10 World Cup Questions: Spain

June 14th, 2010 | by: Daryl | View Comments

If you’re unfamiliar with World Cup Blog, then allow me to explain: The blog you’re reading now is the front page, but the core of WCB is the multitude of team specific blogs, including one for each of the World Cup 2010 teams.

The authors of these team blogs have forgotten more about their sides than I’ll ever know, so I decided to tap that knowledge by asking each of them a set of 10 questions. Today it’s Corey, Ade. C and Cameron from Spain World Cup Blog. Read on to learn all about La Furia Roja…

1. Who is Spain’s best player?

Corey: It’s kind of tough to name the best player in a squad so talented. Personally I think David Villa is the best player in the squad, but arguments could be made for Xavi, Torres, Silva, Casillas etc. The team is more a sum of all its parts, no one player stands out above the rest for me.
Ade. C: Xavi. It’s taken me five minutes of flailing and soul-searching and repeated cries of ‘Xavi! No, San Iker! No, Iniesta! Alonso! Villa! Silva! Puyol! Cesc! Oh, no, wait… Xavi!’ to come to this conclusion, but yes, Xavi it is, if only for how he can make a team function like inspired clockwork and his masterful passes.
Cameron: Xavi – The genius inside his head is astounding, we do not see a more brilliant player day in and day out as we do with Xavi. For Barcelona, he’s been on top form for the past two years, the same goes for Spain. He drives the engine in the team, and while Cesc and Iniesta are more than capable of replacing him should anything happen, it would not be the same team without Xavi in it.

2. What do you think of Spain’s coach Vicente del Bosque?

Corey:I love Del Bosque but I am a Real Madrid fan so I remember the good ole days. He has done a very good job after Aragones left, and he has the team performing at a high level, basically never skipping a beat. He is a pretty laid back guy, and does not micromanage players, which is ideal when dealing with a group that is already molded together and does not have to many personality conflicts. If he was the Spain coach ten years ago, it would have been a disaster, but national team players have come a long way in the past decade in terms of putting the morbo and regional differences behind them for the good of the team. Del Bosque has won plenty of club titles, so logically he should be able to translate that success to the international realm.
Ade. C: I wish Vicente del Bosque were just a bit more adventurous at times, but I think he’s doing a good job of managing the wealth of talent he has at his disposal. All in all, I’m happy with him and his resemblance to a walrus.
Cameron: Del Bosque is a quality man. He pretty much took what Luis Aragones did in the EURO winning side in 2008 and with a few modifications, kept things the same. It’s the best pool of talent arguably Spain has ever seen, so there is no reason to fix what is not broken, and del Bosque has done a great job in this regard.

3. What do you think of Spain’s World Cup 2010 kits?

Corey: I’m sort of indifferent. The home kit is pretty standard. Red with yellow accents, but the crest is massive and I am not sure why? The away kit is a dark blue and I dont really get it. I prefer the old white away kit because it looked better with those yellow and red accents.
Ade. C: I’m fine with the home kits (though I liked the Confederations Cup shirts better), and even the navy away kits aren’t too horrible, but the keeper kits… the horrible, horrible, 70’s-style, pyjama-like, green keeper kits… not even Casillas and his beard can make those look halfway decent!
Cameron: The kits are nice. May have to get one . . .

4. What’s Spain’s biggest strength?

Corey: Passing. When your team has Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Cesc, Senna, David Silva etc. you better be able to pass the ball well, and we do. The team is also very deep, and thats helpful in tournaments where suspensions and injuries can really hurt a team when games are so close to one another.
Ade. C: The midfield, and the lovely lattice of passing that the midfield creates (be it Xavi or Iniesta, or Alonso, or Senna, or Silva, or Cesc, or whoever); we have a solid defence and a good attack, but it’s our midfield that makes it all possible.
Cameron: The kits are nice. May have to get one . . .

5. …and biggest weakness?

Corey: The defending is not always all that great, but it gets the job done. The left back position is probably a little to weak for a top tier team, but I trust in Capdevila. Id say the biggest weakness is the lack of a plan B. Spain plays a certain style, and if the ball possession and passing doesnt unlock a stubborn, withdrawn defense, its tough to see Spain winning. For example at the last Euro against Italy, the defensive approach left little space once we approached the box. It went to penalties because we could not break the Italians down. I do think that this time around players like Pablo, Pedro and Mata will help in counter attacking at pace, sort of the Valencia style of quick and wide attacks with Villa as the spear head.
Ade. C: I could get tactical and hem and haw about our flanks, but I’d rather focus on the tremendous pressure being piled on the players; after decades of consistently being viewed as losers, winning the 2008 Euros and every match, friendly or otherwise, since then (with the exception of the semifinals of the Confederation Cup against the USA) has left Spain feeling like anything but taking home the World Cup trophy would be a tremendous disappointment. As long as the team keeps playing well and winning, this can be good, but the moment they stumble, the pressure might prove too much for them…
Cameron: Defending on a counterattack. The attacking flair is great, and there are always many numbers being put forward in attack, which leaves Puyol and Pique at the back to hand with counters. Capdevilla is rather old as well, so he may get caught out on occasion in June. Will be interesting to see if teams can exploit this.

