Spain World Cup 2010 Profile

May 3rd, 2010 | by: Daryl |

sff After years of pre-tournament hype followed by in-tournament disappointment, Spain finally got it together two summers ago and shrugged off the “under-performer” tag to win Euro 2008. In style too, with some excellent passing football played along the way. That Euro 2008 victory means Spain has two Euro titles in the glass cabinet. But still zero World Cups. So now it’s time for the real thing.

Spain are many people’s favourites for World Cup 2010, and I’m not going to argue with them. But though the Euro 2008 win seemed to lift the weight of underachievement off Spanish shoulders, it also sent expectations for World Cup 2010 soaring. So the way I see it, 2010 could be the fork in the road where the Spanish national team either becomes a long-term trophylifting superpower or a team that had one glorious summer in Swissaustria.

Not only does this seem to be Spain’s best ever chance to lift the World Cup, it’s also the case that failure in the form of an early exit would mean the return of all that under-performer talk, and it will be as if Euro 2008 never happened. No pressure then lads…

Nickname: La Furia Roja, or The Red Fury.

FIFA World Ranking as of April 28th 2010: #2

Group H Matches:
Spain vs Switzerland – 16th June, 3pm, Durban
Spain vs Honduras – 21st June, 7:30pm, Johannesburg Ellis Park
Spain vs Chile – 25th June, 7:30pm, Pretoria
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delbsosque Coach: Luis Aragones was the man who delivered the famous European Championship triumph in 2008. But it’s Vicente del Bosque who’s in charge now. Del Bosque has stuck to the sound principles that were so successful in Switzerland & Austria and the same core of players, but has not allowed the Spanish to get complacent. Del Bosque himself seems a very likeable character, and is the owner of not just a fine moustache, but two Champions League winners medals from a very successful spell with Real Madrid.

Key Players: Captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas makes the incredible look commonplace, with multiple matchwinning performances for both Real Madrid and Spain. He now has well over 100 caps and seems to be the very definition of reliability. Barcelona centre back Carles Puyol brings even more experience (and significantly more “just got out the shower” hair) to the backline, and enjoys a successful partnership with Gerard Pique at both club and international level. The 23 year old Pique is quick and good on the ball, but also big enough and strong enough to cope with anything and anyone. Pique is the one major addition to the Euro 2008 team, but it already seems difficult to think of Spain’s defence without him.

The man who makes it all happen in midfield is Xavi Hernandez. He seems to set the tac-tac-tac tempo for Spain’s short passing, but also regularly plays defence splitting through balls that apparently only he can see. You’d have to go a long way to find someone who didn’t agree that Xavi is the best passer in the wide world of football right now.

Going forward it’s all about Liverpool’s Fernando Torres and Valencia’s David Villa. Both are quick, both are lethal. Basically if Nando doesn’t get you, then David will. A lot will depend on how successfully Torres recovers from the knee surgery he had in April, but seems the operation was timed to have him fit in time for scoring goals in South Africa.

The fact that I didn’t get around to mentioning players like Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fabregas and David Silva is a testament to the amount of talent in this squad.

Player with best YouTube video: This is tough. Not just because Spain boast so many good players, but more because the team doesn’t really have one showboat player. When you think of Portugal you think of Cristiano Ronaldo doing stepovers. When you think of Spain you think teamwork. So it’s only fitting that the best YouTube vid award goes is shared between both Fernando Torres and David Villa. And the theme tune from “Jaws”.

That said, Xavi Hernandez is special enough to get one too:

Player with best name: Has to be the man whose full moniker is Xavier Hernández i Creus.

Player with best nickname: I like the simplicity of the above mentioned footballer abbreviating to simply Xavi. I like that Fernando Torres is still called El Nino, even though he’s now 26. And I love that Carles Puyol’s appearance has earned him the name Tarzan. But best nickname of all goes to captain and goalkeepr Iker Casillas, better known as San Iker (Saint Iker).

Qualification: Spain played 10 games in Group 5 of the UEFA qualifying zone. The result was 10 wins. With 28 goals scored and only five conceded.

Interesting: Sergio Ramos is the new David Beckham/Beatles. Cue teenage hysteria:

National Anthem: La marcha real (”The Royal March”)

Kit: Spain will be wearing a traditional red home shirt, but a new fangled black for away.
Spain-Home-Shirt-0911

Find your Spain World Cup 2010 jerseys in our store.

World Cup History: No trophy lifting to date, despite plenty of expectation.
spain history

Expectations: After the Euro 2008 win, and the incredible form (and performances) ever since, Spain will be expecting to take their first World Cup trophy.

Squad: TBA

Blog: Ade C., Corey, Cameron and Jeremy are all following La Furia Roja at Spain World Cup Blog.

- More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.

Spain World Cup Guide

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Corbin

The most influential player has to be Iniesta. Just look at how Barca are struggling to get through the season without him.
http://www.worldcupblog.org Daryl

I’d disagree Corbin. Obviously Iniesta is a superb footballer, but Xavi seems much more influential. Maybe even more so for Spain if Iniesta is playing wide.
pencho15

They are my second team, and since Mexico really doesn’t have much of a chance to lift the cup, then I hope Spain manages to do it, they have a great team, and I hope this is the year they’ll stop underperforming, I expect at least a semifinal, and I hope the result in the confederations cup will help this team to avoid a failure.
http://juventus.theoffside.com alessio

Ditto to what Daryl said.

Factoid of the day, as ESPN will say 3,000 times this summer, Spain’s Marcha Real is the only national anthem in the world without lyrics.
Coconut

I think we can all agree that Spain is quite possibly the best national team in the world.

With that being said… I really dont see them winning the World Cup. Something tells me the pressure will get to them, and they’ll buckle in the quarter-finals once again. Something like Confed Cup 09.

I just prefer to see an underdog win the tournament, but then again one can argue that Spain is still an underdog considering they’ve never won the whole thing.
Rachel

Iker is the greatest and it is shameful that, unlike Buffon, in the galactico-obsessed UK he is not considered to be one of football’s top stars. I have a Facebook group demanding that this brilliant man receives a honorary knighthood: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=303469845579