Spain - World Cup 2006 Team Profile

The Semifinals, A Magic Frontier

Ozren Podnar ...

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Spain is one of the most regular competitors on the international scene, having qualified for the World Cup final stage for the eight consecutive time, a distinction only exceeded by Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Germany (Western and unified). Their last absence from a big event dates back to Euro 1992 in Sweden.

Other than that, they have never gone beyond the quarterfinals, which whey reached in 1986 in Mexico, in 1994 in the US and in 2002 in Japan and Korea.

However, in other competitions Spain have pretty much fulfilled neutral observers' expectations, having been European and Olympic champions and runners up in each competition. The fact their only big wins came on the home soil, at the 1964 European Championship in Madrid and the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, hardly take away from the value of the prizes.

When the World Cup is concerned, the truth is Spain has never presented a team which could be considered a true World Cup title contender. Whether the Spaniards have somewhat unrealistic expectations is another matter. This time the elements of unrealism are present again in captain Raúl's words:
"Our side has never had so much quality, we go to Germany to win the cup" or according to coach Luis Aragonés, "Our team's goal is to win, win and win again."

Unbeaten, But Unconvincing

Spain did go unbeaten through the qualifiers, but their performance was far from impressive and in fact they hardly deserved to avoid defeat in Valencia against Bosnia, who conceded the equalizer in the seventh minute of an unjustifiably long period of added time. Beaten to the top spot by Serbia and Montenegro and condemned to the playoffs, they somewhat redeemed themselves, thrashing Slovakia 6-2 on aggregate, although the first leg 5-1 win was tarnished by overly pro-home-team refereeing.

Coach Luis Aragonés's expertise and wisdom is one of Spain's assets for the forthcoming Cup. The old "fox" took over the national team at the start of the qualifying campaign and has yet to lose a match; of the 18 games, his team won eleven and drew seven.

Aragonés has experimented a lot with the team after their dismal showing at the European Championship in Portugal. He built on the existing backbone of the squad (Casillas, Puyol, Albelda, Vicente, Morientes), enriched it with younger talents like Reyes (Arsenal), Luis Garcia (Liverpool) and Del Horno (Chelsea) and added several players who had played a sporadic role in Portugal, like Torres (Atlético) or Xavi (Barcelona).

The weak spot of La Furia Roja may be the lack of firepower up front, in spite of fielding big names like Raúl González, Fernando Morientes, Fernando Torres and David Villa. The former two have had a middling to poor season, in Raúl's case coupled with a serious injury, whereas the latter pair - especially Villa - lack experience at major events.

Other elements of the team look more promising, including the midfield with Luis Garcia, Xabi Alonso, Albelda and a recovered Xavi Hernández, the flanks with the frequently brilliant Vicente on the left and a talented but erratic Joaquín on the right, and a defence that includes Puyol, Marchena, Pablo, Sergio Ramos, Salgado and Del Horno.
Iker Casillas, one of the world's most reliable keepers, serves to solidify the defensive line-up brimming with strength and pride.

Ambition

Spain, a young team averaging only 25 years, considers the semifinals a magical borderline dividing a good from an excellent showing. Group H which the Red Furies share with Ukraine, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia presents a clear cut three-way contest excluding the Saudis, a contest in which Spain should come out on top. Tunisia usually does very well in the African Nation's Cup, but at the World Cup they have been mostly anonymous, whereas Ukraine returns fully 16 years after providing a significant contingent to the Soviet squad in Italy 1990.

Tactics

Spain needs possession of the ball. As they showed in the key games against Serbia in Belgrade and Slovakia in Madrid, when Aragones's team hold the ball, their rival get into trouble.

Fact File

Football Association

Real Federación Espanola de Fútbol (RFEF)

Address: Ciudad del futbol español, Ramón y Cajal s/n, Las Rozas (Madrid)

Founded: 1903

Chairman: José María Villar

Coach: Luis Aragonés

Official web site: www.rfef.es

Top clubs: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Deportivo, Sevilla

World Cup appearances: 11 (1934, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002)

Honours: European Championship (1964); Gold medal at the Olympics (1992); Silver medal at the Olympics (1920 and 2000)

Famous players: Ricardo Zamora, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Amaro Amancio, Carlos Santillana, Jose Antonio Camacho, Ramón Arconada, Rafael Gordillo, Andoni Zubizarreta, Emilio Butragueño, Míchel, José María Bakero, Fernando Hierro

Likely line-up: Iker Casillas; Míchel Salgado, Carles Puyol, Asier Del Horno; Luis García, Xabi Alonso, David Albelda, Vicente; Fernando Torres, Fernando Morientes, Raúl González

Path to Germany 2006

Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 - Spain 1
Spain 2 - Belgium 0
Lithuania 0 - Spain 0
Spain 5 - San Marino 0
Serbia and Montenegro 0 - Spain 0
Spain 1 - Lithuania 0
Spain 1 - Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
Spain 1 - Serbia and Montenegro 1
Belgium 0 - Spain 2
San Marino 0 - Spain 6

Playoffs
Spain 5 - Slovakia 1
Slovakia 1 - Spain 1

Qualified through the playoffs between best second placed teams.

World Cup Squad

Bet on the World Cup

Goalkeepers Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool, England), Santiago Canizares (Valencia)
Defenders Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Michel Salgado (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Asier Del Horno (Chelsea, England), Antonio Lopez (Atletico Madrid), Pablo Ibanez (Atletico Madrid), Juanito Gutierrez (Real Betis)
Midfielders David Albelda (Valencia), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool, England), Joaquin Sanchez (Real Betis), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal, England), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), Marcos Senna (Villarreal)
Forwards Jose Antonio Reyes (Arsenal, England), David Villa (Valencia), Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid), Raul Gonzalez (Real Madrid), Luis Garcia (Liverpool, England)

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