Spain squad: Casillas (Real Madrid), Reina (Liverpool), Valdes (Barcelona); Alba (Barcelona), Albiol (Real Madrid), Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Monreal (Arsenal), Pique (Barcelona), Ramos (Real Madrid); Busquets (Barcelona), Cazorla (Arsenal), Fabregas (Barcelona), Iniesta (Barcelona), Martinez (Bayern Munich), Mata (Chelsea), Navas (Sevilla), Pedro (Barcelona), Silva (Manchester City), Xavi (Barcelona); Torres (Chelsea), Soldado (Valencia), Villa (Barcelona).
Spain opened their Confederations Cup campaign with an impressive 2-1victory over Uruguay in Recife.
The world and European champions raced into a two-goal lead in the Group B clash thanks to goals from Pedro and Roberto Soldado in a dominant first-half performance.
However, they were unable to extendtheir advantage after the interval andLiverpool striker Luis Suarez pulled a goal back for the South Americans with a curling free-kick in the 88th minute.
Spain and Italy will meet in the European Under-21 Championship final, a repeat of the title showdown at the Euro 2012 senior tournament, after beating Norway and Netherlands respectively on Saturday.
Holders Spain swept aside Norway 3-0 in Netanya while Italy needed a late goal from Liverpool striker Fabio Borini to defeat the Dutch 1-0in Petah Tikva.
The final will be in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Italy are looking for a sixth title since the biennial competition began in 1978 while Spain go in search of a fourth crown.
Spain's never ending flow of talent!!Originally Posted by baazigar89
Future looks bright .
"If the ball is a crying toddler, then Andres Iniesta's first touch is a lullaby..."
exactly.....most of them are made their senior club appearance and well known to us like de gea,alcantara,tello,morata,montoya,iker munian,isco,nacho fernandez,carvajal,muniesa,canales,bartra etc....
Absolutely. Amazing reservoir.
Baazigar, I think you are a Madrid fan,right?
Congratulations in advance for getting Isco to Madrid. What a player!! If he come to Madrid and when he get selected to La Roja , he is destined to become a brilliant creative Madrid player in the Spanish National team in a long long time . You know what I mean? Not the Arbeloa,Alonso, stuff. A creative player. A playmaker of real class.
Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets produced a stunning show against Uruguay in the absence of the Real Madrid man, whose place in the side could come into question ahead of the World Cup
COMMENT
By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer
Spain are already the best. In Recife on Sunday night, however, the best became better still in a sumptuous showing of fluid football.
It was an elite exhibition of midfield mastery which undid Uruguay and left everyone wondering if anyone will be able to live with the world and European champions at next year's summer showpiece in Brazil, let alone this Confederations Cup. And it all happened without Xabi Alonso.
Vicente del Bosque's much-maligned double pivot was abandoned in Alonso's absence, the Real Madrid midfielder recovering from surgery on a groin injury which will leave him sidelined for around two months. But instead of suffering without one of the world's finest footballers, Spain shone and it remains something of a mystery how they didn't have more to show for their dominance than just a 2-1 win courtesy of a Diego Lugano own goal and Roberto Soldado's smart finish.
There was more fluidity in the football, better link-up play and a natural balance in the team; Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets already form the game's most magnificent midfield at Barcelona and on Sunday they showed they do not need Alonso. Nor, it seems, do Spain.
The roles were clear: Xavi made the Spain side tick with a masterclass of passing and recycling of possession in midfield; Iniesta skipped past players with grace and ease, orchestrating many moves with his silky skills and close control; Busquets was perfectly positioned to break up attacks, begin new ones and feed his team-mates with intelligent and dynamic distribution in tight spaces. Together at Barca, the three have been doing this since Pep Guardiola promoted Sergio to the first team in 2008. The understanding of roles is total and ahead of those three, with Cesc Fabregas dropping deeper to combine and connect, Pedro's pace offering an altogether different threat and Roberto Soldado slotting seamlessly into the side with a fine finish and some clever link-up play of his own, Alonso was not missed at all on Sunday.
