Tom English: Spain must forget about former glory to win Euro 2012

By Tom English
Published on 10/06/2012 00:00

Vicente Del Bosque’s men must forget about former international glory, the loss of key players and club rivalries if they want to lift the Henri Delaunay cup again, writes Tom English

THERE is something curious about Spain’s place in the grand scheme of things at these championships. As European and world champions they are deemed favourites by the bookmakers to complete what would be a historic hat-trick of major titles and yet much of the analysis ahead of their opener against Italy today has focused on why they won’t win the tournament as opposed to why they will. It’s bizarre, but a team containing the proven genius of Xavi and Iniesta and a support cast that is the envy of all nations are somehow flying under the radar.

The deconstruction theory of Spain as champions is, to be fair, a multi-layered argument, the doubters’ piece de resistance being the absence of the remarkable David Villa. Look at what Villa has done in Spain’s rise to glory over the last four years. Four goals in Euro 2008 including a 92nd-minute winner against Sweden in the pool stage. Five goals at the World Cup in South Africa including the decisive strikes in tight knockout games against Portugal and Paraguay. How can they prosper without their go-to man? Villa is Spain’s all-time leading goalscorer – 51 goals in 82 games. Those who believe Spain cannot win without him ask us to look at Barcelona and how they have toiled in his absence this season, at home and in Europe, particularly against Chelsea.

On its own it’s a reasonable case, but there is more. So much more. Carles Puyol is also injured. Vicente Del Bosque can plug that gap by moving Sergio Ramos inside with Gerrard Pique and on paper it looks hunky dory. Ramos has had an exceptional season for Real Madrid. He’s played centre-half before and has done so brilliantly. But this is Puyol we’re talking about. He’s not just a player, he’s a leader, a galvanising presence when things are tough. Puyol not only scored the winner in the World Cup semi-final against Germany, he also commanded Spain’s back four in their do-or-die games with Portugal, Paraguay, Germany and in the final against Holland, a run of matches in which the Spanish conceded a total of zero goals.

So, no get-out-of-jail goals from Villa and no inspirational direction from Puyol. What else? Well, there’s the feeling that their ambitions have been fed and that their time has been and gone. At their training base in Gniewino in northern Poland they have hung banners from the walls with messages of motivation that a psychologist might interpret as a sign of their inner concerns. “History doesn’t make you champion, humility does”, said one. “History doesn’t stop the rival, concentration does”, said another. Hammering home the point, a third one carries the thought, “History doesn’t score goals, talent does”.

And, in case the Spanish players are slow on the uptake there is a fourth slogan hanging from every lamppost in their complex: “United by a dream’”

But are they united? Banners are all very well but it was fascinating to hear Barca’s Xavi talk so freely the other day about Real Madrid’s championship victory in Spain, every word of which must have come as a kick in the groin to Del Bosque who is attempting to ease the tension between players from opposite sides of the great divide. “Barça continue to be the reference point for football the world over,” Xavi told a French television station. “Barça has also been an example, Madrid not so much. They’ve only recognised that we were better when we won. We’ve always been respectful, but they haven’t been so gracious. It’s a personal feeling.”

It’s personal, right enough. And usually whenever this issue raises its head in the Spanish camp Del Bosque turns to Puyol to sort it out. He’s not there now. Of course, this could be an overblown story and the concerns about Spain’s recent performances in friendlies might be washed away if they do a number on Italy who, let’s face it, are going into this afternoon’s game under a heavy cloud and with a squad of players that will carry no fears for the Spanish.

We shall soon find out what Spain have in their heart and in their legs. This is another area of concern. The Barcelona contingent in their starting line-up – Pique, Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta – didn’t finish their domestic season until 25 May, the date of their Copa del Rey victory over Athletic Bilbao. Del Bosque singled out these four for praise after Spain’s 1-0 victory over China last weekend, their relative freshness a bright spot in what was an otherwise grim display. Del Bosque described it as “sluggish”.

Of course, what is sluggish to Spain can be almost dynamic to others, but there is no doubt their form is not what it should be. On top of the China display, they also lost warm-up games to Portugal and Argentina by an aggregate of 8-1 and there remains the problem of who will spearhead the centre of the attack in Villa’s absence.

Del Bosque is not exactly having to scrape the bottom of the barrel here, but he does need to come up with somebody who is going to get a goal when it is most needed, as Villa is so adept at doing. He’s been tinkering with Alvaro Negredo of Sevilla and Fernando Llorente of Bilbao. Pedro of Barcelona is on hand, too, but is only recently recovered from injury. There’s been talk also that he might play Cesc Fabregas through the middle, but the favourite at this point appears to be Fernando Torres, who’s spent the last few months telling the world that he’s back to his best despite only fleeting evidence of it at Stamford Bridge.

Considering Del Bosque has admitted that it pains him every time he has to leave Torres out of the side he might well go with the Chelsea striker against Italy. In training, that seems to be the way they’re setting up: Torres in the middle with David Silva on one side of him and Iniesta on the other, Xavi tucked in behind with Xabi Alonso and Busquets as the ballast protecting the back four of Alvaro Arbeloa, Pique, Ramos and Jordi Alba of Valencia with another Madrid man, the wonderful Iker Casillas, in goal.

On paper, that lot hardly looks vulnerable, does it? It is what is in their heads that counts, though. If Spain have bought into the messages dotted around their training camp then they’ll find their own answers to the questions being posed about them.