Spanish spoiler plots Sneijder downfall

Spaniard Sergio Busquets dreams of being a party pooper Sunday when he faces Dutch star Wesley Sneijder in the FIFA World Cup™ Final. While Busquets was part of the Barcelona team that won the Spanish title, Sneijder is chasing a fourth winners medal having helped Inter Milan conquer Europe after they raised the Italian league and cup trophies.

Spain are favoured to win a Soccer City clash of countries who have never been world champions, but Sneijder poses a major threat after a superb tournament. Sneijder has already made Busquets suffer once as Inter dumped title holders Barcelona out of the UEFA Champions League at the semi-final stage in a gripping two-leg showdown.


The Dutch star is also joint leading scorer in the FIFA World Cup with Spaniard David Villa on five goals - the same haul that won German Miroslav Klose the adidas Golden Boot at the last FIFA World Cup four years ago. "He is a great player and is in great form. We will try to stop him like any other player," said Busquets. "We will try to deny him even the time to think because otherwise he can create good scoring chances."

However, Sneijder insists there is just one issue on his mind and that is helping Netherlands win the FIFA World Cup after losing consecutive Finals to host nations West Germany and Argentina three decades ago. "All these statistics are the least of my worries. Believe me I have not thought for a second about breaking any records. What I want is to win the World Cup, end of story. I also get asked about being the player of the tournament or the leading scorer. But if I go on the pitch with all these things in my head, I will forget how to play football."
I have been in the form of my life since we got to South Africa and I want to squeeze every last drop out of it.
Wesley Sneijder, Netherlands midfielder

The Sneijder multi-title assault has been the subject of some banter with former Real Madrid team-mate Sergio Ramos, a defender who will try to contain the Dutch playmaker before a sell-out 90,000 crowd. "I got a text message from Sergio saying 'you have already won enough trophies this season. It is time to calm down!" 26-year-old Sneijder told reporters.

"We are going to beat Spain," he insisted. "If we are not convinced of that, we will never do it. That is what the coach says, just like Jose Mourinho did at Inter last season. I have been in the form of my life since we got to South Africa and I want to squeeze every last drop out of it," said the midfielder whose two goals sank record five-time champions Brazil in the quarter-finals.

Source: fifa.com