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So there it is.... they think it's all over... it is now... Back to life, impending parenthood and the like. Back to talking to the wife about more than the passing carousel.

A pointless game turned out to be one of the games of the tournament, very entertaining, and in Diego Forlan, you have no complaints about the man winning the golden ball. His endless energy and creative impact just not quite enough to get past the Germans, who did admittedly approach the game a little bit like a kick about, but after the war of attrition over the last month, 2 teams not bothering to really try to defend properly, was quite refreshing.

Probably most telling in his clinching of the player of the tournament award was the fact Forlan was not involved in one of the worst finals of all time.

I feel cheated. What was supposed to be the greatest show on earth turned out to be on a par with Leeds v Millwall. Clearly, I'm not delusional enough to expect a 5-4 ageless classic, but what I didn't expect was the Dutch to watch Wimbledon games from the '80's on the team coach to the ground. That can be the only explanation for their all out assault on the Spanish pass masters. De Jong's kung fu kick one of the worst fouls I have seen for years.....

Sadly, this tactic totally worked too.... Spain were kicked out of their stride and got tetchy themselves, harassing the poor Howard Webb who was trying to retain order with increasing ineffectiveness.

Thankfully, the football gods won through, the best team in the world won the cup. But I can't help feeling they won it because they are best in the world, but not that they showed it in this tournament - a misfiring Torres contributing to the least number of goals scored by a world cup winner. They just happened to be the only team who tried to play football.

So that's it. Well done Spain... a fully fit Torres could have put a different gloss on things, but he was not alone in the superstars not showing up this summer...... and after all said and done, thanks to Gazza for bizarrely providing the highlight of world cup final weekend...

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