SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM
2007-2013
PLAYED .............. 94 WON.................... 80 LOST ................... 7 DREW ................. 7 WIN RATIO ........ 85% EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS: 2008 and 2012 WORLD CHAMPIONS: 2010 For ever and a day, Spain were renowned as football’s greatest under achievers. They have always had the players to dominate – but never really had the desire to use them properly.
Instead, they spent the better part of 50 years trying to kick their opponents off the park. Until 2008, they were missing something. Spain had one European Championship title in 1964 as their sole achievement. They could be relied upon to blow up at every major tournament – reach the last eight or last four, only to dramatically implode.
That all changed in 2006 when they found a new coach who introduced intricate short passes and fast movement into their mix. Suddenly Spain gave their flair a platform and they earned the right to call themselves, statistically at least, the most successful football team in the history of international football. Their winning record [85 per cent] eclipses that of the Hungarian side of the 1950s, the West German team of the 1970s and even the great Brazil team of 1958-1970 who won three World Cups [they won 67 per cent of games in this period].
They won Euro 2008, beating Germany 1-0 in the final, and then became the first European side to win the World Cup outside of Europe with a 1-0 extra time defeat of the Netherlands in South Africa in 2010. The juggernaut continued through to Euro 2012, when Spain hammered Italy 4-0 in the final, becoming the first international side to win three consecutive major titles and first to retain the European Championships. SCORES ON THE DOORS LONGEVITY 4/10 One sunny day does not a summer make. Spain’s legacy remains that of a side that mostly underachieved bar one, short, glorious period where they played magical football. INTENSITY OF COMPETITION 9/10 Football is the world’s game and there are probably 10-15 nations that come to the World Cup with genuine hopes of winning. Another 10 at least would be considered good enough to make the last four. Just qualifying for the European Championships and World Cup is a massive deal. PINNACLE TOURNAMENTS 8/10 They just about nailed it. The breakthrough win in 2008 paved the way for Spain to go to South Africa and believe in themselves. They held their nerve superbly in pressure situations and took their chances when they came. They became the first team to win back-to-back European Championships. WINNING RECORD 8/10 There are so many good sides in world football that a win ratio of 85 per cent is impressive. No other international football team can match Spain’s success in that period – and what made their mission so much harder was the advances in quality of so called minnow nations. SPORTING FOOTPRINT 9/10 Who didn’t love the way Spain played to win those titles? Their style became known as tiki-taka and was capable of breaking open every defence. The skill level was incredible and kids all over the world wanted to play football the same way.