Can Spain’s ‘nearly men’ finally silence the critics in South Africa?

April 8, 2010

As the 2010 World Cup draws closer, excitement amongst football fans around the globe will be building and the stage is set perfectly for the best players in the World to entertain us all in what is nothing short of a four week feast of football. Everybody will no doubt have a different opinion on who they think will win the tournament in South Africa, with many predicting Spain to emerge as eventual winners. The current European Champions are the favourites to win the World Cup and justifiably so given the squad but if they are to succeed in South Africa they must overcome the ‘nearly men’ tag that has haunted them for so long.

Coach, Vicente Del Bosque’s has a wealth of talent at his disposal and as such must be the envy of all other World Cup coaches’. The likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Alonso and Fabregras make up a star studded midfield, along with the experience of World Class defenders such as Carles Puyol and Sergio Ramos, backed up by undoubtedly one of the World’s best goalkeepers in Iker Casillas. Spearheaded by David Villa and Fernando Torres upfront, it is evident just why Spain are feared most of the 32 teams heading to South Africa. However, historically, it has been the lack of talent but rather expectations that has been the undoing of Spain at the World Cup, having never progressed beyond the Quarter Finals of the tournament since 1950. The squad heading to South Africa in 2010 may be the best Spain have had in the past 60 years but are the capable of ending that embarrassing trend and winning the World Cup for the first time?

Spain has been drawn in Group H for the first round of matches in the World Cup and will begin their quest for World Cup glory against Switzerland in Durban on 16th June. They will then play Honduras and Chile to complete the group and none of these three opponents should pose Spain any problems and progression to the last 16 should be fairly straightforward. It is however in the round of 16 that Spain is likely to face their first major test where, providing they top Group H, they will face the runner up of Group G. Group G sees Brazil, Portugal and the Ivory Coast vying for just two places with North Korea making up the so-called ‘group of death’ and whoever Spain meet in the first knockout game, a stern test is assured.

Whether it’s Portgual, Brazil or the Ivory Coast that Spain face in the last 16, victory is likely to provide the confidence that could see Del Bosque’s side progress all the way to final after it was at this stage they went out four years ago in Germany to eventual beaten finalists France. Casillas, Puyol, Ramos, Xavi, Alonso, Fabregas, Torres and Villa all started in that defeat in 2006 and all are likely to form the backbone of Spain’s hopes in South Africa and all must have a point to prove. The confidence and experience following victory at Euro 2008 must now stand these players in good stead of overcoming the pressure that comes with their country’s continual failures at the World Cup.

Both David Villa and Fernando Torres will be the two players with the most pressure of all the members of the squad as it will these who are expected to get the goals that fire Spain to the glory that eludes them. In 2006, both players scored three goals each, which wasn’t a bad return given they only played four games. Since then, both have gone on to excel at domestic level, Torres for Liverpool in England’s Premier League and Villa for Valencia in his native La Liga. It was Villa who finished top scorer in Austria and Switzerland two years ago, scoring four goals en route to winning the European Championships before scoring seven in Spain’s qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup, in which they won all ten games. In contrast, Torres has struggled to replicate his devastating goal scoring form for Liverpool to International games. The former Atletico Madrid forward failed to score in any of Spain’s World Cup qualifying game and has only scored three competitive goals for Spain since winning Euro 2008, all three of those coming in the Confederations Cup victory over New Zealand as he scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win, which perhaps provided a glimpse of what he is capable of in the summer given that game was held in Rustenburg, South Africa, one of the World Cup venues.

Both Villa and Torres are vying for favouritism in the bookmakers lists for which player will win the Golden Boot in South Africa along with England’s Wayne Rooney, Fabiano of Brazil and the seemingly unstoppable Lionel Messi. In the battle between the Spanish forwards, Villa has got to be fancied to score more goals than Torres based on recent International form and whether either is capable of winning the World Cup Top Goalscorer honour in South Africa will depend on how far in the tournament Spain go but if they can overcome the 60 year wait to reach at least the semi finals then one of the pair has got to be fancied to walk away with the Golden boot.

The current odds on Spain winning the World Cup have them as favourites to win at 4/1 and based on talent alone, it is difficult to argue why they shouldn’t win the tournament. However, to coin a cliché, football is not played on paper and failure to reach the Semi Finals of the World Cup since 1950 confirms Spain must prove that they are as prepared as much mentally for the battle that awaits them as they are skilfully, if they aren’t then their status in World Football as perennial failures will be fully justified.

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