Agganis soccer coaches get kick out of watching World Cup final

Although the pool at his in-laws in Peabody was open, St. Mary’s High girls soccer coach Jim Foley had other plans on Sunday: He was watching the World Cup final.”I kind of watched by myself,” Foley said, adding that he was also switching back-and-forth between the Spain-Netherlands game (which Spain won, 1-0, for its first-ever championship) and the Red Sox. However, he said, “I thought it was a great game. Spain did a great job. They proved they’re the best team in the world.”Many viewers on the North Shore and across the globe were studying their TV screens yesterday, watching Spain and the Netherlands play into the second overtime in Johannesburg, when Andres Iniesta of Spain settled things with the lone goal of the game.”I thought the better team won (Sunday),” said Beverly High boys soccer coach Kevin Leahy. “Being creative set up chances. They were a little more competitive.”Leahy watched the game at the Pickled Onion in Beverly, a setting that in some ways evoked the atmosphere of a World Cup match.”The owner is from Ireland and he’s very interested in soccer,” Leahy said. “There’s a big clientele that’s Irish and English and provides some color and excitement.”He added that the fan support was evenly divided, noting that many people wore Dutch orange, while others wore shirts of Spanish clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid. And, he noted, there were even a few people who brought vuvuzela-style horns to recreate the sound of the South African stadiums.Leahy was among those rooting for the Dutch. His brother-in-law is of Dutch ancestry and they watched the game together.”He was giving me a hard time all week,” Leahy said. “He’s not a big soccer fan, but he was into the Dutch getting in. I feel bad for them.”The game set a World Cup record with 14 yellow cards between Spain (5) and the Netherlands (9). It also featured a red card on Dutch defender John Heitinga in the 19th minute of extra time.”(The Dutch) committed a lot of fouls,” Foley said. “Their undoing was too many yellow cards. They were a man down. Spain is too good. You can’t give them an opportunity.”Now both Leahy and Foley will move from watching a game on TV to coaching a game on Tuesday in the Agganis Soccer Classics. Leahy will help coach in the boys game, while Foley will help coach in the girls game. Leahy will stick around to watch the girls game, as his daughter Bridget is playing in it.