Last Sunday was the Euro 2012 final, when Spain met Italy and beat them badly 4-0. Everyone expected a cut-throat, thrilling close fight but the Spanish team surprised everyone by dominating the match entirely. I suppose the Italians did not see this coming as their 1st match with Spain ended in a 1-1 draw. As a matter of fact, in that match Italy played well, and even better in the first half. The Spanish team definitely mounted a great comeback and gave them their worst defeat ever.
But what makes Spain the strongest team in the world? They dominated the last big 3 championships: Euro 2008 and 2012 and World Cup 2010. Spain always plays a strong and beautiful football. Since 1982 when the World Cup was held there, we saw how the Spanish team improved and got better through time.
Sometimes, luck would not be on their side but they would always be considered one of the strongest to many football lovers. The rivalry between Spain’s two biggest club teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona, was a big factor in challenging the players to always play at their level best. Although both teams failed to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, the national team got there easy. For the 30 years that Spain played, they have mastered the sport of football. Patience and hard work has brought them to the top.
Now, if we look at our own teams at home, it is safe to say that we are far behind to even come close to them. After our first World Cup in 1994 when we reached the second round, we became complacent and relied on luck, always hoping that the next one will be better.
Unfortunately, that next one could not seem to ever come. We have played in 3 more World Cups, and we kept playing worse each time, till we failed to make the World Cup 2014 in Brazil not having survived past the first round qualifier. I don't think our problem is luck, our problem is us, the mentality that leading our national football team is far away from football itself. We need real players who would play better football with their hearts. We need patience. Spain gave it 30 years, are we willing to make sacrifices that long?
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