Of La Roja’s victory over Italy in the final of Euro 2012, much has been written already and having not kept silent myself during the tournament (blogs, twitters, articles, interviews) I would like to simply conclude my coverage with a few points of my own.
La Roja is much more than a football achievement. It is a political, social and cultural phenomenon which Spaniards should recognise and take pride in.
A country that has suffered the humiliation of being reduced to being one of the beggars of the Euro crisis, and surrendering its sovereignty to the markets and Berlin, has produced something which in its excellence leaves all other countries in shadow.
Let us set aside once and for ever the flippant, ill-informed comments of those who criticised the Spanish team as ‘boring’, suggested players like Xavi and Iniesta were past their well-by date, and predicted that Germany, or Portugal, or Italy would bring to an end this transitory era of Spanish conquest.
La Roja on Sunday simply showed what it can do best, and that is better than anybody else in the globe, past or present, endure and prevail with a collective effort of sublime quality, beating Italy that in turn had crushed Germany. Let us not forget that the Brazil of Pele ran out of steam after four years, and even Guardiola’s Barca buckled before Mourinho’s Real Madrid and a Chelsea with Mourinho’s imprint written all over it.
If La Roja boosted TV viewers around the world, and generated more following among Spaniards than any previous national team, it is because this is part of an ongoing story of evolution that began in the 1970’s with the alchemy produced between Dutch and Spanish players following the arrival of Johan Cruyff, at a time when the years of Franco and La Furia were drawing to an end.
Spanish football was transformed into an art form just as Spain buried its dictator. But La Roja has today taken players to another level where they have become a model of what Spain can still become. A wise-man from Salamanca- conciliatory, but clear-headed-has forged Spaniards from all regions and from two of the biggest rival clubs in the world, into a cohesive yet ever-creative unit, an example to the world, where each player plays not for himself but for the other, one for all, all for one. The future is written in la Roja.
On Sunday night, as the players celebrated their victory, we got a glimpse of players and fans at peace with themselves-tolerant in their celebration, united in self-belief that went beyond partisan interest. I am thinking here of two Barca players placing a Catalan flag by the trophy, of a Real Madrid player from Andalucía showing off his bullfighting passes, and a tall blond Spanish export who plays for Chelsea and has been saved from the narcissism of Beckham and Ronaldo, showing off his two small children in red, like any proud dad, like one more Spanish fan. From here on, Spaniards should expect better things from its politicians or else suggest that Vicente Del Bosque become prime-minister.
Sundays game was one of the most exhilarating and emphatic finals ever witnessed, an extraordinary exhibition which in terms of tactics and football philosophy was a milestone.
When the wise man from Salamanca said he would play 4 defenders and 6 midfielders, and no recognizable Nº 9 (having 3 of them on the bench), he was ridiculed, only to be vindicated by 3 ex Valencian players scoring goals (the other one by an ex Atlético Madrid). The Man from La Mancha was voted the best player in the tournament and the Madrileño the Golden Boot (yes, Jimmy, interesting that Barça hasn’t featured in the honours roll call!),
Would made the game so watchable was due to a level playing field – both sides wanted control and went forward once they had it. The first half was played at an electric pace with both teams playing control attacking football and Italy, who were loosing 0-2 at half time, actually had 53% possession. Yes, Spain only had 47% possession during the first 45 minutes thus ensuring that the boring 65%+ domination was well and truly buried in this Final, exactly what made the Portugal semi such an incredible boring game, where Spain hit 64%. Once Italy was reduced to 10 men and the tiredness took its toll after playing their semi final game 24 hours after Spain’s, the result, in the second half, was never in question.
I have just returned from watching La Roja parade the cup through Madrid, my young children were in awe to see Casillas and Cesc smile at them from the open top bus. But I was left with an empty feeling that this “alegria” would be short lived and was simply a distraction from the very serious problems being faced here.
The “indignado” movement, which began in Spain, has more chance of transforming the present structure than La Roja’s fine achievement.
Unfortunately football in Spain, like in many other countries, is beset with greed, over inflated wages, corruption, betting mafias, insolvent clubs, etc. So although La Roja can now have a fare claim as the best ever national team, and has given us a fine example of regional harmony, it will take a lot to clean up football here.
Both Barça & Real Madrid are just a reflection of what Spain is going through / gone through: both insolvent entities, on decades spending sprees to buy the best players and ensure trophies & European success, propped up by banks and building societies, run by all powerful Presidents, patronized by dubious countries (Qatar) / companies (Bwin), voting scams, expenses freebies, etc., etc, If these 2 clubs are actually cleaned up then a real change may be heralded. Read Spain for “these 2 clubs”…………….
Meanwhile La Rojas players go on a well deserved holiday before the next season starts, and the same old story unfolds………