With the closing of another unforgettable and historic FIFA World Cup, FIFA.com analyzes some of the main statistics that have emerged during the last 30 days.

18,449 volunteers, the oldest among them at 80 years old, played a key role in the success of the first FIFA World Cup held in Africa.

669 pass attempts were made by Xavi during the tournament, 104 more than his closest competitor, Bastian Schweinsteiger. Xavi also achieved the second highest number of crosses, a total of 42, behind only Diego Forlán, with 50.

559 minutes without conceding a goal was the time that allowed Switzerland to set the new FIFA World Cup record. The Swiss surpassed Italy’s previous mark of 550 minutes.

261 fouls were committed in South Africa 2010, a significant reduction compared to Germany 2006 (346). The result of this is that the number of expulsions has also decreased considerably: only 17 red cards compared to 26 four years ago.

145 goals were scored at this year’s World Cup, the fewest since the FIFA World Cup moved to 64 matches 12 years ago. In fact, since this format was introduced, the downward trend has also continued in South Africa. In France 1998, 171 goals were scored, with the total falling to 161 in South Korea/Japan 2002 and 147 in Germany 2006.

117 minutes was the time it took for Andres Iniesta to score the dramatic winning goal against the Netherlands, the longest period for the scoreline in FIFA World Cup finals.

39 years and 330 days made David James the oldest player in the South African tournament. The holder of the titles of oldest linebacker and oldest player to score a goal was Mexican Cuauhtémoc Blanco, at 37 years and 156 days. Christian Eriksen of Denmark was the youngest player in South Africa at 18 years and 120 days.

31 starts gave Spaniard Sergio Ramos the status of the tournament’s top dribbler, ahead of more likely candidates such as Lukas Podolski (27), Andrés Iniesta (26), David Villa and Lionel Messi (both 25).

22 goals scored at the Green Point Stadium gave the Cape Town arena the top spot among South Africa’s ten venues. Johannesburg’s Soccer City, which had its nets swung 20 times, came in second.

22 players were used by Germany throughout the tournament, the highest number among all teams. In contrast, those selected from Slovenia, New Zealand and North Korea fielded only 15 athletes.

19 fouls made Japan’s Keisuke Honda the unlikely leader in infractions committed in the competition. Finalists Sergio Ramos and Mark van Bommel were close behind with 17 each.

14 FIFA World Cup goals was Miroslav Klose’s mark, leaving the Germany striker  just one goal behind record holder Ronaldo. Klose now shares the second position with Gerd Müller.

14 yellow cards and one red were handed out in the tight final between  the Netherlands and Spain, more than double the previous record for a World Cup decider, set in 1986, when Argentina and  West Germany combined for six cards.

12 goals were scored by Bayern Munich players during South Africa 2010, making the Bavarian club the best representative in scoring of the tournament. Inter Milan, who had beaten the German side in this year’s UEFA Champions League final, were second with nine goals, while Atletico Madrid’s players shook the nets eight times. La Liga dominated the overall tally, with its players scoring 29 goals to the Bundesliga’s 21. In third place was the Italian Serie A, with 16, followed by the English Championship, with 12.

8 countries now own at least one FIFA World Cup title, after Spain joined the elite club. Furia  became the first  team to win the World Cup after a defeat in the opening game and the first from Europe to lift the cup outside the continent.

6 editions of the FIFA World Cup as a coach was the new mark set by Carlos Alberto Parreira, who, in leading his fifth team in the competition, also broke the record of four that he shared with Bora Milutinovic.

6 European teams reached the knockout stages in South Africa 2010, but only three reached the quarter-finals – the worst number in the Old Continent. However, while the five South American representatives advanced to the knockout stages, four as first in their respective groups, the final was once again decided by European selections.

3.18 million fans attended the 64 World Cup matches on African soil, just shy of the 1994 FIFA World Cup record set in the United States, when 3.59 million people passed through the turnstiles of American stadiums.

3 players — David Villa, Andrés Iniesta and Carles Puyol — scored all of Spain’s goals  in South Africa 2010. Before that, no team had ever won the FIFA World Cup with fewer than four different goalscorers. The eight goals scored by the Spanish national team mark the lowest tally among all the champions of the competition.

3 brothers in the same squad was another unprecedented mark that occurred in South Africa 2010. Jerry, Jhony and Wilson Palacios have gone down in history thanks to the inclusion of their names in the list of 23 Honduran players.

3 assists were provided by Kaká, Thomas Müller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Dirk Kuyt and Mesut Özil, making these five athletes the most effective creators of the tournament.

2 finalists from the previous edition of the FIFA World Cup, France and Italy, were eliminated in the group stage for the first time in history. The only similar failure came in 1966, when Czechoslovakia did not even qualify and Brazil, then champions, did not make it past the first round.

2 draws and one defeat in the three group stage matches made Italy’s performance  in South Africa  the worst in their World Cup history. The Italians had never participated in the competition without having won at least one victory. The last place in the group was also an unprecedented fact. Marcello Lippi’s team remains winless in 2010.

2 minutes, 39 seconds was the time it took Thomas Müller to score the fastest goal of the tournament in Germany’s 4-0 win  over Argentina.

1 team finished the tournament unbeaten: New Zealand. The unexpected milestone was reached when the Netherlands’ run of 14 straight wins  during the qualifiers and the  2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa was broken in the grand final in Johannesburg.

From Wikipedia

By Jucele

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