2010 FIFA World Cup: Howard Webb Gives England Final Presence

Forget Spain and the Netherlands, England has a presence in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final where it really matters.

Following a stellar club and international officiating campaign, as well as a virtually flawless World Cup tournament thus far, English referee Howard Webb has been given the honours of refereeing the showpiece event at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg this Sunday, aided by his two English assistants, Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey.

This achievement for Webb and his team not only conveys the strength of the football officiating structure in England, but it also caps off a remarkable season for the FIFA-favourite, who also took charge of the UEFA Champions League Final between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich last May.

On a side note, it's also one of the reasons perhaps why the England footballers did much worse than the referees at this tournament; it could be claimed The FA invests too much (especially with the 'Respect' campaign and all) in producing top quality referees than it does in developing more coaches, and subsequently players, of a high standard.

Anyway, here's why Sepp Blatter and all the FIFA cronies chose Howard Webb et al to take charge of World Football's pinnacle event.

Decision Making

Very obvious, but inevitably the main thing FIFA and all important organisations look for when selecting officials for prestigious tournaments and events.

As has been evident in the Brazil-Chile round of 16 match, Howard Webb is a referee who can make all the right decisions when required.

And when it really matters, his team are on hand to help out as well.

One notable example of this was Luis Fabiano's goal in the aforementioned match, in which assistant referee Michael Mullarkey was praised for allowing the effort to stand despite strong protestations for offside from the Chile players.

A no-nonsense referee who won't deal with a player and buy it when they simulate a foul inside the penalty area, Webb clearly shows he is in charge of the match, enforcing the laws of the game where appropriate.

Like all referees, he doesn't get every single decision absolutely correct, but out of all the FIFA-affiliated officials in the world today, world football's governing body FIFA clearly sees him as the right man to get those ambiguous calls right, and rightly so, judging from his previous World Cup matches.

Fitness

Howard Webb undertook a period of altitude training prior to the commencement of Africa's first ever World Cup, and it evidently has had the desired effect.

From his physique alone it's clear Webb is a very physically fit man, and it's such fitness and ability to keep up with the pace of the game that has endeared him not only to the topdogs at FIFA, but also the average spectator across the world.

Unlike Alan Wiley and the whole Sir Alex Ferguson saga, Webb is a cut above the rest when it comes to English referees, as his speed and endurance means he can ghost around the pitch and be in the right place at the right time when a counter-attack culminates in a contentious penalty decision.

Gesticulating

In Sunday's final between Spain and Holland, it's highly likely Webb won't be able to communicate with the players in Spanish and Dutch.

Most of those players stepping onto the pitch will speak Webb's language, English, but there will be a considerable few who don't, hence why it's important for the referee to be able to gesticulate well and make his decisions known to the players.

And there's no better referee out there than Howard Webb to tell players of all nationalities and languages that a free-kick has been awarded and no dissent will be permitted.

His ability to clearly convey to the players his decisions in absolute certainty, without speaking, shows them he's the boss of the game, he's made the correct decision and he's the one who commands the players' respect.

When Howard Webb pulls a player over and shakes his head, crosses his arms and then pulls them away to signal that no more wreckless and dangerous play will be tolerated, that player knows for sure they'll be correctly punished if they infringe the laws again.

Basically, every player under the officiating of Mr. Webb knows "he ain't gonna take s**t from anyone."

Strength

As one may have noticed, Howard Webb is a big, strong man with bulging biceps and powerful pectorals.

Chances are he has better cardiovascular and muscular fitness than the majority of players out on that pitch, and the muscular fitness especially can come in useful when it all gets a bit ugly and things start to kick off.

Webb's ability jump into a mass melee, pull aggreived players to one side and prevent players from punching one another is the best way to dissolve a fiery, violent situation.

He controlled that "dramatic" end to the Slovakia-Italy game perfectly and made sure the match didn't boil over and go into meltdown.

When the going gets tough in a match and players suddenly lose that sportsmanship, etiquette and 'contract to compete' which existed just a minute earlier, sometimes it's Webb's ability to put his weight in there and flex his muscles that actually does the trick.

It's clear that all the time spent in the gym has evidently been a success for Howard Webb, as it's not only his missus who's impressed by his physique; from his decision on the referee for the final, FIFA president Sepp Blatter seems quite excited by it too!