Spain prediction comes true as octopus rivals players for star of tournament accolade and punters win up to half a million pounds
Paul the psychic octopus maintained his flawless performance in the World Cup by correctly predicting that Spain's victory over Holland in the final.
Dubbed the "oracle octopus", Paul beat his rival Mani, Singapore's psychic parakeet, who incorrectly predicted a win for Holland.
Punters gambling on the mystic mollusc's predictions have won up to half a million pounds during the month-long tournament, according to bookmakers William Hill.
Paul, who was born in Weymouth in 2006, has become the closest thing to an English World Cup success after accurately foretelling match results throughout the tournament.
The octopus, who now resides in Germany's Oberhausen Sea Life aquarium, correctly predicted the outcome of all six matches involving his adopted homeland by choosing to eat a mussel from boxes emblazoned with the flags of the German team and its rivals.
After his prediction that Germany would be defeated by Spain came to pass, some angry fans called for him to be thrown in a shark tank. But he won support from Spanish fans who pledged to protect him, despite their country's fondness for calamari.
Paul has become an internet star with videos of his predictions posted on YouTube attracting hundreds of thousands of hits.
His rival Mani had, according to his owner – fortune teller M Muniyappan, predicted the last five games of the tournament correctly.
World Cup final: Beauty was rewarded in the end – Vicente del Bosque
Vicente del Bosque hailed his side's first World Cup success as "a reward for beautiful football" as Spain withstood Holland's strong-arm tactics to claim the trophy at their 13th attempt deep into extra time.
"I'm here to speak about the beautiful things in football," said the Spain coach. "It was a very intense game, balanced and even. It was rough at times but that's part of football. They made it very difficult for us to play comfortably. There was pressing from both sides but football is moving forward. The reward today was for beautiful football.
"I tried to ring home in the dressing room after the game but everyone was ecstatic and it was difficult to speak, it was so loud. But Spain, as a country, deserves this triumph. This goes beyond sport. Everyone was behind us back home and we're delighted to reward them all with this victory."
Iniesta's post-match assessment had been interrupted when Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué and Fábregas burst into the media theatre chanting in celebration. The Barcelona midfielder was one of those booked here after removing his shirt after his goal to reveal a message to Dani Jarque, the Espanyol captain who died of a heart attack last year following a training session.
"We wanted to pay tribute to him and this was the best opportunity to do so. I really can't believe it yet. It hasn't sunk in. I've made a small contribution in a very tough game, a very rough game – there were all sorts of things happening out on the pitch – but Spain deserved to win this World Cup. It's something we should all feel very proud about. Incredible."
This side have now lost only twice since beating England at Old Trafford in February 2007 – to the USA and Switzerland, both in South Africa – and have added the world crown to that of the European title, claimed two years ago in Vienna. "We have excellent players, players of wonderful quality and huge talent, and this is a fitting reward," said Del Bosque. "They show that every time they go out on the pitch. This is a continuation of what we achieved [under Luis Aragonés] two years ago. All these players deserve the prize and the reward they've earned today."
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