Wesley ‘Midas’ Sneijder. That’s what the Dutch winger has been rechristened, for all that he touches is turning into gold. Coming into the World Cup after claiming a treble with Inter Milan, Sneijder now eyes his fourth, and the most coveted prize, the World Cup.
Sneijder has an added incentive as well: The Golden Boot. With most thunder in their boot, Sneijder and Spain’s talismanic striker David Villa will vie for the most prestigious individual accolade, thus marking the battle within the battle during the final.
Sneijder confirms that no player before him has ever won the national cup, the league title, the Champions League and the World Cup in one season. But he asserts that Golden Boot is not his focus right now.
“They told me that I could be the first player to do so. Well, to be honest, I don’t care. People talk to me about the Golden Boot and all. What Golden Boot!? I want that World Cup!” he says.
Villa shares a similar opinion. “The talk of the Golden Boot and all is good to hear. Perhaps it will bring me a lot of glory. But coming into the tournament, I always dreamt of winning the World Cup, not the Boot. So you should know what my priority is,” says the striker. How these two men perform at the Soccer City here on Sunday may well determine who goes on to lift the World Cup. In fact, Sneijder and Villa, with five goals each — the most, also highlight a theme of the World Cup of danger flowing from those lurking behind the front man.
While centre-forwards have regularly scored goals, the presence of Germany’s right-sided attacking midfielder Thomas Mueller and also Sneijder confirms that much damage is inflicted from out wide.
“In all the games we have had more space on the sides,” reflects Dutch winger Dirk Kuyt. “The players on the wings have scored the goals. If you see Villa, he is playing on the left and cutting inside and scoring a lot of goals. It looks like it is easier for players on the side to create chances and score.”
With Fernando Torres dropped by Spain for the semifinal against Germany, Villa played through the middle but failed to score. For Holland, Robin van Persie has borne his lone-striker role willingly, allowing Sneijder in particular to plunder the spoils.
Sneijder, a cool but complex little man, is pretty much relaxed but the thought of holding the trophy aloft is too good to resist.
“I’m hoping on one more game of luck,” says the 26-year-old. “Only one more time and I won’t be bothering for a while. I’m taking a big holiday. Life doesn’t get better. At the end, there are two teams left. They play the finals. One team wins. And that’s us,” he grins. Would he still be satisfied if the Oranje lose the final? “Yes, because even if we lose, we can be proud of what we achieved. But I don’t like to think about losing, you know.”
