"Its a bird! It's a plane! It's La Furia Roja"
As I watch the U20 World Cup match between Spain and Ghana, I ask myself 'when will the domination of Spain in football come to an end?' I realized it was a rhetorical question as I was watching a junior team of the best team on the planet play. It's quite scary to think of a continued Spanish dominance because this doesn't exist only on the international scene but on the club scene as well . With the performances of their clubs on the European scene Spain's dominance doesn't seem to be waning anytime soon. Let me not deviate as this is about Spanish national teams not the clubs.
This dominance wasn't always so as Spain were regarded as perennial underachievers. Always qualifying for international tournaments but failing to live up to the hype that followed. It was mainly as a result of the lack of stability on the bench and in the dressing room . A certain calmness was lacking and the presence of large egos made it uneasy for Spain to progress despite all its talents. Fast forward to 2004, Luis Aragones was signed on to steady the ship. He had a false start in his first year at the Euro's in Portugal. He was maintained and this proved to be a masterstroke. He qualified them to the world cup in Germany where they put up a good show only to be stopped by the great Zidane. He led them to victory in Austria and Switzerland. There he introduced the famed tiki-taka football which mesmerized the world and all opponents. He also put the mentality of teamwork over individual talent which helped curtail the egos. Aragones passed the baton to Vicente del Bosque. He did the best thing for the team by not fixing what wasn't broken. Rather , he found ways to compliment this Spanish team by drafting in younger players. This was made possible through the good work of La Masia, Real Madrid B and the teams all over Spain.
The emphasis placed on youth in the Iberian region has helped the national team as the philosophy of Luis Aragones was maintained. The culture of passing the ball all over the pitch and starving your opponent off possession and making him tired as he chases the ball. This has transferred the winning mentality from the national team to the youth teams. This is can be seen as the Spanish u21 side successfully defended their European Trophy in Israel using a typically similar tactic.
This success though doesn't all go to the coach as his playing personnel make his ideas seen on the pitch . The likes of Casillas, Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, David Villa etc .. have made this sort of play a joy to watch . The upcoming bunch of Isco, Delofeu, Bartra, Thiago,Jese Rodriguez and others are going to ensure that this style of play doesn't fade away anytime soon.
A little tip for the punters . Place your bets on Spain in any tournament as they are a good value for money in the Confederations Cup, U20 Youth Championship, World Cup and many other tournaments to come. La Furia Roja doenst seem like slowing down anytime soon and this doesnt bode well for the others. For us the neutrals, we just sit back and enjoy the Spanish dominance
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