Will this be Spain’s hour? (Yahoo)

Not long ago, exactly six years ago, the Argentinean coach César Luis Menotti, declared in front of this reporter at a table in a bar that the Spanish team had at last to decide “between to be bull or the bullfighter”, namely, to be the protagonist of the matches or to resign to be always called as “The fury”, a resource that appealed to a fight, but with not too much definite style in the game.

That Menotti’s sentence was published in a Madrid newspaper (“El Mundo”) and provoked a series of reactions and anger by the coach of the Spanish team in that time, Luis Aragones, then very criticized by his own press having seen no changes with regard to the past and resigned to observe that the Real Madrid or the Barcelona gathered the first close ups meanwhile the National team was sailing within the general indifference.

Aragonés could scarcely continue in his position after the World Championship 2006, when the Spanish team was once more defeated, having been eliminated by the French team in eight-finals, which they minimized thinking that it concerned a veteran group, already finished, among which they dared to put nothing less but Zinedine Zidane, author of two of the three goals of the Gaul.

However, the trust vote of the President of the Spanish Federation (Federación Española) Angel María Villar, assured Aragones thus he continued his job looking toward the Eurocup of Austria and Switzerland 2008, though with full powers such as those to quit from the team players more representative with whom he had some problems in the concentration: Raúl González, Fernando Morientes and Michel Salgado.

The excellent performance of the team at the Eurocup still suffering in what there always was the insuperable bar of the quarters vs Italy and by penalties, ended in bringing them a total security of a team that has already acquired that style that Menotti claimed of the ball possession, a game style just on the grass, place for the skilled and with creativity.

To stress this idea, Aragones supported pressures of the press as to Raul’s return and he decided for the base of Barcelona and Valencia, adding some of the outstanding of the English football, as Xabi Alonso, Cesc, Reina or Fernando Torres.

The fact of having won the Eurocup in whole justice, being it the first time that Spain won it outside the country and the second in their whole history, not only enforced the team but ended showing that it concerns, culturally, another class of players, not frightened of the rivals, sure in themselves and the idea they were aiming to.

This could be proved in the following eliminatory for the World Championship 2010, though Aragones, fed up of the questionings, preferred to go aside and was substituted by the veteran Vicente Del Bosque, of great success with the Real Madrid, managing the lockers room full of big stars without any inconvenience.

Wise and calm, Del Bosque made what few would have done. He saw that what was well done has not to be substantially modified and he preferred to maintain the structure and slightly opened the game with the extremes (Diego Capel, Vicente, Navas), understanding that the acquired style and with the trophy of 2008, most of the rivals will opt to close in the defense and the only way to open it was by the sides.

The result was wonderful. Spain not only obtained all the points in a perfect eliminatory that ratified the correct route. But even gave count of all the complicated rivals in the friendly matches, arriving as great candidate near Brazil to win the Confederation Cup 2009 in South Africa.

Everything seemed to run on the normal rails until that surprisingly, in semifinals, they were eliminated by the United Status, in a great hit for the World football. However, Spain did not change their game, not even slightly. Del Bosque says he learned his lesson and since a year the team deepened the game and even added varieties.

Spain comes to the World Championship in a great moment, thought with only one important doubt during the last months, many of their decisive players had important injuries. Perhaps the most serious was that of Torres, that did not allow him to render as in passed seasons and that maybe will oblige Del Bosque to decant by 4-1-4-1, rising Cesc between the first team players and with only one pointer, David Villa.

But neither Cesc feels 100%, meanwhile Andrés Iniesta comes after some months of very few activity due to some injuries and Jesús Navas is winning ground by his tremendous skill as extreme.

The great question is whether Spain has not passed already the summit of the team production, as it could have been the Eurocup 2008, or they will be able to ratify this great cycle from Aragones onward.

They did not get an easy group (Chile, Switzerland and Honduras) and in the eighths, they could meet with Brazil, Portugal or Ivory Coast. But the feeling is that Spain depends on itself and since a long time is not the bull to transform into a brave bullfighter.