Always the same old story,
Spain's youngsters clean up in all the international competitions, but the
grown-ups don't make it past the early stages. Will it be the same again, or
will "la selección" finally fulfil their eternal promise?
Certainly they have the
talent to go all the way, with Cesc Fábregas and Fernando Torres setting
alight the premiership this season, Casillas and Sergio Ramos leading Real
Madrid to yet another league title in Spain, and Puyol, Xavi and Iniesta key
figures in Barcelona's run to the semi-finals of the Champions League. Valencia
and Espanyol's poor form has cost the place of players such as Albelda,
Joaquín, Riera and Tamudo, and veteran coach Luis Aragonés has
stubbornly refused to bow to media pressure and readmit Raúl in to his
squad. But the on-form Villarreal have contributed three men to the side, Villa
and Silva are starting to peak, and La Liga's top scorer Güiza is an
exciting prospect.
Almost certainly they should
make it through the group stage, albeit that they have had some problems with
all of their opponents in recent years. But the crunch will come in the quarter
finals, when they are scheduled to meet a side from "the group of death",
comprising Italy, France, Holland and Romania.
That will be when their
character needs to show through, and with Aragonés already due to hand
over to Vicente Del Bosque after the tournament ends, he will give it his best
shot to go out in a blaze of glory. The six million Peseta question is, "will
his players oblige?". |