Player of the Tournament
Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Wesley Sneijder, David Villa and Xavi may have inspired their teams to
the
final, but Forlan’s four goals took Uruguay – population 3.5 million –
to
the semi-finals, allowing one of the world’s most traditional football
nations a long-overdue moment in the spotlight.
Biggest disappointment
Argentina
Diego Maradona’s team may not have been as dreadful as France,
Italy
or England,
but they disappointed more than all of them, by looking like the team
of the
tournament and then stalling when it mattered.
Best goal
Carlos Tevez (Argentina v Mexico)
Though Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s heat-seeker in the semi-final was
better,
Tevez’s spin and shot was certainly the best goal I saw in the flesh.
Pure,
instinctive technical excellence.
Worst game
Paraguay
v Japan
The two words which could be best used to describe these teams are
“evenly-matched”. Cue 120 minutes of relatively excitement-free
stalemate,
rescued only by the thoroughly enjoyable drama of penalties.
Favourite non-football memory
Visiting Soweto to watch the opening game in an unofficial fan park
erased
any doubts that ordinary South Africans were buying into the
excitement of
the world’s biggest sporting event.
What I won't miss about South Africa
The roads. Forget the signs warning drivers about carjackers, somebody
needs
to have a word with Pretoria’s equivalent of the DVLA to make the
driving
test significantly more challenging.
Best fans
The thousands of Mexicans who descended on Johannesburg made a fight of
it,
but for the songs, the flags and the desire to bounce throughout their
national anthem, Argentina’s support was peerless.
Unforgettable moment
Landon
Donovan’s last-minute winner against Algeria, the goal that
effectively knocked England out of the tournament, was the first
really
emotive moment of the World
Cup. The tears that followed were mildly uncomfortable.
Rising star
Diego Godin (Uruguay)
He and his defensive partner Diego Lugano struggled with injury
throughout,
but whenever he played, the Villarreal centre back looked composed on
the
ball and fearsome in the tackle.
Biggest managerial cock-up
Marcello Lippi forgetting to tell his players to attack before Slovakia
went
two ahead. Fabio Capello abandoning two years of planning in the two
weeks
before the tournament. Raymond Domenech. Take your pick.