FIFA World Cup 2010 Final: Alonso brands De Jong’s tackle as the worst ever
In the most vicious of World Cup matches ever played, Xabi Alonso was at the end of an extremely dangerous high footed tackle by Holland’s Nigel De Jong. De Jong, who plays his club football for Manchester City might have been sent off on another day, but he escaped with only a yellow card as punishment in the final match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
There are wide spread fears in the Spanish camp that the Dutch deliberately adopted an aggressive approach to the match in order to injure some of the Spanish superstars. In a match that ended in victory for the Spanish, a total number of 14 yellow cards were shown.
Two of the fourteen yellow cards were shown to John Heitenga; the Dutch central defender was suspended as a result. Xabi Alonso, who started every game for the Spanish at the World Cup, plays for Real Madrid in Spain.
Alonso was in pain long after the tackle, and the game had to be stopped so that the Spaniard could be attended to by the medical staff at hand. Alonso stated after the game that, it was one of the worst tackles that he has ever suffered. He also said that it was a tight game between both the sides with a lot of respect. Alonso said that the Dutch tried to close down the Spanish quickly, when the latter had possession.
Alonso went on to add that it was really painful for him after the tackle and that it was exceedingly hard for the player to play on after Nigel De Jong, planted his foot into Alonso’s chest. Alonso additionally said that he has probably suffered a broken rib as a result of the tackle.
He also told the press that right now is not the correct time for Spain to think about the future, although he added that the team has now acquired a basic understanding of how to succeed, and he added that their specific style of play is with them now and that if they work harder they can achieve a lot.
Alonso returned to Spain along with his team mates on the 12th of July, the day after Spain won their first ever world cup trophy. At their arrival the Spanish national team were greeted by a sea of red fans, as people from all corners of Spain gathered to celebrate their first ever world cup triumph.
The Spanish national team met with the royal family as well as several government officials later in the evening to continue their wonderful celebrations in an official manner. The whole 23-man squad also took an open top bus trip through the Spanish capital city of Madrid, where millions of fans had gathered to greet their national heroes.
Football is an obsession in Spain, a country where famous European clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid are based. In a statement which was released by Vicente Del Bosque, the Spanish national team manager addressed the fans and said that the World cup win and triumph is for the fans and the whole Spanish football factory.
Spain will now be looking to repeat their success in the European Championships of 2012. A tournament where they can again make history by winning three international competitions in a row, the first one of such competitions being Euro 2008 which was followed by Spain’s victory at 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Tags: