The BBC experts poll just released and Spain is the over-whelming predicted winner of the World Cup - Go Spain!!!!

here's the link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8730975.stm

I have to agree that the sheer quality of the Spanish players is overwhelming . I´m OK if Spain or England win ... My heart , of course , would be with England but I still remember Spain winning the European championship and I was in the Plaza de Colón here in Madrid to witness the most amazing party . Thousands of red shirts going bananas ! It was wonderful to see . The Spanish know how to party !

England will NOT win the world cup, you heard it here first!
James (to eratic)Johnson (cannot defend) Upson (waste of space)Terry (too slow)Lampard (goes missing in big games) and Heskey (cannot make my comments known unless i want banning from this site) so unless Mr Rooney decides to win it on his own (unless he gets sent off)we will not win it.
my opinion over
and i agree Spain SHOULD win the cup

but whats my opinion i support a run of the mill Premiership side

All sites give Spain the favorite role, however, history needs to be proven. They have never won it, and this is the Spanish year to do it ,now or never.
Aupa España!!!

Steve said "I was in Madrid to witness the most amazing party . Thousands of red shirts going bananas ! It was wonderful to see . The Spanish know how to party !"....
Can anyone even begin to imagine the party when Spain takes the Cup?

Wow! That'd be GREAT! Go Spain!

this is it, all begins today. Go Roja!!!

But where can you watch it ! I´m guessing only Canal+ .. what a disgrace !

For those who are not in Spain - i.e., it's not a "holiday" you can watch &/or listen to the full match on BBC under World Cup. Here's the link -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/default.stm

GOOOOOOO SPAIN!!!!!!!

Ok I just bought a copy of El País ( Spanish newspaper ) the match will be aired on Telecinco !!! I have my snacks and vino ready ! ¡¡ Aúpa España !!

I kind of wish I was IN Spain to watch today's match. Instead, I'll watch it here on ESPN at 10am EASTERN USA time. I'll have to watch it "tape delayed" as I'll be out during the game.

Saludos, MadridMan

first lost to Switzerland in 105 years !!! what a moment to do it.
Still plenty to play but needs reality check and to play instead of reading the newspapers.

An interesting new take , and slightly strange , on Spain´s loss . The captain , Iker Casilla´s has a very beautiful girlfriend ( Sara Carbonero ) , who is famous for touchline interviews and works for Telecinco who aired the matched . She´s now being blamed for distracting him , being on the touchline in South Africa .

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-N..._World_Cup_Goal

an interesting statistic

in the history of the world cup NO TEAM has ever won the world cup after losing its first game.

I'm not surprised that is besotted with Sara Carbonero, she's beautiful!

i apologize for my earlier post about England, it should have been a lot worse,even i didnt think we were so bad, pathetic springs to mind.

we will see better games in the groups third game.

Today's/Friday's game, Spain vs. Chile, should be a good one. Starts at 2:30pm Easter USA time or 8:30pm Spain time. We really need this win!

Saludos, MadridMan

I'm so excited and nervous...crossing fingers too!

Go Spain!

I was happy to watch Spain win today so it seems they AND Chile advance to the next round. Wow. SO many games!

they won but need more to beat Portugal in quarters. The team still a bit slow. Chile will play Brazil ::)

Now that'll be a game. But from little I saw of the Portugal game yesterday morning from the gym, do they have a very "complete" team? I mean, take out Cristiano Ronaldo and can they still compete?

This game is on Tuesday, June 29!! I won't be able to watch it!!

Saludos, MadridMan

Portugal have a very good team but Spain are better . I´ve been so impressed with the cohesion in the Spanish team .

its now or never, so expecting the referees to do well ::) I know Spain can , but from have seen so far the danger is on the referees.

Can anyone explain some of the questionable ref calls in the last few games?

