Spain (La Furia Roja) in Brazil…….
They had a drought in major international success after winning the Uefa European Championship in 1964 (Euro 1964). But since 2008, they’ve continued on to wipe that terrible period out of the minds of Spaniards and fans across the world.
They are the most recent member of the international powerhouses, and the most recent Fifa World Cup winner. Before the win in 2010, Spain’s best attempt at the Fifa World Cup was in the World Cup of 1950, where they lost 3-1 to Sweden in the Semi-Final.
There are only two teams in the history of the World Cup to win it back-to-back. Italy(1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962). Spain will be entering this 2014 World Cup with hopes of being the third team on this list.
We are arguably in the best era of Spanish futbol, so it is not a surprise that the team is marked as one of the favorites to win the 2012 Fifa World Cup.
The Spanish team’s emergence to the top of Fifa’s list as the No. 1 team in the World has been done in such a pleasant possession style of play (Tiki-Taka). At their peak, the team was just impossible to beat, and gave their oppostion no option to a draw.
Despite still being the most difficult team to beat, their recent form is considered a decline by many.
Since 2008, The Spanish dominance in international and club futbol has been seen both on field and on paper.
The Spanish national team has won three major international trophies in a row; Euro 2008,World Cup2010 and Euro 2012.
The making a team selection from the list of available players for the Spanish team would make anyone indecisive.
This team is over saturated with talent in every position. It is very possible to select three different competitive first team line-up from the current set of talent the nation possesses.
To put it into perspective, the youth national team includes players that are already established in top teams around Europe. Keep an eye for these few names Sergi Roberto, Isco, Jesé and Gerard Deulofeu.
With the tiki-taka style of play that requires the frequent interchange of position, Spain typically looks like they play a 4-5-0 formation, instead of the 4-3-3 they put up as their formation line-up. This means any player that is not labelled as a center-back can be in a scoring position and and rise to the occasion.
The Venom
Diego Costa is a ‘newbie’ to the Spanish offense. Originally from Brazil, he was granted Spanish nationality and has decided to play for Spain instead. He is from the production line of Atletico Madrid frontliners. He came into the 2013-14 season with ‘big shoes’ to to fill, after the departure of Radamel Falcao. His success in filling that vacancy has attracted interest from many angles in the futbol world. The Spanish national team was no exception.
Keep an eye out for him.
Diego Costa celebrates his goal
Diego Costa’s team mate at Atletico Madrid, David Villa is another name to watch. Clinical striker who fits very well into all of Spain’s possible team selections. Villa is a veteran in top international competitions. He currently holds record for top scorer on the Spanish national team. We can expect him to work on strengthening his record. He is a striker who fits into the tiki-taka style of play.
Fernando Torres- The third top scorer for Spain. Many say that his best days are behind him, but his trophy cabinet will say he got better with time. He is probably the most traditional #9 player in the in the team, a very offensively direct player. He has recently turned into more of a provider of assist around the goal, than the executioner.
Other lethal forwards who will be destined to make their mark will be the Barcelona’s striker Pedro and Manchester City’s Álvaro Negredo.
The Control and Support
Arguably the most complete midfield in the World right now.
This bunch maintain control of the ball just long enough to fatigue the desperate opposition, who is attentively trying to dispossess Spain of the ball. Fatigue wears out the attention span of opposing defense, they lose interest, and Spain begins stretching out their passes. It won’t be long after that, until Spain starts depositing balls in the opposition net.
The usual midfield terrorist are expected to play their role.
Sergio Busquet, Xabi Alonso, Javi Martínez are there to break the play of opposition and start Spain’s possessive style of play.
Xavi Hernandez acting as mastermind and dispatcher and Andres Iniesta moving around with the ball to disrupt the formation setup of opposing team.
And pressing offensively with Iniesta will be,… Cesc Fabregas, David Silva, Juan Mata, Sanit Carzola and Thiago Alcantara
The Bouncers
Are there defenders on this team? lol.
It is rare to see the current Spanish side being under offensive pressure. Their style of play allows them enough possession to control the tempo of the game. Defending is not something you will necessarily see Spain do.
Some established names on the team you can expect to see in the Spanish defense will be veterans like Carlos Puyol, Gerald Pique, Sergio Ramos, and Raul Albiol.
Be on the look out for Chelsea’s César Azpilicueta, Barcelona’s Jordi Alba, and Arsenal’s Nacho Monreal
So what is it for Spain? What are their odds?
Spain is still the team to beat.They are the team you don’t want in your group.
They are on the list of teams expected to clinch the Round of 16 after their second group match. Any team in the competition will be looking to avoid them, or push their appointment to a later date.
They have managed to have never won the Fifa Confederations Cup, which could be a good thing if you look at the history of the World Cup.
Their odds of winning are great, and their odds of advancing far in the competition are even greater.
Playing a draw against Spain is still a really good result for any team, and that says a lot about how respect and expectation given to the Spanish side. An elimination from the competition before the Semi-final will come across as failure.
But hey there will be some drama, suspense and surprises. And that is why we will have to be watching to see if Spain will make home field advantage count.
