Spain remain faithful to their traditions
Spain’s failure at a major tournament is one of those things we can all rely on. Following the uncharacteristic 4-0 drubbing of the Ukraine, the Spanish press was filled with articles and comments from football experts assuring fans that this time it was different. Apparently tonight’s opponents had admitted that Spain were going to make it to the final, come what may, as had Michael Ballack according to Marca.
Tonight, however the euphoria almost evaporated as Spain struggled to beat Tunisia. Trailing to an early goal from Mnari, Spain only managed to turn the match around in the last 15 minutes following the introduction of Fabregas and Raul. Raul got the equaliser and the vastly overrated Fernando Torres got the other two. His first came from a great pass from Fabregas and a poor decision from goalie Boumnijel. His second was a badly struck penalty which squirmed into the net somehow.
The final score flatters the Spaniards and no doubt Marca will continue to whip up the hysteria. Tunisia are hardly a superpower. Spain to win the World Cup? Dream on…
June 20th, 2006 at 8:55
sorry but, you and I both know the old Spain would have lost the game. Consider the record of teams who have won games after being down by a goal in a World Cup match. Consider also that Spain has an offensive strategy and Tunisia’a goal came nearly from a defensive error. Not defending Spain’s play, but just telling you you are in no position to consider what is hysteria and what isn’t. England beat Trinidad and Tobago by two goals, and Sweden tied them. Angola tied Mexico, and Italy drew against the US!! Those are hardly superpowers are they?
My objections to your comments could sum up more than a page so I will stop here. In any case enjoying the blog very much, just think you’re being very harsh. Torres’ first goal tonight deserves some credit and many other strikers in the tournament wouldn’t have scored it.
June 20th, 2006 at 8:56
Dear footballspectator,
why so much bitterness against Spain?
The game looked like it would end 1-0 until 15 mins from the end - agreed. Torres is vastly overrated - agreed. Marca is whipping up hysteria beyond belief - agreed. Tunisia are hardly a superpower - agreed.
But….
- Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Cesc, Iniesta… the midfield is second-to-none in the world cup: if they keep producing the goods, even Spain’s overrated attackers will score occasionally
- Casillas, Puyol, Pablo… great goalkeeper and very handy defenders will keep the lid at the back
- when have Spain come back from 1-0 down? They’re serial underachievers because they don’t do that kind of thing
- who else is playing well other than Argentina? Brazil, England, Germany have not played superpowers either and they’re still looking extremely vulnerable…
So, let the Spanish dream. It will probably end before the semis anyway as the teams who do well early on never win.
June 20th, 2006 at 9:01
great response Tunisia Fan. This bitterness needs to end. At first I liked that you were tough with the Spain team, but now it has gone too far. Either declare what your personal grudge is with Spain, or remove the world “analysis” from the title of the website.
June 20th, 2006 at 9:48
Hi Guys
Thanks for your comments. I agree with you that the only team that has really played well is Argentina. Brazil have been rubbish as have England and France. Italy were OK against Ghana but poor against the USA.
Now turning to Spain. I do not bear a grudge against Spain, but I do think they are overrated. Their group is the easiest so it’s difficult to judge how good they really are. In attack all the attention has focussed on Torres, but I think Villa looks a better player. The midfield is good yes but it did not apart from Cesc last night, it did not perform. TunisiaFan I will have to disagree with you about the defence. It looked shaky last night, especially in the first half when Trabelsi had so much space - imagine what a team like Argentina would have done with that. I think the team can make it to the quarterfinals, but I don’t think they are good enough to win. Having said that I think the same about England, Germany, Italy and Brazil at the moment and some of those will have to get through to the semis or the final, so who knows….
June 20th, 2006 at 10:05
Fair comment. I agree with the fact that we will have to see what happens. Argentina has played well, but we will have to see how they perform later on. Against Ivory Coast they were very efficient, but a tie game would have been highly understandable.
As for the Spanish team the next game can prove to be interesting, as it will most likely be the “B” team lined up, which will show what alternatives Spain can count on.
I agree with Torres being overrated, but he still has the age to spawn into a great attacker. The reason Torres has been so publicized is the fact that he brought Atletico Madrid back up to D1, as the major goal scorer of spanish second division at a very young age. He has great speed, control, vision, dribble, which seems like the ideal package especially since he is tall. His big problem is in front of the net; and always has been. This is precisely Villa’s quality, or another example of a prolific scorer without too much talent would be Inzaghi. Still he now sits as the top goal scorer of the world cup, and who knows… maybe he will develop as a great player. In any case I was thrilled with his second goal in the game, as it was quick reacting and finding the net; which I’m sure you’ll agree with me is what he usually lacks. (as can be seen in his other 1 on 1 opportunity he had
)
I would too prefer Villa in the 9 position without a doubt. It’s a shame Vicente has been injured throughout the last year, as luis garcia on one end and Vicente on the other with a Reyes alternative would have been great. Its not going to happen and our old-man coach will always put Torres at the point, which he has so far justified.
In any case I like the work you’ve done with the site, and like the points you bring up. Know that in Spain people see Marca as very exagerated, though I guess it has worked out for the paper itself.