Time to come into the 21st century and use some instant replay? Would that really affect the game so much? I felt badly for England the other day with that one call. Condolences, Steve.

my opinion is due to it being a world cup, we have referees from all over the world,and the biggest football competition with the best players around the world are being refereed by people who only ref in small competitions and are not up to the job (not there fault)also differant continents give differant decisions, the foot up law is allowed in England but put your foot above the ankle in Europe and its a freekick,outside of Britain they dont like contact so again freekick,but to be fair to refs the cheating and diving of big stapping lads is a joke,and technology is needed in this multi million pound industry is a must, how many times in cricket or American football do they go to the fourth umpire and make the correct decision,and everyone goes home knowing the true scoreline,and it only takes 10 seconds.
im not moaning about Englands result we got battered by the best team and yes we were rubbish!

Thanks Billy - what you said makes perfect sense! Agree with you (any many others) about the need for technology, but you sure gave a good explanation about various country rules, small town refs and the rest.

Go Spain! Love the multiple references to the Iberian Penninsula Cup.

Blatter is finally given out, he plans to discuss video play at the next FIFA meeting in Cardiff next month. Its about time they do replays like in any other pro sports.
refereeing is on the reading of the law, the law is the same everywhere, its just national habits that changes it, but it must stay in national boundaries, when you out to a World Cup its the book as per FIFA that counts.
I have a class C license USSF/FIFA and did refereering in Florida USA at the college level.

great victory of Spain, we are on our way ole ole ole !!!
and the bad referees were sent home by FIFA, thats a good start.
Now against paraguay a ultra defensive game in quarters.

And Spain beats Paraguay 1-0 tonight. Whew! That was close. David Villa scored with 7 minutes left in regulation time. Again, WHEW!!

Saludos, MadridMan

What a relief! I and everyone in the neighborhood went absolutely crazy when the first goal was scored on the penalty kick - ONLY TO HAVE IT TAKEN AWAY by the official for an infraction during the kick. Funny, the next actual goal by Spain didn't raise as much commotion in the street.

Wednesday is "THE BIG GAME" against tough Germany, a Cinderella Story, they are. That match up may well be the real World Cup Final, possibly being the two toughest teams together but we'll never know for sure.

Saludos, MadridMan

great game from Saint Casillas and great goal from Villa, the best combination. We were jumping high over here at a spanish resto El Toro Borracho in Paris.

Now vs Germany, easy
the difference will be Casillas and goal from Villa,
Spain 1 Germany 0

for consolation, Spain cant do no worse than 4th , the best performance in a World Cup since 1950, and it could be better ::)

Aupa España!!!

Man, I'M NERVOUS!! Roughly 3 hours from now the match-of-the-century (likely the two best teams playing - sorry, Holland!) will begin. I can't wait! GOOD LUCK, SPAIN!!!

And yes, I did see the video report about the "all seeing octopus" about how it chose, UNDERWATER, the Spanish flag over the German flag, appropriately predicting tonight's winner. I guess that settles it, then. Why bother playing, Germany??

Going to try to order a TelePizza - along with the rest of the neighborhood. Wonder how that's go over - and if the pizza will arrive at all.

Saludos, MadridMan

Seems the game is not televised locally in Spain on public/free TV, only on satellite. Lucky for me I have that.

Starts in just a few minutes, Telepizza has been delivered, beer's in the freezer chilling-up/out, and honking horns begin their pre-game song in the street below.

GO SPAIN!! Saludos, MadridMan

Thanks to steve robinson, I found the game IS televised locally on public/free TV on TeleCinco. Whew! My satellite feed on the channel covering the game went black after 2 minutes. Maybe it's Pay-Per-View? Wouldn't think so since it's on local TV.

HALF TIME, 0-0. Spain's playing VERY well. In fact, 90% of the game has been played on Germany's side of the field. Hope the second half goes equally as well and we slip-in a goal ... OR THREE!

Saludos, MadridMan

Congratulations Spain!
Party on all .... we deserve it!
and bless that octopus

HAIL OCTOPUS PAUL!!! Congratulations, Spain! You deserved to beat Germany tonight 1-0. Now on to meet the Holland (?!??!?!!?) on Sunday.

The neighborhood went absolutely crazy with Pujol's header into the net from the corner kick. It's so great to experience this.

Saludos, MadridMan

I was reading this mornings report of the match on Sky News .. which strangely said that Torres had been dropped from the team and yet he did appear on the pitch for a while .... but on the message board for the report there was a comment that I loved : "Damned octopus it put them off their game and i had money on Germany to win. Anybody know any good seafood recipies for the eight legged traitorous cephalopod " jejejejeje .