SUAREZ BEATS CAVANI IN REAL REHEARSAL
THE URUGUAYAN VIEW
Before kick-off, Uruguay’s clash was billed as a chance for both Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez to show off their talents to watchers from Real Madrid. Ultimately, though, it was the Liverpool star who left the best impression. An outstanding free kick in the dying minutes of the game served as consolation for the South Americans, and pushed Luis above his attacking partner who suffered an indifferent, frustrating match chasing shadows out wide.
In truth, there was little the Napoli star could do as the Celeste were passed off the pitch by Spain. The key defects in Oscar Tabarez’s team were to be found in midfield and defence, and though three changes improved matters after the break there is a lot of work to do before Uruguay can be competitive in Brazil.
Daniel Edwards | Uruguay Expert
The double pivot plan has long been questioned, of course, despite Spain's success. During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, it was Busquets who was singled out as la Roja lost their opening group game to Switzerland, but Del Bosque defended the midfielder by claiming he wished he had been a player like Sergio. And he has long defended the double pivot, too. "Our team has been based around Xabi Alonso and Busquets," he said just last week.
Indeed, Alonso alongside Busquets in a deeper role has worked well for Spain. With said system, Del Bosque's side have claimed the World Cup and the European Championship back to back, yet there has long been a feeling that the team could perhaps be better still and more dangerous in attack with an extra man further forward. And so it proved on Sunday as Spain played probably their finest football in the Del Bosque era to sweep aside Uruguay in a performance which should have brought many more than two goals instead of ending with a scoreline which does not begin to tell the story of the game.
The champions' peerless performance raises a relevant question: Do Spain need the double pivot? Del Bosque is an advocate of playing with both deep-lying midfielders because he believes it offers added stability in tight knockout games at the very highest level. And Spain's impressive defensive record in the last two tournament wins would appear to back up that thought process (Spain conceded only twice at the World Cup and the same number at the Euros). Against superior nations at the Confederations Cup such as Brazil and Italy, and again next summer, the system is likely to return. But will Xabi Alonso?
Sunday's showing suggests Spain can still look solid with only one midfielder playing deep. Alonso, although a tireless worker and a tough tackler, is not a defensive midfielder anyway and while his remarkable range of passing remains an asset to the team, the all-Barca trio of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets seems a more natural fit without the Madrid man. And if Del Bosque does decide on a more defensive double pivot, the brilliant Javi Martinez may be a better bet than Xabi anyway, due to his superior pace and extra mobility.
Alonso (32 in November; 107 caps and 15 goals for la Roja) has been a fixture in this successful side over the years and will almost certainly have a part to play in Brazil next summer, yet his style seems suited more to Madrid than Spain's short passing philosophy. In his absence on Sunday, Del Bosque's side pressed persistently and impressed from start to finish. Greater tests await, but if they can match that intensity and stay solid against even stronger sides, Xabi will not be needed in a starting slot next summer.
For this team to evolve once again and become the first European side to claim a World Cup in the Americas, something special will be required from la Roja in 2014. A year earlier, and inadvertently due to Alonso's absence, they may just have found it. Great news for Spain, then, but a shabby scenario for the man they left behind.
Isco oru barca fan aanu master ji..but paranjatendu karyam nammude board nu avshaym ullapo cash irakila... 30M for him as i said earlier is a bargain..we will regret not buying him later same as we are now feel about Thiago Silva in '11 n Javi Martinez..eppo avarude World class perfomance kandu velllam irakki irupalle !!
n i reallly hope Isco end up in Man City !!!!!!!!!!
Fully agree with you. Isco will be a great great loss. As you said, if we don't buy him,I wish he joins Pellegrini at City. But it looks like Malaga has a pre-agreement with Madrid. Otherwise he would have gone with Pellegrini.
Thiago Silva.....what a miss ! Now his wages are very high.
Similarly,Javi Martinez was superb for Bayern last year.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote