Whoever wins in Johannesburg tonight, I will be a happy man.

Knowing that the World Cup will go to a country that has never savoured the joy of victory gives me a pleasant feeling. Whether it will be The Netherlands, who came close on two occasions but were beaten by the host nation in two finals in the 1970s, or Spain, the current European champions who will be playing in their first ever World Cup final, I do not mind.

What is sure is that, for the first time since the Second World War, two European nations have reached two consecutive World Cup finals – a confirmation that, once again, European football has outsmarted South American football.

At the end of the first round, with five South American nations all through and the 2006 finalists, Italy and France, eliminated in disgrace, there was already talk of a football crisis in Europe. But, in the end, three European nations made it to the semi-finals, and one of them will be crowned world champion tonight.

Long before the competition started, I knew that it was impossible for Italy, the nation I support, to repeat their victory in Germany of four years ago. History has shown that coaches who make a comeback rarely, if ever, replicate their success. Marcello Lippi’s hard-headedness led him to make many wrong choices and, to tell the truth, I was happy that he ended up leading Italy to the worst ever result, with only two draws in three matches. For someone as proud and arrogant as Lippi, it must have been a double blow.

It’s a pity that the Italian press was not as scathing as it normally is when things go wrong for the national side. Two years ago, they went ballistic with Roberto Donadoni when Italy fared badly – but not as badly as they did in South Africa – in the Euro 2008 campaign. This time, they treated Lippi lightly although he has embarrassed the nation big time.

What is shameful is that Italy’s top club, Inter, winner of four consecutive league titles, while a fifth was gifted to them Subbuteo-style, and who this year became European champions for the first time since the Beatles era, did not provide one single player to the Italian national side.

Having a country’s champion not giving two hoots about young, homegrown players and simply going for established foreigners – ending up heavily in the red and forcing the president to settle the debt with funds generated elsewhere each and every year – is not the best way to promote Italian football.

The Italian shame was completed with the serious mistake committed by its top referee, Roberto Rosetti, who allowed the goal scored by Tevez against Mexico to stand in spite of the Argentinean striker being two or three metres offside. The pompous official probably had the ambition to referee the World Cup final, but his blunder cost him dearly. He may have thought that FIFA would have closed its eyes to his mistake – as they sometimes do in Italy – but at the World Cup no errors are tolerated and he was sent home. He has now chosen to retire. Good riddance.

With Italy’s early exit, I could sit back and watch the games dispassionately and, frankly, I have enjoyed this World Cup more than other times. Maybe it’s also because I had the opportunity to be present in the host nation, South Africa, for four days and could experience the vibes first hand.

But, apart from this, the more the World Cup progressed, the more it fitted into what I wanted to happen.

I was pleased that England was eliminated by arch rivals Germany. I was happy that another coach who is too proud for my liking – Capello – was humiliated.

It took Germany 44 years to get their revenge over what happened in 1966 – when England were awarded a goal even though the ball had not crossed the line, going on to win the World Cup for its first and only time. This time, the ball did cross the line (and I dare say it would have changed the course of the game had it been awarded) but the officials did not see it.

I think something like this is called poetic justice. When we got to know the Germany-England result as the Emirates flight landed in Larnaca on the way to South Africa, we ordered champagne to celebrate.

Similarly, I was glad when Germany crushed Argentina to bits, with yet another four-goal spree, in the following round. Most of all, I enjoyed seeing Maradona’s face as his team succumbed to defeat in such a humiliating way. Whoever thought that Maradona could coach will now have to eat his words.

He might have been an excellent player, one of the greatest of all times, but this does not make him a great manager. Secondly, Maradona’s behaviour on and off the pitch does not exactly make him a good example to others, and this is putting it mildly.

While Germany did me a great favour by eliminating England and Argentina, I did not want them to win the World Cup as this would have meant that it would have been their fourth, and they would have caught up with Italy. So, again, the result of the game against Spain was what I wished for.

Another coach who, like Maradona, made selection blunders, or call them omissions if you like, was Carlos Dunga of Brazil. It serves him right that Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals for the second time in a row.

Great coaches are those who are able to turn things around with substitutions or a change of tactics when things go wrong. The first time that Argentina and Brazil went a goal down, neither Maradona nor Dunga were able to revive their side. That was their weakness. Seeing proud people humbled is one of the joys of life. I just hope that one day it happens to the proudest of them all too – Jose Mourinho. I long to see him eat dirt.

Conversely, the two sides that have reached the final have coaches who shun the limelight but whose hard work has reaped rewards. Neither Dutch Bert van Marwijk nor Spaniard Vincente del Bosque behave like prima donnas; no coach is more important than the team, and these two are the perfect example of this.

So I am delighted that The Netherlands and Spain have made it to tonight’s final. Their style may be different, but they both play attacking football and they both deserve to be where they are.

May the best team win.

And jot down these dates in your diary – 13 June-13 July 2014: that’s when the next World Cup will be held.

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