SPAIN WINS!!!

Congratulations to SPAIN!!!  As yo may know from looking at the sidebar on this same blog, one of the sports that I follow is soccer. I love MLS soccer which is our own domestic league, but I also like international soccer. I have been following the European Championship all month long and yesterday (Sunday June 29th) was the big final Championship Game. It was Spain vs Germany--two giants of the game. Everyone that follows soccer knows the pedigree of these two national team programs-- Germany has won the World Cup 3 times--the only teams that have done better are Italy with 4 World Cups and Brazil with 5.  Of course this is not the World Cup--this is the European Championship--but the World Cup only happens once every 4 years. On off years there can be no greater honor than a team winning its own confederation championship. In my estimation the Eurocup and the Copa America are the 2 biggest prizes in the national team soccer world in years when the World Cup is not in session.  The Olympics would run a close second. The Olympic soccer tournament doesn't win outright because a team can't use all its best available players for the Olympics--there is an age restriction in place. 

As for Spain--fans of club soccer know that Spain hosts one of the best soccer leagues in the world. Real Madrid and Barcelona constantly reach the advanced stages of the Champions League and the player signings that these Spanish clubs tend to make usually grab world headlines--such as when Ronaldinho signed with Barca or Beckham at one time signed with Real Madrid. The big problem with Spain had always been that even though they had one of the best domestic soccer leagues in the world, they had never been able to parlay their success at the club level into success at the national team level. (think of the NBA and Team USA in basketball in order to understand the difference) Somehow the stars that shined so brightly in the Spanish League (and played abroad in England, and Italy as well)  for their individual clubs, when they got together to form a spanish dream team were never able to get their act together and bring home a major trophy. The Spanish Team's reputation in the soccer world was unfortunately for being big chokers in the tournaments that truly mattered.

There were many favorites going into the start of this tournament---France, Italy, Germany, some were also saying this could be the year when Spain got its act together---but the majority of analysts and fans never truly believed this. I myself was among the doubters. I told a good friend of mine--I'll believe it when I see it. This depsite the fact that SPain had a very long unbeaten streak at the national team level going into this tournament---but those are all just firendlies and EuroCup qualifiers--that's not really serious competition right? Yet slowly but surely the 83 year old coach Sergio Aragones got his very young team to come and gel together and slowly start to silence their doubters.  I couldn't believe it when my personal favorite Holland was eliminated in the quarterfinals yet Spain advanced. In the final playing a super conservative scheme with only 1 striker upfront the Spanish were nevertheless able to put on constant pressure on the German team, which found itself defending more and more as the game wore on. Torres' lone goal of the match was enough to put Spain over the top in a match that was dramatic all the way to the end. What a smart goal it was too!! From a very difficult angle being approached from behind by a defender and being approached from the front by the German goalie---Fernando Torres somehow managed to chip the ball softly over the German Goalkeeper as he dove for the ball in very tight space. It was a goal that will live forever in Spanish and Euro soccer history. Other notable performances for the Spanish team throughout the tournament were David Villa (who missed the final due to injury), Cesc Fabregas, Xavi, Carlos Puyol, Marcos Senna, Sergio Ramos, and Iker Casillas. The refereeing in this final was absolutely horrid--with the ref coming very close to losing control of the match. The ref was allowing the skilled players to get hacked to bits out there.  It only speaks to the great determination of this team that they were able to overcome the refereeing as well as the German team and hold on for the win.

So to the boys from Spain--well done!! As an American of Latino descent I feel proud of what "the mother country" has done. Spain-- enjoy your first major tournament victory in 40 odd years. But don't rest on your laurels--you have an appointment to make at South Africa in 2010!!