Also known as La Furia Roja (The Red Fury), Spain were the great underachievers of international football over the last four decades until they won the 2008 European Championships. They have spawned some of the greatest players in world football, and numerous Spanish teams have traveled to a World Cup with high hopes, only to perform badly. This cycle was blamed on numerous factions within the nation, namely the bad blood between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Spain’s top club sides. Their antipathy towards one another goes deeper than their club rivalry, being related to cultural differences between the capital and Catalonia. This was cited as the main reason why Spain had performed so dismally in international tournaments.
They hosted the 1982 World Cup, and it was a disaster with an opening day draw with Honduras overshadowed by a 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland. Although they qualified for the next stage, defeat to West Germany and a 0-0 draw with England saw the hosts knocked out in disgrace. Up until the European Championships in 2008, Spain had only won one major international honor. That was the 1964 European Championship, when as the host nation, they defeated Hungary 2-1 in front of their fanatical fans.
The 2008 Championship saw Spain emerge victorious with a Fernando Torres goal enough to see off Germany 1-0 in the final. Was manager Luis Aragones the man who finally put an end to the regional differences that marred previous Spanish campaigns? His team selections, particularly his propensity to substitute star player Fernando Torres in favor of the lesser known Daniel Guiza drew criticism from some quarters, but Aragones can point to the silverware as proof that his methods worked.
He was succeeded by Vicente Del Bosque as national team manager who has made a seamless transition, evidenced by Spain’s continuing winning habit. The former Real Madrid man is charged with bringing home the first ever World Cup for his country. Things are looking promising, but they did lose their 35 match unbeaten run in sensational fashion to the United States in the Confederations Cup semi-final after breezing through the group stages. Del Bosque’s failure to rest stars such as Torres and David Villa was criticized as both men looked listless during the match, with the manager playing them both in the final group match even though Spain were already through.
Del Bosque and Spain are aiming to bring home the Jules Rimet trophy for the first time. For a country that has spawned so many world class players over the years, Spain’s World Cup record is appalling. They have only made it to the last four on one occasion, way back in 1950. Their World Cup campaigns have been notable for embarrassing failures rather than glorious victories.
If their World Cup qualifying campaign is anything to go by however (they won all ten qualification games), then a betting man would be foolish not to have a gamble. They are currently ranked number one in the world, and will be the team to watch for the neutral, and one to avoid for the other 31 nations in the World Cup.