Thoughts on the Spanish national team?

The Italians were world champions, the Germans too, and the French as well. Even those heavy-hitting Englishmen... Out of Europe’s big five, Spain is the one missing. They’ve always had incredible players; Real Madrid and FC Barcelona used to just dominate the European cups, and when they relied mostly on domestic talent, they had other strong teams, maybe even the best league in the world... But at the World Cup, nothing. Not even a final, if I recall correctly. I don't know if they ever even made a semifinal. People usually claim they get torn apart by ethnic diversity—conflicts between Basques, Catalans, and "regular" Spaniards. Do you think that's actually their biggest issue, or is it even a real problem? Maybe there's something else going on.

P.S. This is a decent topic for pickle season. I'm expecting a constructive debate at a high intellectual level between very competent commenters. 😎 😁

Ethnic diversity? Please, we're talking about elite professionals here...
How else would you expect the Frenchmen to play 😁
( though, if we're being honest, that's pretty much how they've been playing lately 😁 )

The answer is pretty simple: they aren't nearly as good as everyone claims. They just don't produce elite players. Italians are always churning out someone like Baggi, but the Spaniards just don't do that.

Torcida, if anyone got robbed during the 1982 World Cup, it was... well, just ask Gudelj; he basically called for a "penalty." And he did it right against those poor souls who were actually the ones getting cheated.

Then you look at Euro 2000, the match between Spain and Mexico—the Mexicans were robbed harder than anyone else in that entire tournament. Stop acting like it's only the Spaniards doing the stealing.

It all comes down to mentality. You honestly think Italians just accidentally stumbled upon catenaccio? Like they actually *enjoy* playing like that? Look at the type of players they produce. Give me a break. With that flighty, unstable Mediterranean temperament, they would never have won a single championship without catenaccio. Why do you think the Greeks won? Did you feel that grit in their players' heads? Of course you didn't.

The Spaniards just need to figure out how to stop beating themselves, and then the results will finally follow.

Serse Cosmi said:just like their handball players, you guys aren't going to beat us for the next 30 years 😬

Watch your mouth, 😁 you might end up biting your tongue in less than a month. 😁

If you ask me, Mexico was basically just Butragueño and his crew running the show, but man, you can't deny how tough that league is because they pack it with so many foreign players; even those few decent Spaniards have to grind through the whole damn year just to stay relevant, so if you need some motivation, just look at how that Frenchman played or how those absolute beasts from Greece managed to snatch the championship

Butragueño was their last truly world-class player, a genuine magician on the pitch.

Guys like Raúl and his crowd? They’re just flash-in-the-pan players. They lack that actual championship DNA.

young.but.dead said:As someone who follows demographics, I should point out that besides the Basques and Catalans, you've also got the Galicians up in the northwest. 😎

I’d throw Andalusia in the mix down south too.

Has anyone else noticed how Spanish players seem to have this weird habit of just cratering mid-career?
For instance: Guardiola moved to Italy and just completely tanked. Mendieta? He wasn't even a shadow of the player he used to be at Valencia. And then there's that Milan duo—Javi Moreno and Jose Mari—where did they even vanish to?

But hey, look; even if you take the guys who *didn't* crash and burn, you could still build a powerhouse squad. It just feels like the constant pressure of failing in the leagues is starting to haunt them and hold them back... though you never know.

Torcida ZG said:Total garbage of the week! :klap:

Explain yourself.

By the way, do you even know who Butragueño is? Have you actually watched him play? And what's the deal with that phrase "quinta del buitre"?

Let's dive into it—I'm down.

frozentiger6 said:Guys like Raúl and his crowd are just flash-in-the-pan players, honestly. They totally lack that championship mindset.

Don't you dare say Raúl doesn't have a winning mentality because it's actually the exact opposite, he’s got incredible skill, sure, but what really sets him apart from everyone else is that drive to win, which is something he definitely possesses in spades.

frozentiger6 said:Explain yourself.

By the way, do you know who Butragueño is? Have you actually watched him play? And what does the phrase "quinta del buitre" even mean to you?

Let's discuss this. I am interested.

To be clear, I am not insulting Butragueño. I am not even saying he isn't better than Raúl, but calling Raúl an instant player without a winning mentality is complete nonsense.
Raúl is the top scorer in Champions League history. He won everything there is to win with Real Madrid. He is the all-time leading scorer for the Spanish national team—where does Butragueño rank? Raúl is a name forever etched into the history of Spanish and global football. He is unquestionably the greatest Spanish player of the last 30 years. He was the lifelong captain of Real Madrid by age 27. What else is there to say? Just compare their trophy counts and total goals, and the answer becomes obvious. This is my stance on the matter; I am not looking for an argument, just stating facts. Anyone with sense should agree.

Look, Predrag Mijatović is on a whole different level than Raúl. I won't even get started on Butragueño.

Don't come at me with trophy talk; even Ivan Campo walked away with titles during his time with Madrid.

restlesssurfer97 said:Don't go saying Raúl lacks a winning mentality. It’s actually the exact opposite. Sure, he's got the talent, but what really sets him apart is that killer instinct—that drive to win. He definitely has it.

Look, we're talking about the Spanish national team here, 😉 but I'm specifically talking about Raúl's performance within that squad.

frozentiger6 said:Predrag Mijatović is clearly on another level compared to Raúl. I won't even mention Butragueño right now.

Stop talking about trophies. Even Ivan Campo won titles with Madrid.

😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲 😲
Are you actually being slow here?

Keep the stupid comments to yourself.😉

In short, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.

frozentiger6 said:Look, man, this whole thread is about the Spanish national team, 😉 but I’m specifically talking about Raúl playing for them.

Raúl was absolutely incredible during that World Cup run, like he was basically carrying the entire squad on his back until they ran into Korea...
The national team just feels off lately, they seem kind of sluggish and uninspired, and honestly, I haven't got a clue why, but yeah, they're struggling, though I still think they'll stumble into a decent result eventually, if nothing else, just based on the law of large numbers.😁

They’ve always struggled with coaching, but now they actually have some solid talent on the roster—so I’m predicting a bright future ahead! Even if the manager remains the weakest link in the chain once again.

Torcida ZG said:I honestly think saying he's the last great Spanish player is just stupid. Spain has like ten of them right now. The last one was Reyes.

Pardon me French, but this is bullshit. 🙂

I don't think he’s even an outlier here. Honestly, nobody is standing out from the pack except Morientes. And that guy is basically the eternal "what if" player—always labeled as "unproven material" despite winning everything there is to win with his clubs and scoring a million goals along the way. Now they go and sell him to Liverpool FC instead of bringing back little Mića, who isn't even playing much lately anyway.

Everyone’s entitled to their own take, but here’s mine: the Spanish should have been doubling down on the Raul-Morientes duo for years now instead of constantly benching one of them every other game.

nimblemarlin17 said:Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if you ask me, the Spanish national team should have been consistently playing the Raul-Morientes duo up front for years instead of benching one of them every other game.

The same goes for Real Madrid.