Both teams had thought about this moment, when 120 minutes cannot separate the sides, they would have to resort to a penalty shootout. When the final whistle was blown after extra time in Salvador (a venue that has seen most the best matches of the tournament so far), the Costa Rican coach punched his dust into the air knowing his team has done well to earn this. The Dutch too was prepared. Louis van Gaal, a master tactician, brought on a substitute goalkeeper, one whom he fancies is better at saving penalties. I can well imagine it must have been devastating for the #1 goalie (who played well and could become the hero) but it's about the team winning and they stood a better chance with Krul in goal. And he did it, saving two penalties, including one from the inspirational Costa Rican captain, Bryan Ruiz.
To me, the Dutch victory underlines the importance of teaming, especially sacrificing for the team. More significantly, it speaks to the courage of a coach who is willing to make these tough decisions. Of putting a better/younger/stronger/older/bigger/faster (chose one) on the field when the job demanded it. Of the tactics employed today, Van Gaal with his HR management for the team won.
Speaking of coaches there was this compilation of their salaries:
In all, 19 coaches earn at least $1 million per year. Out of the top 10 coaches, only 5 of their teams have qualified for the knockout stages.
Miguel Herrera, arguably the most passionate coach at the World Cup, earns a paltry $209K per year according to the Daily Mail. In other words, Capello earns more than 50 times what Herrera earns in a year! To be fair, the business world (with all it's economic and management theories) hasn't really been able to get executive compensation right so we can't expect the sporting world to do so, no? But given the state today, I'd say van Gaal is worth the money and as a United fan, I look forward with hope!
| # | COUNTRY | COACH | SALARY PER YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | Fabio Capello | $11.4m |
| 2 | England | Roy Hodgson | $5.9m |
| 3 | Italy | Cesare Prandelli | $4.4m |
| 4 | Brazil (Q) | Luiz Felipe Scolari | $3.9m |
| 5 | Switzerland (Q) | Ottmar Hitzfeld | $3.7m |
| 6 | Germany (Q) | Joachim Low | $3.6m |
| 7 | Spain | Vicente Del Bosque | $3.3m |
| 8 | Netherlands (Q) | Louis Van Gaal | $2.73m |
| 9 | Japan | Alberto Zaccheroni | $2.72m |
| 10 | USA (Q) | Juergen Klinsmann | $2.6m |
| 11 | France (Q) | Didier Deschamps | $2.16m |
| 12 | Portugal | Paulo Bento | $2.16m |
| 13 | Iran | Carlos Quieroz | $2.09m |
| 14 | Chile (Q) | Jorge Sampaoli | $1.7m |
| 15 | Colombia (Q) | Jose Pekerman | $1.6m |
| 16 | Australia | Ange Postecoglou | $1.29m |
| 17 | Uruguay (Q) | Oscar Tabarez | $1.25m |
| 18 | Ivory Coast | Sabri Lamouchi | $1.03m |
| 19 | Algeria (Q) | Vahid Halihodzic | $1m |
| 20 | Belgium (Q) | Marc Wilmots | $864K |
| Greece (Q) | Fernando Santos | $864K | |
| 22 | Argentina (Q) | Alejandro Sabella | $818K |
| 23 | South Korea | Hong Myung-Bo | $795K |
| 24 | Honduras | Luis Fernando Suarez | $629K |
| 25 | Ecuador | Renaldo Rueda | $566K |
| 26 | Costa Rica (Q) | Jorge Luis Pinto | $440K |
| 27 | Cameroon | Volker Finke | $394K |
| 28 | Nigeria (Q) | Stephen Keshi | $392K |
| 29 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Safet Susic | $352K |
| 30 | Croatia | Niko Kovac | $271K |
| 31 | Ghana | James Kwesi Appiah | $251K |
| 32 | Mexico (Q) | Miguel Herrera | $209K |
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