be an ideal scenario but lets just hope that the 22 players on the park produce some magic to make Maradona,Pele, Platini,Zidane & Cruijff nod their heads in agreement their hands aloft applauding today’s generation on the biggest stage of their lives. Howard Webb- the World is watching- no pressure mate.