Spain wins Cup
JOHANNESBURG — They kissed and hugged and held high the golden trophy for all of Soccer City and Africa and the world to see. The exhaustion was gone now for Spain's players, replaced by the exhilaration of winning the World Cup at long, long last.
A testy and often dirty match was won by Andres Iniesta's goal late in extra time Sunday night. The 1-0 victory over the Netherlands before a shivering crowd at Soccer City Stadium gave Spain its first World Cup, and put the European champion Spaniards in elite company.
"I remember (Italy captain Fabio) Cannavaro told me that being world champion doesn't happen every day," captain Iker Casillas said. "This really is quite a cup. The European Championship was the most important moment of our lives, but today is much bigger than anything else."
For years, Spain has been a disappointment in the biggest tournaments. Now, it has joined West Germany and France as the only nations to hold the world and European titles at the same time.
It took four straight 1-0 wins — the Spaniards scored eight goals, an all-time low for a World Cup champion — and the heroics of Iniesta and Casillas to reach the pinnacle so often predicted for Spain and never before reached. In the tightest World Cup ever, with 31 games decided by one goal, Spain always found a way.
"We have all done an incredible job," Iniesta said. "I don't think we even realize what we have done."
Well, maybe a little.
The winners struggled but managed to lift their coach, Vicente del Bosque, in the air in celebration.
"We owe this to the 23 players. We've had 50 days without any incident, it makes you proud to be with these players."
Then the players made a quick costume change from their sweat-soaked blue jerseys into their traditional red ones.
Casillas accepted the trophy from FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who was bundled in a scarf because temperatures dipped into the 40s on this chilly winter's night in the Southern Hemisphere.
Casillas, voted the World Cup's top goalkeeper, smooched the distinctive gold award and raised it for all to see while cameras flashed and confetti flew throughout the still-full stadium.
Soon, the entire team and staff gathered at midfield for a group photo. The players bounced up and down to the World Cup theme song, then took a victory lap as the trophy was passed to each member of the squad.
"It's the most beautiful that there is. It's spectacular," Iniesta said.
The game was anything but spectacular — the entire tournament was like that — and Spain's victory was marred by a pair of bombings in the East African nation of Uganda. Explosions ripped through crowds watching the game in two places in Uganda's capital late Sunday, killing 64 people, police said.