6. If you could steal one player from any other World Cup 2010 team, then who would it be and why?
Corey Im happy with the squad but like I said I dont feel the left back spot has much depth. Maybe Patrice Evra for the left back spot, or someone to back up Capdevila. Arbeloa can play left back but then who is the back up at right back? You see where it goes…
Having Messi on your team wouldnt hurt either…..
Ade. C: Messi. Because he’s Messi and I’m a Barça fan and… it’s Messi, do I really need to explain?
Cameron: Messi. He is the best player in the world and plays in Spain with five members of La Roja. Philosophies are similar and if given a chance to perform for Spain he would enjoy the same success he has gotten at Barcelona.

7. Tell us one thing about your team that the rest of the world might not know…

Corey: I cant give you any trivia, I dont remember stuff like that. As far as a promising player, where do I begin? David De Gea, Tito, Olazabal are all interesting keepers that are very young. Barcelona’s cantera is filled with great young players, as is Real Madrids, although they do not see the light of day as often. Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, Malaga, Osasuna and Racing Santander have all been producing some great players too. I personally think a player that will really come in to his own in the next few years is Ander Herrera of Real Zaragoza. He is the most fouled player in La Liga right now, a statistic you may think belongs to Silva or Ronaldo or Messi. If Zaragoza can stay up for a few years (thats a big if with that club) then he can really blossom as a play maker, playing centrally like Juan Carlos Valeron. Now that was a player in his day…
Ade. C: The Spanish NT nickname of ‘La Furia Española’ comes from the 1576 Sack of Antwerp, during which mutinied Spanish soldiers tried to pillage Flemish towns, causing an uprising from the local population, which in the end led the Spanish soldiers to forget about the mutiny and the whole not-being-paid-for-years that had led to it, and join forces against the Dutch. Let’s keep that little bit of history in mind, unless we have to play Belgium at some point, in which case we better hope they’ve forgotten all about the Spaniards setting fire to Antwerp during that time… coincidentially (or not?), the Spanish NT’s first match was in the 1920 Olympic Games in, yes, you guessed it, Antwerp.

8. What would you consider success/failure for your team at World Cup 2010?

Corey: A failure you would not making it out of the group stage, and even the first knockout round would be. A success is the semifinals, because its been awhile since we go that far in the World Cup. We are considered favorites, so there will be a little pressure on the team to perform which is always worrisome with their psyche. But they wont the Euro, so you would assume we got over that hope.
Ade. C: Personally, I’d consider reaching the semis a success. Or even just the quarter-finals, as long as the team plays well.
Cameron: A success? A semi-final or finals appearance. This team has lost but a handful of games the past four years and most of the players in the squad are enjoying the best form of their life so it would be natural to expect a high finishing place.

9. What are you most excited about at World Cup 2010?

Corey: Its the World Cup, what is there to be excited about? Everything! I will try my hardest to watch every game and enjoy the passion of the tournament. It really is a magical occasion, and since it only comes around every four years, its heightens the anticipation. Its a summer of football, and I cant wait.
Ade. C: Everything! I love club football (being a Barça fan will do that to you), but the World Cup is something else. World Cup years are different. I get to gorge myself with matches during the summer, discover new players I hadn’t seen before, shout and laugh and cry and get drunk and take days off from work, hum foreign anthems at odd hours of the morning, and fill my World Cup wall chart with obsessive attention.
Cameron: That one is finally being held in Africa, as I am half-African, there is a lot of pride in getting to see the host nation from the poorest continent in the world.

10. Who do you think will win World Cup 2010?

Corey: I do not think Brazil will win, let me get that in there. I have watched them play under Dunga, and they are dour and unimaginative. Im surprised the Brazilian public has not been more angered by the negative play. Dunga calls up some strange players, and he plays with essentially three defensive midfielders….That’s not Brazil to me. My dark horse is Italy, who are always strong in knock out tournaments, and they are the holders. England are strong, but if they cant beat the US in the group stage, they should be discounted. The Ivory Coast looks good but the change of coach has hurt them. Brazil will go far, as will Germany and England. But I think Spain will win it. The South American teams I think will disappoint, and the African teams will of course be inspired. Ghana might make it to the quarter finals.
Ade. C: I think Spain could do it, but the weight of history leads me to suggest a more conventional choice, like… Brazil?
Cameron: Spain. We have all the tools necessary to conquer the world right now.

- More from Corey, Ade. C and Cameron at Spain World Cup Blog.