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SALVADOR, Brazil -- The Netherlands thrashed the world champions 5-1 Friday in the World Cups first shocker, toying with an aging Spanish team that has dominated global football for the past six years and avenging a loss in the 2010 final. Authentic Anton Stralman Jersey . Although Spain could still advance out of the group stage, the game may have signalled the end of the run by a generation of Spanish stars whose quick passing, "tiki-taka" style delighted the world and helped them win the last three major tournaments. Dutch strikers Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben both scored twice, including Van Persies diving header off of an audacious 40-yard pass. The ball looped over hapless Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas as Van Persie slid on his stomach on the wet grass before running to the sidelines with his fists clenched to celebrate what is sure to be one of the goals of the tournament. Defender Stefan de Vrij also scored -- his first international goal -- in a dominating second half that had the orange-clad Dutch fans in Arena Fonte Nova on their feet the whole time. It was the worst loss for Spain in the games showcase tournament since a 6-1 defeat to Brazil in 1950. "This was a total disaster," said Spain striker Fernando Torres. "We need to focus on winning the next game." The victory was particularly sweet for Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal, who was criticized for his decision to play five defenders. He insisted the formation had attacking potential as well as nullifying Spains fluent passing game. It did. And then some. Spains ball-control offence usually has other teams frustratingly trying to gain possession. This time, the Dutch fans were roaring "Ole" as their team passed the ball around and Spain chased them. Spain lost its first match in South Africa four years ago on its way to the title, and it could salvage tournament hopes with wins against Chile and Australia. But finishing second in the group, means facing the winner of Brazils group in a knockout game. Van Persie credited Van Gaals tactics of defending hard and firing long passes to Robben and himself. "We trained that way. And this is definitely down to him," the Manchester United striker said of the coach who will take over at his club next season. "If you see how he prepared us, and how he predicted the game would go, and you see how it went -- unbelievable." Van Gaal, in turn, highlighted his forwards performances. "With strikers like Van Persie, Robben and Sneijder behind them, things like this can happen," the coach said. It all started so well for Spain, with Xabi Alonso converting a 27th minute penalty. But it went downhill fast after Van Persie tied the game with a header shortly before half time. He connected with a perfectly weighted long pass by Daley Blind, one of a new generation of Dutch defenders flourishing under Van Gaal. "Unbelievable," Van Persie said. "For the whole Netherlands, this is a dream come true." The Dutch starting lineup included Toronto-born midfielder Jonathan de Guzman, who played 62 minutes and earned a yellow card before being substituted for Georginio Wijnaldum. Spain, which won the 2010 final thanks to an Andres Iniesta extra-time goal, exerted most of the pressure in the first half of the rematch. But they had no answer once the Dutch went ahead and continually hit them on the break. The final goal came after Robben weaved around Casillas -- who was crawling on the grass in desperation -- and fired into the untended net. His double was sweet revenge for Robben, who had a late chance saved by Casillas in the Johannesburg final and has struggled to live it down. It was tough keeping track of the second-half barrage of Dutch goals. Robben scored in the 53rd minute, reaching high to control another long ball from Blind, cutting inside Gerard Pique and firing past Casillas. De Vrij -- was called for the first-half penalty -- bundled home a Sneijder free kick at the far post 11 minutes later, and Van Persie scored his second in the 72nd in a clinical display of counterattacking football. Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque sat stony faced on his bench at full time, while Van Gaal walked onto the pitch to hug his players. "This is a very delicate moment for us, and all of us have to find a way to solve it," Del Bosque said. In addition to the 2010 world title, Spain won the 2008 and 2012 European championships. While Spain now has to regroup for its match against Chile on June 18, the Netherlands has to come back down to earth and then refocus for the next match, against Australia. "We dont have anything yet. Weve made a pretty start," Van Gaal said. "If you beat Australia, then youve made a good start." Authentic Ondrej Palat Jersey.Bacca took advantage of Cristian Alvarezs hesitation to head a lobbed pass over the goalkeeper and then used his feet to roll the ball into an empty net in the eighth minute. The Colombia strikers 10th goal pulled him level with Lionel Messi as the leagues third-leading scorers, far behind Cristiano Ronaldos runaway tally of 23 goals. Authentic Anthony Cirelli Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.MINNEAPOLIS -- Ron Gardenhire had every reason to leave and the Minnesota Twins had every reason to let him walk away. They had partnered for 12 seasons -- an eternity in this day and age for a franchise and a manager. They had won a lot of games