Filed under: FIFA World Cup, Soccer Posts, Germany, Spain
DURBAN, South Africa — The Spanish national team had a long history of failing in the clutch. Carles Puyol didn’t. The shaggy-haired defender, 32, is the captain of FC Barcelona, the famous club that has won four Spanish titles, two European championships and the World Club Cup under his stewardship. Puyol is a winner. He carried none of the stain of past Spanish shortcomings.
In the 73rd minute of Wednesday night’s gripping World Cup semifinal between Spain and Germany here at the seaside Moses Mabhida Stadium, Puyol delivered Spain to soccer’s promised land with the confidence of a player who knows how to win. The stalemate between the two European powers was inching toward overtime when Xavi Hernandez delivered a corner kick from the left. Puyol barreled forward from well outside the penalty area, leaped and rose high above teammate Gerard Pique and the entire German team to send a thunderous header past diving goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
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It was only Puyol’s third international goal, but it was a goal that rewrote history. Spain, soccer’s greatest underachiever, defeated the once-high flying Germans 1-0 and advanced to the World Cup final for the first time. And the tournament itself, for so long a closed shop that has allowed just seven champions, now will have a new one. Spain will play another long-suffering nation, the Netherlands, in the showpiece match on Sunday at Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium.
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