"We deserved to win" just about sums up the attitude in the Spanish press to England's unexpected 1-0 win against the World and European Champions Spain at Wembley last Saturday. England barely touched the ball, they whined. They parked the bus, they sneered. Boring. cynical. An unjust result. Spain play beautiful, expansive, skillful football, and win every time, did no one tell you, England?
The Spanish are not the only nation/team guilty of such breathtaking arrogance. Granted, there is a definite sore-loser streak that's developed in Iberia since they came to world dominance, but I imagine that every fan of football in the whole world has uttered that awful phrase, "We deserved to win".
Spain did not deserve to win, no matter how much the precious Spanish press complain. There is merit in defending. There is merit in organisation. And above all, there's merit in putting the ball in the back of the bloody net. A goal has exactly the same worth whether it is scored by a player accidentally scoring with his face after the goalie punched the ball into it or by the most wondrous passing move you've ever seen (Spain again).
Football is all about taking the chances you are given. If a team creates some excellent scoring opportunities but fails to put them away, then they've failed to put them away. It's as simple as that. Bizarrely, it seems to be the final touch, the one that actually scores the goal, that has become undervalued. Once you've reached this mysteriously ill-defined point of basically a goal then by some twisted logic it should be a goal. Fabregas had a great chance. Villa hit the post. But neither were goals. If anything, the dominant amount of possession and territory that a team gains that still results in a defeat or draw makes said defeat or draw even more glaring. It's like a racing driver losing a race despite having a superior vehicle.
The only excuse is when there are some really obvious, pivotal refereeing decisions, like that stupid Chelsea-Barcelona match that made poor Tom Henning Ovrebo a wanted man. Fair play, Chelsea deserved to win.
Football is unforgiving. Hit the post ten times but don't score, and you haven't scored; all or nothing.
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