together -- 998 to be exact -- and six division titles. They also have endured three straight seasons of at least 96 losses, and the loyal fan base is starting to get impatient. If ever there was a time for a fresh start, this appeared to be it. But thats not how the Twins operate. And Gardenhire isnt one to walk away when times are toughest. The Twins and Gardenhire agreed to a new two-year extension on Monday, keeping the second-longest tenured manager in the big leagues in the Twin Cities through the 2015 season. "My father was a military guy and said the easy thing to do was walk," said Gardenhire, who just finished the final season of his existing contract. "The hard thing to do was stay and try to make it better. Thats what Im going to try to do here. I want to make it better." Gardenhire has a career record of 998-947 (.513) as a major league manager, and trails only Tom Kelly on the Twins all-time win list (1,140). But all the losing the last three years was starting to wear on the fans, many of whom wanted to see some big changes made to an organization seems lost its way after being a model franchise last decade. Instead, the Twins brought back the 2010 AL manager of the year and his entire staff, too, keeping with their longstanding preference for stability at the top. "Ron Gardenhire didnt get stupid overnight," Twins President Dave St. Peter said. "He was the manager of the year in 2010. I dont think theres been a manager, a coach in this town that has ever connected with Main Street Minnesota better than Ron Gardenhire. I think people relate to him. I think theyre angry with the Twins and people want a scapegoat. "But at the end of the day, we believe organizationally and I think most Minnesotans believe that Ron Gardenhire isnt the problem. Weve got to get him better players." Gardenhire took over for the retired Kelly in 2002, just when the young Twins were poised to make their move after years of miserable rebuilding. He led the team to the division title in his first three seasons and took them to the ALCS in his first year. Once one of the most popular figures in town thanks to a gregarious personality and impressive run of six AL Central division titles in nine years, Gardenhire started to hear some grumbling from the Twins fan base in recent seasons. The Twins have been swept out of their last three appearances in the ALDS and have been nowhere close to competing over the last three years. But even after spending this season as a lame-duck manager, Gardenhire made it clear he wanted to return. "This was a no-brainer for me, a pretty easy thing," Gardenhire said. &qquot;I love it here. Authentic Louis Domingue Jersey. I wouldnt want to be anywhere else. I know there was a lot of talk about other ball clubs. This is where Im comfortable." Gardenhire met with GM Terry Ryan on Sunday to discuss the direction of the team and the state of the organization in general as the two of them often do during a season. In bringing him back, Ryan is sending a message that the problem lies much more with the talent on the field, and particularly on the mound, than in the dugout. "Weve fallen on some hard times, theres no doubt about that," Ryan said. "Nobodys pretending that everything has gone well the last three years frankly. We need to clean it up and we think we have the right man in-house to do that and Im very happy hes decided to come back." Many of the key players in the clubhouse seem to agree. "I dont think theres anyone else we want leading the team," closer Glen Perkins said Sunday. "Theres no better guy to run this team, and Ive said it once and will say it a thousand times, its not his fault. Hes doing the best he can with what hes given, and Terrys doing his best to give him more. I dont think that will stop. I think (Ryan) knows where were deficient and will do what he can to rectify that." All-Star catcher Joe Mauer, who missed the last 41 games of the season with a concussion, has never played for another manager in the big leagues, and he didnt want that to change. "I dont think, really, whoever was managing would have made much of a difference," Mauer said. "Gardys a great manager. Hes managed some great teams here. Hes a great leader and I hope to see him back here." The Pohlad family prides itself on stability in the leadership positions, and the Twins have had only two managers since 1986. They rarely bow to public pressure, whether its to fire an employee, make a trade or splurge on a free agent. "I think everybody knows that we value consistency and loyalty," Jim Pohlad said. Now the hard work begins to improve a team that finished 66-96. The starting rotation was by far the worst in the big leagues. Justin Morneau was traded in August, rookies Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia went through horrible slumps after being rushed to the big club and veterans Josh Willingham and Ryan Doumit took massive steps backward after impressive seasons in 2012. The Twins do have two prized prospects in third baseman Miguel Sano and centre fielder Byron Buxton that are projected to be All-Star calibre players once they reach the majors. But the most likely scenarios dont have either player becoming everyday players for the Twins until 2015 at the earliest. And neither one of them can pitch, which only makes Ryans job of upgrading the roster Gardenhire has to work with that much more of a challenge. "We have a lot of things to fix," Ryan said. 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