It was this month 15 years ago that the biggest party in African football history came to an end at Soccer City.
The party had to end sometime and that came on a chilly Johannesburg night on 11 July 2010, when the curtain came down on a fabulous World Cup in South Africa.
Spain met the Netherlands in the decider, and with neither having lifted the trophy before, we were set to crown a new champion.
Former president Nelson Mandela added some star quality to the night, as did Shakira with her popular ‘Waka Waka’ song that had become ingrained in South Africans brains over the previous four weeks.
It had been a fabulous celebration of South Africa and a chance for the country to showcase to a watching world that we had the stadia, general infrastructure and warm hospitality to host major events.
The football was not the best, but the party was, and there have arguably been few World Cups before or since that have been so enjoyed by fans on the sidelines. Certainly not the sterile Middle East variety.
The final was an intriguing contest, with both teams too nervous to commit fully to attack, but the Netherlands especially had more than enough chances to wrap it up before extra-time.
It was, also, a surprisingly bad-tempered affair, with 14 yellow cards brandished and the Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga sent off after 109 minutes, following in the footsteps of France’s Zinedine Zidane four years earlier.
The Netherlands, who lost in the 1974 and 1978 finals, were hoping to become the first side since Brazil in 1970 to go through World Cup qualifying and the finals unbeaten.
They should have been ahead when Arjen Robben was on the goal, but Spain’s Iker Casillas denied him.
Cesc Fábregas also had a one-on-one chance at the other end but could not f inish, while Sergio Ramos headed over the crossbar.
As the game progressed, the Spain midfield with the likes of Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez and Andrés Iniesta began to take control.
But it looked like penalties were inevitable before Spain came up with their magical moment.
He drilled a right-footed shot across goal, finding the back of the net to spark wild scenes of celebration.
The Dutch will still tell you today how they believed they should have had a foul before the goal was scored, but English referee Howard Webb did not agree.
In the end, the best team in the tournament won, Spain conceded only two goals in their seven matches and while they were not prolific at the other end, did enough to win, despite losing in the group stages to Switzerland.
For those that were there, it is hard to believe the final was 15 years ago. But the memories of those joyous four weeks as the world celebrated with South Africa will last a lifetime.
