What once was seven, Now will be eight

This week, when it is all said and done with, may be written down in the history books as one of the biggest in NBA history. But wait, there was not even a single game played. Good point. But it seems that it is very likely that a dynasty has just been formed down in south Florida. I still do not know how to feel about Lebron, Bosh, and Wade lacing up for the Heat. For all we know, this could be a major bust and a terrible disaster... or it could be the beginning of a string of four, five, six, or more championships. We will have to wait and see. Most top quality and/or championship teams have had a main man and his side kick. Jordan and Pippen, Duncan and Parker or Duncan and Robinson, Stockton and Malone, Kobe and Shaq, etc. But this is the first time that I can remember three future Hall of Famers, three players who can run a team by themselves, will be teaming up. Will they be able to mesh and share the spotlight? Or will their egos get in the way of what could be a truly amazing team. We still will have to wait til later this year to see.
But to be honest, the acquisition of these three super stars and all other sports stories have been placed on the back burner this past month as all eyes all over the world have watched the 63 games leading up to Sunday's final of the FIFA World Cup. Only 7 teams have ever won the World Cup, but for the first time ever, Spain and Holland will play in the final, which means we are guaranteed to have a new and first time champion, the eighth different team to win the greatest championship in all of sports. In a World Cup that may have been overshadowed by a few high profile bad calls, Sunday's match will be one for the record books. The Netherlands are the hottest team in the world right now. They did not lose a single game during qualifying and have yet to lose in the World Cup. On the other hand, Spain is looking to be the first team to fumble and lose their opening match of the World Cup and then turn it around to win the whole thing. And Spain may just be peaking as a team at the right time.
Both of these sides have similar styles of play. They both love to control the ball and are highly accurate with their passes. Neither team plays selfish soccer and almost all players will try to find the open man before looking for their own shot. Spain has some of the best midfielders in the world. Their midfield can control the tempo of the game with their crisp and perfect passes that allow David Villa to make his runs at goal. The midfield also does a great job at putting on the breaks and playing defense to win back possession for their team. Spain is not known for scoring lots of goals and is use to winning their games 1-0. One of the big questions is what is Spain going to do for their attack. Will Fernando Torres start or will David Villa be once again the lone striker? It has been apparent that Torres is not playing his best soccer, but when he came into the game against Germany for the last 15 minutes, he had multiple good runs and could have easily got his first world cup goal had Pedro made a simple pass instead of trying to make it all happen by himself. If Torres does not play and Villa is the only forward, fullbacks like Joan Capdevila and Sergio Ramos will most likely play up and join in on the attacks which allows the midfielders to sneak in behind the opposing defense.
Spain has had the best defense in the world cup only being scored on twice. They do have top quality defenders, but the real reason may be their midfield and the control that they have over the possession of the game.
Although Spain's attack has been impressive at times, the offensive power of the Dutch is, simply stated, better. They are second only to Germany in goals scored in this World Cup. They are led by five time goal scorer Wesley Sneijder. But Sneijder who is known for his control of the ball mixed with his ability to score for his club team Internazionale has not been able to control the ball very well this tournament. He has scored 5 times, which is the most important stat, but most of those goals have come off of set plays or one touch shots.
One big key for the Dutch will see if their defense, which has struggled at times, will be shaky or will they be able to stop the runs of David Villa and win back possession in the midfield before the Spanish get too many shots on goal. Also like Spain, the Netherlands defenders will often try to join in on the attack and can be very impressive when doing so, evident by the goal scored by Giovanni Van Bronckhorst against Uruguay in the semi-finals.
So who will win? I believe this game will come down to who can take advantage of opportunities on counter attacks and set pieces and who can exploit the other teams weaknesses. This may very well be a game in which whoever scores first will win because that goal will be the one and only. If Spain can put together a great attack and score early, they will be able to control the ball the rest of the game and wear down the Dutch. I feel like that may be exactly what happens and my brain is telling me that Spain will continue to play their style and win 1-0. But for some reason, I struggle to think that such a great attacking team like the Oranje will be held scoreless, even against the world's best defense. I think that game will end in a 1-1 tie after both regulation and 30 minutes of over time and will have to be decided on penalties. Look for Spain to win the game and become only the 8th nation to hold up this most desired World Cup trophy.