The Dutch fans are great . Everyone loves the Dutch people . It should be an amazing final .

The fact that Su majestad La Reina Sofia was at the game was a big boost . I loved the brief interview with her when she punched the air and said " Vamos España ! " . And Look what she was wearing .. A red suit with a yellow scarf .. the colours of the Spanish flag !!!!

It´s 2pm here and absolutely hilarious !! TVE1 ( Spain´s national TV station ) showed a collage of yesterday's match using the famous song " Viva España " in German !!!!!!!!!! Fantastic stuff !!

Surely Juan Carlos and Sofia will be staying in South Africa for the Final: Spain vs. Netherlands.
The Nederlander Royalty were present in Durban yesterday for the Espana-Alemania semi final.

Anyone know why they refer to the Spanish team as "La Roja"? That means, literally, "The Red". Is it because their shirts are (oftentimes, but not always) red? Sometimes their shirts are blue.

Saludos, MadridMan

the real nickname is "la furia roja"
i assume it was years ago and they wanted to seem fierce going into battle?
all football teams are given nickmames (well in britain they do)
Bolton is the trotters in referance to a pig being mascot years ago, everton are the toffees due to the everton mint being made there, ipswich are called the tractor boys de to the srrounding area being farmland.
but to answer your question in full i honestly dont know

Decisions have to be made about the shirt colours . If the opposing team´s colours are red then FIFA ( the governing body )have to decide on which team gets to wear their normal colours . Which is why Spain sometimes wears the dark blue .
I have my official red shirt for Spain but , for example , my Real Madrid shirt ( Raúl ) is their away colours .. dark blue also .
I bought a copy of " Marca" today ( Daily Spanish sports newspaper ) .. The whole front page is Red and yellow and the headlines are great : " Una Vez más el Pulpo Paul acertó en sus pronósticos " and " LOS MEJORES DEL MUNDO ( Y el domingo campeones del mundo ) "

I dont know about yall but there was something about 'La Furia Roja" playing the semi on San Fermin's day that gave me a sense of security,,, I envisioned the Spanish players charging and mauling away,,, hahaha, and it kinda happen in a futbolistic type of way...

sundays final will be refereed by Harold Webb the policeman from England, good ref this mon, there will be no diving or cheating this sunday, he will stamp it out, so the right result either way will be the outcome even though it will be Spain.
(and i predict that not Paul)
wonder if i will become a celebrity if i get it right?

"El Pulpo Paul", according to this video" - choosing Spain over Holland in the World Cup Final - is actually from Germany. I thought he was from England?

Saludos, MadridMan

oh yes the lads definately English

Paul was hatched from an egg at the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth, England, then moved to a tank at one of the chain's centres in Oberhausen, Germany.

An octopus,a referee, two linesmen, England is well represented in the world cup finals this year,just need the brass band and we would have a full set
another thing i found strange was the ref and linesmen were given only ONE match ticket each for the game,and seeing as they were only appointed on friday,on sky sports it showed Webbs father scrambing at the airport to catch a plane to the game, and thinking his son had no chance of refereeing the game had only come back from South Africa on the wednesday

Weymouth is just along the coast from where my mum lives in East Sussex ...She lives near to a fishing town so I may have to source the octopus down by the fishing huts .
I think the brass band would be drowned out by the horns !
Anyway it would be amazing if Spain win !

Billy, do you have eight arms?
Good article in English version of El Pais this morning - from what I know, the stats sure favor 'La Furia Roja"

http://www.elpais.com/misc/herald/herald.pdf

La Roja is new, it used to be the Furia Española, then the Red=roja, but before that Chile was the roja even its national beer is call like that.
I like Furia better ::)
furia= hurry ,velocity and vigor used in the performance of a thing.

Highlights of Spain's victory (1-0) over Germany last Wednesday (in Englsh).

Latest MadriMan Blog Entry, "2010 World Cup Final: Spain-Holland"

Whether or not you believe in clairvoyant "Pulpo Paul", the 2010 World Cup Final match featuring a strong Spanish Team and the respectable Holland team will no doubt be exciting tomorrow/Sunday night - 8:30pm Spain time, 2:30pm New York Time.

