The 2010 World Cup in South Africa started in earnest when Siphiwe Tshabalala gave the host nation the lead in their opening game draw against Mexico and finished a month later when Andres Iniesta scored the late winner against Holland to give Spain an historic first victory in the tournament.

The final analysis? The European champions were deserved winners of a decent competition which in modern times has become an endurance test as much as anything else. The expanded format gives 32 countries the chance to participate in the greatest football tournament in the world and it allowed Spain to lose their opening group game yet still go all the way.

The group stages were criticised for their negativity but leaving aside the desperate desire of countries just to get through to the knockout stages, by whatever means, it's simply unrealistic to expect every match to be exciting. Nevertheless there was plenty of drama as the days and weeks unfolded.

Petulant France imploded and ageing Italy finally ran out of steam while England showed again that on the world stage they are an irrelevance. Wayne Rooney was one of several big names, including his former Manchester United team mate, Cristiano Ronaldo, who failed to perform and Robin van Persie and Fernando Torres did nothing to help their respective countries reach the final.

War horses Diego Forlan and Miroslav Klose showed their class with the Uruguay striker winning the Golden Ball and further confounding those who judge him solely on his time at Old Trafford. Others such as Robinho, David Villa, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Bastian Schweinsteiger lit up the competition on occasions and the world at large were introduced to Germany's young talents, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller, the latter winning the Best Young Player award and the Golden Boot.

If the African teams were by and large disappointing, Ghana aside, two of the pre-tournament favourites Argentina and Brazil produced sparkling football at times, as did Chile. But it was Uruguay who represented South America in the last four, showing that a small population need not be a hindrance.

However, for all Uruguay's impressive work ethic, the public probably got what they wanted when Holland won the semi-final 3-2 to set up a meeting with a vastly improved Spain side who were much too good for Germany despite the narrow 1-0 scoreline. In the event, the showpiece final would perhaps have been more entertaining with any other combination of finalists.

Sunday's game in Johannesburg was a mean-spirited, tetchy affair as Holland departed altogether from their 'Total Football' philosophy to instigate a war of attrition. Aside from having new winners, the 2010 World Cup will also be remembered for the reluctance of referees to deal with Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel who crashed his way through games like a man assured of diplomatic immunity from red cards.

Howard Webb took leniency to a new level in the final as he tried desperately not to spoil the match with a rash of red cards. As it was, he set a new World Cup final record by dishing out 14 yellow cards and one red, to Everton defender John Heitinga.

It could and should have been more. Nigel de Jong, van Bommel's fellow midfield enforcer, should have walked for his kung fu kick at Xabi Alonso and Robben could also have gone for kicking the ball in to the net when he was already on a yellow.

Spain were far from innocent but quite clearly they were the only team trying to play football. Both sides missed chances and it was looking like 10-man Holland would hold out for extra time until Iniesta slammed in his 116th minute winner.

The Dutch complained that they should have had been awarded a free-kick in the lead up to the goal - and a corner before that - and their frustrations boiled over quite distastefully after the final whistle. Ironically, it was the untouchable van Bommel who led the Dutch players in haranguing Webb after the game but Holland will know that the best team won and deserved to win.

After years of underachieving on the international stage Spain will bask in the glory of being European champions and World Cup winners. But we will soon enough be turning our attentions to Brazil in 2014.