Spain vs Holland: The Hollywood Version

Today is the big day here in Spain. I’m rooting for La Roja all the way, of course. It has been a wild ride for the Spanish national team ever since I first got off the boat here over three years ago. Today at 20:30 is the end of the ride, one way or another. I have to say that Holland worries the shit out of me. They play a much more direct style of football and their offensive potency is absolutely scorching. Take a look at this brilliant goal by Dutch defender Giovanni Van Bronckhorst. I mean, I seriously doubt that three Iker Casillas could have stopped that shot. Add to this the fact the both Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben are playing better than ever and you have trouble on your hands.

If I could write a Hollywood ending for this game it would have Sneijder scoring the first goal which would give him six total in the Cup and the leading scorer (pichichi in Spanish). Then David Villa would score and tie Sneijder. Late in the game Villa scores again to take the lead in scoring and push Spain into the top slot in the World Cup 2010 bracket. Spaniards have a name for this type of fantasy, they call it americanadas, or Americanisms from the Hollywood happy endings they see in our movies. I doubt that any Spaniard would see my americanada as a bad thing.

There you have it. I wrote the script, now we just need Spain to act it out.