The greatest Dutch footballer of all time, the apex of the 'Clockwork Orange', Johan Cruyff, warned his country, Holland, of the danger of Spain, which concentrated on the axis formed by Xavi and Iniesta. In an article published in The newspaper, the leader of the unforgettable orange selection of Neeskens, Krol, Rep, Rensenbrink and the company warned that “the style of Spain is the style of Barça. The team that defeated Germany had a midfield with Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and often, Pedrito (…) The idea of Forest Placing Pedrito shows that he knows perfectly what each player can offer him: possession, few turnovers, depth, sacrifice throughout the field and, above all, pressure when they lose the ball. That model is Pedrito. A note: 0-2 failed because he waited for it to arrive towers and they took it away … The Dutch preferred Germany. For two reasons: one, they wanted to beat the Germans in a final, and two, Spain has the ball and the Netherlands knows that they will not be able to chase it throughout the final (…) “. Cruyff knew the players of his country better than anyone, but even more so those of Del Bosque.
Another great myth of Barcelona Romario, also realized the power of Spain, and coincided with Cruyff in highlighting Iniesta as a player who could be key in the final “for his ease of finding spaces when there are none”, as explained one day with great skill the former selector, José Antonio Camacho. “The best thing I can say about Spain is that I have been wanting to play in that team, together with Iniesta, Silva, VillaXavi … let me say this, I am Brazilian, that is to say it all, “said Romario, who went so far as to say that football in Spain” is worthy of the best Brazil in history, that of World Cup 70 Pele“
Travel agencies began to smoke on the first day of post-qualification package sales against Germany. The two largest, Falcon and El Corte Inglés, They managed to fill six planes in just two hours. The problem, beyond ten hours flight between Madrid and Johannesburg, was to find paper. There was not a single ticket, despite the fact that the price was set between 350 and 700 euros, a million in a country like South Africa. Finally, some 5,000 Spaniards were able to get paper for the final, who enthusiastically joined the local population.
The Africans who came from all corners of their continent took sides with the National Team because they identified with the game of Spain and with the joy of his hobby. And that put the stands in favor of a Spain that had fallen in love Africa and that he was going to play the final against Holland, a country that had not left a happy mark after the time of the Afrikaners, But this is an other history…