Kudos to this article

I came across this article by Victor Belanciano in the newspaper "O Publico".  The title of it in Portuguese is "Thank You Spain".  I ran it in google translate for the convenience of my english audience.  Here it is below:

"Unlike most, I liked to moderation in Brazil's World. It is true that there have been games with excitement and goals, but the level exhibitional almost always leaves something to be desired.

I see players listed tired, unprepared referees and most unbalanced teams, disharmonic, matches without thread, which favors competition, but leveled underneath.

There is a new reality. The World is for the contemporary football, as the festival of Eurovision for music, is a dressed up storefront, which has extensive translation into reality. Who wants to see good football nowadays makes you see the teams play European elite and not the World Cup games.

This reality has been masked in recent years by a selection: Spanish. After mythical match Brazil-Italy World Cup Spain 1982, the Italians won 3-2 football lost out. Winning at any cost, dividing the movements of the enemy, enfastiando it began to be the norm. Began to avenge the pragmatism of income, physical obsession, this idea that runneth over has more chances of winning. In the limit until you can play poorly, since it leave it on the field. It was stated that imbecile notion that playing with finesse was synonymous with losing.

Other teams have bucked this trend over the past few years, but none made lasting both in time and with results as victorious as the Spanish selection.The Spaniards not only won on the field. Also be heard outside. And in this world it found itself. During and after the holocaust against the Netherlands would be easy to come up the worst of the human being when you have to manage frustration. But no.

There was no hysteria, victimization charges. What happened was maturity and nobility. A dash in victory as in defeat. The air-end party had already noticed in the game with Chile and, in farewell, surely something similar happened on Monday against Australia. The champions also prescribe.

As in Barcelona, ​​also in the selection, the problems seem to be psychic and physical. There is no question the standard of play. It is a matter of intensity, speed and space. A second or a few inches more or less. The secret of possession football is not about having the ball, but how fast is driven in the field. If nobody plays like Barcelona or Spain squad is not because you do not want.

It is because it is extremely difficult. It is a process. It takes time. Do not just take the best player in the world, this current obsession. Has is that to have an exquisite team, where the game is not built by running the ball and running around to please the bench.

The speed, as the explosive capacity is lost with age. Without competitive pressure, the model of the Spanish selection, easily succumbs But hopefully not waive their style, being capable of renewal. There are teams that earn the results. And there are teams that get to history by style, like Brazil 1982. Either Spain in recent years.

It is true that Brazil won after this team, but that is what the reference is there. And this is what football fans worldwide remember. The same applies to Spain who won two European and one World, a selection which forced us to look for the game otherwise, became a reference, mark a before and after, is to the story."