A imposing header of Puyol knocked Germany down and brought Spain to the 2010 World Cup final, in which would meet Holland that, the day before, he had defeated Uruguay (2-3) in one of the best matches in the history of the World Cup. The victory of Spain against the Germans was the second consecutive in a great date, since La Roja came from precisely beating the Mannschaft the Euro 2008, with a goal from Torres.
The editor of the newspaper at that time, Alfredo Relaño Estapé, of a Catalan mother, decided on a headline that was a nod to Catalonia, 'Visca Spain', and that was not going to go unnoticed. For some reason the corner kick that ended with the goal of the National Team was a rehearsed play for him Barca that the Barça players put into practice. Xavi took the corner, Piqué draggedor to the German centrals and Puyol scored with a colossal auction.
One of the Catalan newspapers with the longest tradition and tradition, The vanguard, made headline echo de AS: “With an imposing black body, between exclamation marks and under a huge photo of Puyol surrounded for his companions at the time of the celebration, he prayed in AS the title 'Visca Spain'. A graceful concession that the sports journalists from the Madrid and Madrid daily offered to night hero, that of La Pobla, the “bravo central” of Barça who has won hearts from all over Spain including those of many madridistas. The 'Visca Spain' of 'As' does not go further in its claims, there is no mention of it in the sports chronicle, nor any other wink to the Catalan origin of the bulk of the Selection, but it is undoubtedly interpreted as a recognition gesture to efficiency of the 'tiqui-taca' above fury. “
But the truth is that the newspaper headline did not go unnoticed, nor for the players, who appreciated the detail. “For once, those of Barça can say that we are from the AS team” Puyol joked the following day, coinciding with the special envoys, Matallanas and Maroto. Forest too congratulated both journalists “for the success in the holder”.
Spain had managed to qualify for the World Cup final, and was a team that came in droves, growing since the defeat with Switzerland in the match with which opened the tournament. The National Team had managed to be a team … on and off the field. From there your success and his great acceptance, since each victory of La Roja broke audience records both on television and in newspaper sales. AS beat its historical record of paper sale in the 2010 World Cup, a milestone that is still valid.