As usual Spain dominated the beginning of the first half with their pass and move style of play but just couldn’t find the back of the net.

Holland soon got wise to the fact they couldn’t outplay the Spanish and changed tactics to a much more physical game. At times the Dutch players went way beyond just playing physical, resorting to what was pure thuggery.

Van Bommel cut down the Spanish players time after time and should really have been red-carded for his efforts. The really dangerous and completely unnecessary foul came from De Jong who flew with his studs, in what could only be described as a flying kick, into Alonso’s chest.

That should have been the end of De Jong’s world cup, but he was only handed a yellow card for his efforts.

Now all you readers of Asian soccer star should have picked up on a valuable lesson from the world cup 2010 final between Spain and Holland.

How did Spain overcome the Dutch thuggery to win the game?

As a strategy Holland were spot on because they obviously rattled the Spanish and disrupted the flow of their game; the manner in which they went about it wasn’t very sportsman like. The game ended with a record 14 yellow cards and a red card for Holland’s Johnny Heiteinga.

The reason Spain came through in the end, and if you’re a budding Asian soccer star pay particular attention, was because the players had self-confidence and belief in their individual abilities and as a team.

They stuck to their game plan.

The Spanish are all comfortable on the ball, they have terrific awareness which allows them to play their pass and move game. Every player knows what his job is and is very confident in performing that job.

This sort of confidence only comes about by practise and really getting to ‘know’ the ball.

Research says that it takes 10,000 hours of practise to master anything in life. The Spanish players all look like they have surpassed that 10,000 hour mark.

I believe, to become an Asian soccer star you will have to hit and exceed that 10,000 hour mark; so go out and get practising with the ball until it feels a part of you.

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And I say that with great hope.

So far, world cup 2010 has been a great disappointment with most of the ‘big players’ failing to perform. The games have lacked the ambition and fluidity that we have been accustomed to in past world cup finals.

But there are plenty of lessons to be learned, especially for anyone that wants to play professional football and realise their dream of becoming an Asian soccer star.

You see, every kid has dreams of playing professional football but very few make it.

Even those kids, and that is the majority,  with real outstanding talent never get scouted or get dropped by the professional club academies and centres of excellence if they don’t seem like they’re not making the grade.

Getting scouted and dropped is in the hands of other people who have their own club and budgetary pressures as well as their own ideas of which kids are likely to make it in the professional game.

To a large extent they also have their built-in bias to profile and stereotype players before the kids have a chance to settle in and really shine; that’s if they get to trial in the first place.

Asian kids already have it tougher than most to get a foothold because of this stereotyping which is precisely why asiansoccerstar.com has been increasing in readership month after month.

Any kid aiming for that goal of becoming an Asian soccer star needs to train harder, longer and smarter than they can imagine. They need to work on their mental toughness and have an unrelenting hunger, desire and ambition to succeed.

Asian kids need to be learning all the time from each training session, each match and every match they watch. World cup 2010 has provided many opportunities to learn; about determination, grit, ambition, desire, hunger and the will to win. They also need to learn about nutrition, psychology and develop their awareness.

Many of these skills can be developed away from the football pitch in every day life.

So far most of the world cup 2010 finals teams have drawn a blank in many of these crucial areas with players and teams under-performing to their potential; France, Italy and England being the worst culprits.

The South American teams have fared better but we expect more of them in the quarter finals.

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I really don’t think so, and if you are a budding Asian soccer star take particular note.

Last night both Brazil and Chile put on a show that put the world cup 2010 final campaigns of major European footballing nations like England, France and Italy to shame.

The match was a showcase of skill, fluidity, attacking, defence and above all grit and determination. Even though Chile were 2-0 down in the first half they never gave up seeking that elusive goal.

Strike that, even when they were 3-0 down they still showed that grit and determination through attacking football to get that one goal.

A full-time victory for Brazil at 3-0 left a sweet taste in the mouth in anticipation of the quarter finals. This is what world class football is all about, especially when representing your country at world cup 2010.

England could, and more importantly, should learn a lesson in teamwork, attacking and defending from the South Americans.
Playing as one unit is the way to winning big competitions and that requires discipline, grit, determination, hunger passion, and a desire to win.

In two words, mental toughness.

Everything that England lacked throughout their world cup 2010 finals campaign.

Anyone looking to become a future Asian soccer star should watch the rest of the matches with an inquisitive eye, to get a good view of the battlefield on the pitch and be aware of the movement that is taking place.

That is how to realise your dreams of playing professional football and becoming an Asian soccer star.

