Spain…The New Brazil.

Written on October 16, 2008 by alitor

Is guc ekonomi secim stresi derken arada Goal diye okudugum bir blog’dan:

This current Spanish team is a lethal mixture of Latin swagger and old-fashioned European toughness, and looks utterly unbeatable. In world soccer, Spain is the new Brazil. Spain does now what Brazil did for decades – it enthralls. Just as those who weren’t soccer fanatics admired Brazil’s joyous use of ball skills, the casual observer today is intrigued and entertained by Spain’s incisive, speedy, short-passing game, and daring creativity. Spain does what both purists and the half-interested expect from soccer – it sends lightning attacks forward from midfield, playing with a balletic cohesion and confidence that’s awe-inspiring.

Spain’s status must be a matter of particular chagrin to its neighbor Portugal. It was Portugal that stunned the soccer world at Euro 2000, all panache and keenness, resolutely determined to score often and in style. The “Golden Generation” of Portuguese players, built around the immense midfield talent of Luis Figo, never made it to the very top, to be Europe’s Brazil. The team never mustered the muscle to accompany the skill and flair. At Euro 2004, World Cup 2006 and Euro 2008, Cristiano Ronaldo defined the them – gifted, capable of moving like a gazelle, but always ready to throw himself on the ground and claim a foul at the slightest touch.

Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, tied Albania, 0-0-, on Wednesday. (Miguel Riopa/AFP/Getty Images)

Spain has the muscle. Always skillful and full of intricate movement, it is simultaneously obdurate and resilient. The defining moment of Spain’s ascendancy was Torres’s winning goal against Germany in the Euro 2008 final. He looks a delicate figure, Torres, and clearly takes delight in his own silky ball skills. But when he raced after that ball, he literally out muscled a defender and a goalkeeper to direct the ball into the net. There was sweat as well as swagger in that goal.

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