No other World Cup game has been as important as this one. This time it's for the World Cup Title, one which has eluded Spain for literally an eternity. And as with all previous World Cup games, Spain's passionate fans will be glued to their television sets in living rooms, bars, and big-screen TVs in plazas throughout the country. (Read more...)

Go Spain!!!! I'll be watching and cheering!

Saludos, MadridMan

Aupa España!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its our time in history. The gladiators are ready.

The Calle de Alcalá at Plaza de Cibeles is shut down, a stage has been erected, and the media vans are onsite ready for action. Unfortunately, the webcam only faces the back of the stage and not the front.

Saludos, MadridMan

The attached article will either give you chicken skin or bring a tear to your eyes - maybe both. What a tribute to Spain!
VAMOS ESPANA!!!!

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/c...5901&ver=us

This is CRAZY,here in Madrid..is spain wins!! will be a fuss,we'll have another May 2....! se va a liar!!!

Cibeles and Neptuno

yep its going to be one heck of a party to bring those boys home. I do not know yet if can make it, but a buddy of mine, Spanish from Bilbao is already in Johannesburg and commenting on the situation there is unbelievable. I cant wait for the final report and Champions ::)

The photo Jazz posted looks exactly like Hawaii's King Kamahamaha on holidays! Can't remember who else on the board is from the Islands originally but if you're still around, am I not right? LOL

DARNIT! They've disabled the Cibeles, SOL, and other the live traffic webcams except the Neputuno - for the moment. For security reasons?

And yes, TeleCinco.es is broadcasting the game online - as well as the pre-game show - RIGHT NOW!

Enjoy! Good Luck, Spain!

Saludos, MadridMan

And only shown in Spain ... ABC for those in the US

VAMOS ESPANA!!!!!!!!!!

The goddess Cibeles and Neptune, are here in Madrid in "Paseo del Prado"by the way, wonderful closing ceremony!!Nelson Mandela will give the Cup.I'm going to the bar to watch the game with friends .. bye.bye

Me too We can all celebrate victory in a couple of hours!

I'M SO NERVOUS/ANXIOUS/EXCITED!!!

CAMPEONES!! CAMPEONES DEL MUNDO DEL FÚTBOL!!!!

Watch LIVE celebrations in Madrid NOW at http://www.telemadrid.es/contenidos/html.pag?pagina=pag_46&menu=4_1

Wow. My Madrid WebCams page got 2,000 hits today (SO FAR!!), including 100 in the last minute.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

CHAMPIONS AT LAST!!!!!

I come back here just to share the joy with you guys.

¡¡¡CAMPEOOOOOOOOONESSS!!!

Ole Ole Ole

So Happy Tonight! Great Win.

MM, Thanks for posting the live link. Sangria for everyone! We'll stay up as long as they do!

TeleMadrid will be televising online and on TV the following Monday celebrations:

The team returns to Spain/Madrid today and will meet the royals and politicians at "La Moncloa" at about 5pm. After that - and after they change from their suits to their teams clothes - will get on the double-decker bus to make a long, slow celebratory trip through the old downtown Madrid.

The bus-route:

Moncloa and down Princesa, plaza de España, Gran Vía, Cibeles, Neptuno, Atocha, ronda de Atocha, ronda de Valencia, Embajadores, ronda de Toledo, Puerta de Toledo, Gran Vía de San Francisco, Bailén, plaza de España y glorieta de San Vicente, and finish at the riverside "explanada Puente del Rey" at the Mirador del Príncipe Pío.

Oddly, to me, they've changed the venue for the final stage celebration from Cibeles/Palacio de Comunicaciones to, get this, the "Mirador de Príncipe Pío". This is the outdoor stage/concert venue alongside the Manzanares River near Príncipe Pío (and not far from where I live!).

The above, new venue is part of the "River Renovation Project" and, at least in part, funded by the government's "Plan E" ("E" for "España") economic stimulus project. Just Saturday night I took the bus along the river and saw the stage being constructed and, at that time, had no idea why, assuming there'd be a concert there sometime soon. But no. It was to celebrate the proud return - win or lose - of our Spanish National Football Team. Woo Hoo!!

