Debate: Are Spain The Best Team In The World?

By Jigar Shah

European champions booked their place in the World Cup Finals with an impressive win over Estonia and maintained their 100 percent record. Eight wins from eight games in the world cup qualifying games, is a fantastic stat to label La Furia Roja as one of the favorites to win FIFA World Cup 2010 in Africa. Spain is the third team to maintain 100 percent record after England and Netherlands netting 21 times and conceding only twice.

From ‘The Great Underachievers’ to Football Winners

The European Champions have never won a world cup, in fact, they have only managed to reach the Quarter Finals and during 2006 FIFA World Cup, they were knocked out by France in the round of 16. Argentine World Cup winning coach Cesar Menotti once famously said that Spain would never win anything at the international level until they decided if they wanted to be "the bull or the bullfighter".

The Spanish shrugged aside their underachievers tag to win the EURO 2008 championship, winning a trophy after 44 years in their history. ‘Joga Bonito’ is the right phrase to describe Spanish team, which is full of quality, technique, entertainment and most important winning games aesthetically.

Is Vincent Del Bosque the right man?

Vincent Del Bosque should be happy man with the Spanish team performance, after losing out in Confederation Cup in the semis to America. He is the first manager in the football history to win his first 10 games as a debut manager and a record of 13 winning streaks, eventually ending with a defeat at the hands of America in the semis of Confederation Cup 2009. The former Real Madrid coach has a brilliant record as a manager of Spanish National Team.

The gaffer has done an incredible job with the team, because at times is difficult to pick the right team from the options available, but he has managed to put the best team. He has given an opportunity to young talented players like Bojan Krkic, Sergio Busquets, Diego Capel and Cecs Fabregas, which shows that he is not over reliant on the first team players. There are a lot of expectations from the team, and it will be interesting to see if the manager delivers the result.

The Squad

The Spanish squad is probably the best in the history of its National Team, and it is a team of highly talented superstars. The Connoisseurs will be happy to sit back and enjoy the repertoire of skills on display and would love to admire the pleasure of watching skillful man to torment and destroy opponents at their own pace. The team has a good mixture of young and experience players, a winning combination, and the most important thing is that the perennial underachievers are ready to deliver at a big stage.

SWOT Analysis

Spanish team recent success is due to their creative and brilliant midfield. Arguably, the best crop of midfielders in the world is playing in the Spanish national side. Players like Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso, Marcos Senna, David Silva, Andres Iniesta and Cecs Fabregas are all capable of destroying the opponents with ease. The flair and technique possessed by the skillful players is what making the Spanish team a dangerous side in the world.

Their weakness lies in their mentality and this is the only difference between Brazil samba Boys and Spanish side. The defeat against America in the semis by 2-0 would suffice as an apt example, where you expect Spanish side to nail their opponents instead they succumb to pressure, which was not the case with Brazil.

The biggest opportunity with Vincent Del Bosque is to capitalize on the pool of largely talented players available to him. He should get most from his gifted midfielders and the players like David Villa and Fernando Torres, one of the best striking pairs in the top form; it should not be a difficult task to win the trophies.

The Kings of Europe might be the most envious team in the world but there are teams that might prove to be a serious roadblock to La Furia Roja’s world cup winning dreams. The biggest threat will be Brazil followed by in form teams like England, Germany and Netherlands.

Conclusion

Vincent Del Bosque should not get uneasy with the favorite tag, and he should manage to get the best out of the current Spanish side. The only worry would be overcome complacency, and it should not repeat the mistakes made by Brazil in FIFA World Cup 2006. The squad has enough quality and depth, if mixed with strong winning mentality; they are surely favorites to win the FIFA World Cup 2010 in Africa.

Please share your thoughts and who according to you are favorites to win FIFA World Cup 2010!!!