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England were poor throughout the match apart from a 20-minute glimpse of creativity, passion and desire to chase the ball down. But it didn’t last very long.

I don’t need to give a running commentary of the match as the whole nation was watching, but may be if the second goal had been given things might have turned out differently.

What I found really frustrating was the set-up and movement of the players, there was none.

There was no fluidity of movement or awareness, which are fundamental even at the most basic levels of football. England’s performance was akin to a Sunday league match and a massive disappointment to fans all over the world.

But what is it about the English game that lets them down time after time when they come across a decent footballing side?

It’s not as if they were pitted against the best in the group stages and yet they struggled. Even the game against Latvia was a struggle and considering they were playing the smallest nation in world cup 2010, England should have walked through with an emphatic victory.

Here’s my take on it, and future Asian soccer star’s should take note.

I think football at a grass roots level is fundamentally the problem. Kids are taught FA drills that do little to actually develop a holistic player and focus too much on winning rather than technical development.

Take the South Americans and even the Germans, Dutch and Spanish, they all spend a huge amount of time on individual technical development before moving onto tactical game play.

I feel any one looking to reach their goal of playing professional football and becoming an Asian soccer star needs to spend time on their own developing their technical ability.

With the right mental toughness and technical ability anything is possible in the game of football.

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Apart from Germany’s opening game against Australia, the European nations just haven’t shown any of the confidence and creative play we know they are capable of.

Lead by  the charismatic Diego Forlan, Uruguay put a massive dampener on hosts South Africa’s party and hopes of going into the next round with an emphatic 3-0 victory.

Even world cup favourites Spain showed poor form in finishing, though they had the majority of possession, losing 1-0 to Switzerland who defended brilliantly. In what was essentially a South and Central American derby Chile got off to a good start with a 1-0 victory over Honduras.

Maradonas Argentina were slick and lethal in their 4-1 victory over a poor South Korea, but there was a consolation victory for a European nation when Greece beat Nigeria 2-1.

The real let-down nation at World Cup 2010 has been France with their squad of world-class players who were given a good hiding across all areas of the pitch by a rampant Mexico who savoured a deserved 2-0 victory.

May be this is down to karma at how France got into the world cup 2010 finals with the help of Henri’s hand and at the expense of Ireland.

Hopefully Europe can get their boots on and start playing some world-class football other wise the World Cup 2010 is headed back to South America.

Asian soccer star – British Asian soccer blog.

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But the great African party lost some of its oomph with the announcement that Nelson Mandela’s great-grandaughter was fatally injured in a car crash returning from the pre-world cup 2010 concert.

Understandably, Nelson Mandela was unable to attend the opening ceremony that would put South Africa centre stage in world news for the next 4 weeks.

The game lived up to the hype surrounding the buildup to the FIFA World Cup 2010, with South Africa putting on a great show for all of Africa.

The sounds and energy within the stadium is unique to Africa and while it can get irritating to those not used to the atmosphere certainly spurred on Bafana Bafana, as the South African team are affectionately known, to give a competitive perfomance.

Bafana Bafana started nervously and with Mexico calling the shots nearly conceded several times in the first half. But they started the second half more confidently with some great one-touch football, taking the lead from a great counter attack and stunning finish from man of the match  Siphiwe Tshabalal. The goal was celebrated with a stadium eruption that resonated throughout South Africa.

Feeling the game slipping away from them Mexico turned up the pressure and were rewarded with an equaliser from a set-piece with the game ending in a draw.

So the benchmark has been set for an exciting month of footballing action we’ve all been waiting 4 years for, and hopefully we won’t be disappointed.

South Africa World cup 2010 [HD] official anthem

Related stories:

Cup party starts, mourning Mandela absent : Drummers and dancers wowed fans at South Africa’s Soccer City stadium in a glittering prelude to Friday’s World Cup kickoff, but Nelson Mandela’s absence after a family tragedy cast a cloud over the party.

Hosts South Africa held 1-1 by Mexico : A stunning goal from Siphiwe Tshabalala almost gave hosts South Africa the perfect start to the World Cup before they were held to a 1-1 draw in front of almost 85,000 fans at Soccer City on Friday.

Bafana Bafana held in opener : South Africa were denied a dream start to the 2010 World Cup after their opening Group A encounter with Mexico ended 1-1.

Nelson Mandela great-granddaughter killed in crash caused by drunk-driver : A suspected drunk-driver caused a car crash today that killed the 13-year-old great-granddaughter of Nelson Mandela, according to police.