You can bet I'll be watching - but on TV. Need to be close to the computer. Enjoy!!

Saludos, MadridMan

Wow .. that´s one hell of a route !!!!! I´m tempted to go .. I bet the players will have to adapt to the intense heat here in Madrid compared to the cool temperatures in SA .

Just finished watching the Spanish National Team... err.. that is to say, THE WORLD CHAMPIONS arrive at Barajas Airport. They parked the plane, rolled up the stairs, and Iker Casillas was the first to walk out holding the trophy. They all filed down, waved to the crowds under the hot Madrid sun, and climbed aboard a special bus which will take them to a Barajas Airport Hotel. (what, no customs? No metal detectors or drug-sniffing dogs?! imagine if one of them or the assistants on that plane was carrying 50 pounds of, oh I don't know, DIAMONDS - for example)

At 5pm the team will be at "La Moncloa" to meet the Royals and the President before getting on their double-decker party bus for the long ride through town to the Manzanares River. Maybe I get a quick nap in before that starts...

And remember, you can watch it all live online on TeleMadrid SAT.

You can also WATCH LIVE on TVE24Horas as well as follow along the "Minute by Minute" on the RTVE website where they'll show a video of the Party Bus route as well as photos and textual progress.

Saludos, MadridMan

And the double-decker Party Bus leaves to make it's way, VERY SLOWLY, through the streets of Madrid.

Fantastic celebration! They know how to party!

Side note: I'll bet no one rioted or burned cars like they did in L.A. a fews weeks ago when the Lakers won.

inmense celebration in Spain and Madrid in particular, watching it on telemadrid , at least over one million persons on the street, WE ARE THE CHAMPION, SIMPLY THE BEST ::)

Incredible here in Madrid..am I another planet????the city council said..!!please don't more people go!!!

This is AMAZING to watch! I'll bet Madrid has never had a party this big before.

Now that the sun is going down it looks so beautiful.

It IS amazing, isn't it!! NEVER BEFORE - EVER! - has anything like this taken place in Madrid. NOTHING LIKE THIS has ever happened to Spain!

The Party Bus is just now passing the San Francisco El Grande Church and has been able to pick up speed. Surely by the time they near the Palacio Real, crossing the Viaducto, they'll encounter larger crowds. Although, who knows, it will be almost 11pm by then and surely many people have gone home by now - OR NOT!!

UPDATE: There are FEW people near the Palacio Real.

TeleMadrid is warning (additional) people on TV to NOT go to the river venue because it's absolutely FULL!

They've also said that more than 1 Million people are in the streets. Incredible.

Arriving at the River Venue now at the Puente del Rey at Príncipe Pío. Wow. How exciting. Look at all those people!!

What a night!

Nothing can compare to that.

How long is it gonna take everyone to get out of there?

Seems the BBC poll was correct about Spain winning. Not bad!

TeleMadrid this morning, to no one's surprise, is re-capping yesterday's long day of the team's arrival in Madrid, the meeting of important people, the long party-bus ride, and the stage-party. What a day. Incredible. Truly incredible.

Saludos, MadridMan

The long party-bus ride in Gran via yesterday.

¡Felicidades a la selección española! Congrats to the Spanish team! I celebrated with other Spain-loving friends at our local Spanish restaurant (which was PACKED with Spaniards and non-Spaniards alike) on Sunday, and it's been great to see all the television coverage online since then. I loved being able to watch a bit of the reception the players received upon arriving in Madrid. Hope all of you in Spain are enjoying this historic occasion -- as well as everyone who isn't in Spain but cheered on the team from their own home countries.

"Spain Rules the World" are the words on the back page (sports section) of a newspaper in New York City on Monday, July 12 edition.
July 11 was a great day for the 46 million Spaniards and those who wish they were Spanish on that famous day.
I would like to suggest that members of the MadridMan site share their experiences on that historic day especially those outside Spain. Did any members gather in the streets of Madrid to watch the game near Plaza de Cibeles or any other place in Spain. Please tell us what it was like.

