FIFA World Cup 2010

Spain won the FIFA 2010 World Cup Final in South Africa on July 11, 2010 when Andreas Iniesta scored the winning goal in the 115 minutes to beat the Netherlands 1 - 0. That goal was worth US$6 mil and maybe more. The price money for the winner was US$30mil and runners up US$24 mil.

More importantly, that win put the young Spanish team into history book as World Cup Winners. They also became only the second team in history to win both the World Cup and European Champions in 2008. Only Germany had done it in 1972 & 1974. The Spanish victory also raised the morale of the nation, amid a potential economic crisis due to debt.

From a footballing perspective, Spain proved that a team can focus on playing fair football and still win. The win was also representative of the victory of the country's youth development system and the success of its domestic league, the La Liga, as a platform for Spanish players pipped against the best in the likes of Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo.

This 4 yearly tournament was touted by many as the "Tournament of the Planet" and, indeed it was. The event showcase 32 teams from around the world who went through a 2 years qualification process, with the exception of the host, South Africa, and defending champion, Italy. All 32 qualifying team were given US$1mil as preparation fee even before arriving at South Africa.

The stakes were US$420mil in prize money, the title of World Champion, team carrying the hope of their nation, a shot at history or rewriting history, personal reputation of these professionals, improved valuation, improve contract terms, life changing opportunity to clinch contract to play in top league in the world and money in endorsements. The expectation on some nations and their players were extremely high. For example, Brazil, Argentina and England were expected to win the World Cup. Italy and France were expected to reached the semi finals. Wayne Rooney, Christaino Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Fernando Torres and Kaka were expected to score a dozen. Thus, the stakes were high and the pressure was mounting on many players.

PRIZE MONEY

$8 million – To each team exiting after the group stage (16 teams)

$9 million – To each team exiting after the round of 16 (8 teams)

$14 million – To each team exiting after the quarter-finals (4 teams)

$18 million – Fourth placed team

$20 million – Third placed team

$24 million – Runner up

$30 million – Winner

The preparations were elaborate too. South Africa, the host nation, spent $33bn rand in 7 years employing more than 70,000 workers to construct and retrofit stadiums as well as improve the country's infrastructures. Sponsors such as Coca Cola, MacDonald, Sony, Visa and others pumped in hundreds of million of dollars for global exposure. Then there were broadcasting rights to nations around the world. It was estimated that 700 millions watched the games from around the world.

Many participating nations coughed out huge sum of money to hire reputatable and experience coaches to help their team in their preparation for the finals and also take them to as far in the competition as possible. England, Ivory Coast and Australia were some of the qualifying nations with foreign coaches. The Germans hired more than 60 top students from around the country to study and research on the qualifying teams as part of the preparation. Many countries travelled to high altitude places for training and adaptation as six of the ten venues were around 1200m - 1750m above sea level.

Germany using university grads to study their opponents

Soccer City and Ellis Park Stadium were around1753m; Royal Bafokeng Stadium at 1500m; Free State Stadium at 1400m; Peter Mokaba Stadium at 1310m; Loftus Versfeld Stadium at 1214m; Mbombela Stadium at 660m; Cape Town Stadium, Moses Mabhida Stadium and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium were near sea level. It was believed that the altitude can affect the performance of the players and the motion of the ball.

The young Spanish team also showed that they have the temperament to perform under pressure and succeed at this level. Unlike so many players who succumbed under pressure. Was it the players or the preparation? The tournament also showed that the game was no longer played by just 11 players on the field but also the vision of the coach, the depth of the bench and the support from the backroom crews. The preparation done by the coach including tactic, mental preparation of the players, contingency planning for the various scenario, understanding of their opponents, knowing the habit of the man in black, the ability to unite the team, the depth of the bench, medical staffs, etc.

The Brazilian lost their head and the game. The English never got into their groove to perform to expectation, the French were in disarrayed, the Italian lost their way during the game only to realise too late, the Argentines underestimated their opponent and were demonlished. The Nigerian players had other ideas and did not perform as expected. The Japanese and Germans prepared well and progress. The Dutch played the physical game and won most of the mental game against their oppositions.

With the stake in today's game, the pressure on the players, coach and even administrators can be so significant that the game may no longer lost on the field. The success of the Netherland, Germany, Uruguay, Mexico and Japan as well as the Spanish victory demonstrated a new dimension of "Total Football" which include the development, detail planning, the importance of the depth of squad and supporting crews and the pschological preparation aspect of the game.

The stakes will continue to be bigger in the next World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and could see the adoption of technology after what had happened to England and the USA. Nevertheless, we will look forward to the samba.