When the USA lost to Ghana, I placed a flag of Spain (12x18 inches)on the front door of my home. Since the USA was no longer in the World Cup I began to cheer for Spain.
On Sunday morning, day of the World Cup final, I hung a large flag of Spain on the flag pole in front of my house. My wife and I then rode the train to Pennsylvania station in NYC. We were invited to watch the game at the Instituto Cervantes near the United Nations. While walking in Times Square we saw people with the flag of Spain draped over their bodies, some holding small flags of Spain and others wearing the team shirts. There was excitement for the World Cup game. Some Dutch fans were carrying the flag of Netherlands and wearing the team shirts. At the Instituto Cervantes about 200 people in the auditorium. We all stood-up for the national anthem of Spain. My wife and I enjoyed watching the game and being part of the group. After the game we had wine in the courtyard of the Instituto, the people were singing and exchanging hugs. When we walked onto the street cars were honking their horns.

We then took the subway (Metro) to our favorite restaurant in NYC, Cafe Espanol located on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. The owners and some of the servers are from Galicia.
The decor of the restaurant is like a cafe in Spain. On the subway we saw a lot of people with the flag of Spain and team shirts. They were probably like us going to a party. Cafe Espanol was crowded with Spaniards and those like us who were Spanish for the day. The customers in the restaruant keep singing Ole and we had a good time. When leaving the restaurant around 9:00 pm/ 2100 the customers were quite. My wife took her flag of Spain, walked around the restaurant and again everybody was cheering and singing.

The Empire State building on Sunday night was lit-up at the top with Red and Yellow in honor of Spain winning the World Cup.

I have a question, were more Spaniards in churches on July 11 then previous Sundays. I read in a newspaper in NY that Spain also won the FIFA Fair Play award for their clean play in all the games. The better team took control of the World Cup.

Thank you and please tell us how you spend July 11. Please don't be shy.

good idea Jim.

well I am not in Spain, so decided to go to my favorite sports bar in Paris, then ,some my family decided to do it at home, amongst us, and we were with some Spanish families from the area.

we took out the chorizos, omelettes, and ibericos with good amontillado HIdalgo, wine from Castille, Community of Madrid. And jump and yell, and scream our hearts content each we were viciously tackled until the Iniesta forever....score that brilliant goal.

we stay chanting and singing old Spanish songs, and celebratings switching channels on satellite to see all the autonomous communities of Spain and their celebration.

its about time, former player benjamin of Real Madrid and play the sport to pros rank in the USA, former Referee license C USSF in Florida doing College games, and seeing my beloved Spain never comes close. THis one and the European are heavens, now we are with the big leagues boys, now WE ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS.

Its a great feeling all around, and I for one, is bragging about all over the Paris region ::) Spain is the word!!!!!!!!!

Aupa España!!

Jimmmmmmmmmm I know that restaurant !!!!!!! I mean I didn´t go there but my hired appartment was on Bleeker Street ... We went to some amazing restaurants in NYC but never managed that one . I need to go that city again !
I´ve been treated to some amazing meals in my corporate role .. Sparks steakhouse and Docks on 3rd stand out as well as the beautiful Waldorf Astoria Hotel ... but for me ... with a friend , the best was the Bridge Café on Water Street .... That was awesome !
As for the football celebrations , I sat and watched it from home with a couple of friends . Many of my friends attended the parade and their photos on Facebook are very cool!

This is video is of the dutch cycling team Rabobank, watching the final with one Spanish team member Oscar Friere

Celebration at Puente del Rey Madrid.

yes yes saw it on TVE, great concert. Love it !!!!!!!!!!

We watched the game at home with several couples attending, including one woman from Sevilla. i was able to find and purchase several small Spanish flags to decorate the front door. Food included a nod to Spain with pa amb tomaquet, and some jamon (that i apparantly brought back illegally!) and some cheese from San Sebastian (not illegal to bring back!).

It was filled with a lot of groans at the close but missed goals from Spain, and cheers when the yellow cards were given to such obvious fouls to the Netherlands. Screams with Iniesta's goal, but still carefully watching to make sure it was counted!

What a great win! We all were overjoyed! Julie called a few minutes later and was so excited also (and she does not follow sports at all).

It would have been great to hear the celebrations in all of Spain!