Can Spain Finally Lose the Underachiever Label in South Africa?

April 1st, 2010 | by: Jeremy | View Comments

By winning Euro 2008, Spain did a lot to eliminate the label of underachiever when it came to international competition. However, the World Cup is a different animal and Spain heads to South Africa still needing to show the world this years club is better then those clubs of World Cups past, most of which were considered disappointments.

With the World Cup being dominated since its inception in 1930 by Brazil, Italy, Germany, and Argentina(and for those of you older then me I will include Uruguay), is it fair to call any other team who has not won the World Cup atleast once an overall disappointment?

Are the Dutch and the Spanish the best known failures when it comes to World Cup Competition simply because they have never won it? Would an England fan say they are underachievers because they have only won it one time despite having arguably one of the best domestic leagues year in and year out as well as their own hearbreaking eliminations from year to year?

Unfortunately, when it comes to Spain, despite their win in Euro 2008, until they take home a World Cup, they will be considered the biggest disappointment in the history of the World Cup.
The question is can they finally take it home in 2010 and shed that label while also solidifying their position as one of the top three overall sides in the world today?

To understand Spain and the frustration of its fans, you have to look at recent World Cup history and not only will you see how they have not really come close to winning a World Cup, but like many talented teams, some of its best chances were destroyed by a variety of factors which make the teams like Brazil and Italy all that more impressive with their number of World Cup trophies.

As you look forward to watching Spain in South Africa this summer, lets look at past World Cup disappointments not only to put in perspective what happened, but to understand that for the most part Spain has underperformed and has rarely been done in by a team that was considered better coming in to the match.

Lets start in 1982, the year Spain hosted the World Cup.

Any time you host the World Cup, you have an advantage if you are truly a contender and expectations are raised, justifiably or not. While South Africa is not considered a threat this year as hosts, Spain at home in 1982 was considered one of the favorites on some levels. They had just expanded the Cup from 16 to 24 teams. Spain was placed in a group with Honduras who drew with them, Yugoslavia, who they beat, and finally Northern Ireland, who beat them to win the group.

While 1982’s World Cup had the lower level teams pulling off multiple surprises, Spain clearly showed that they were not that good and the home crowd was not going to help them. Coach Santamaria could not motivate his players in the way he was expected to do. While Spains initial group performance was not good, they moved through to the next round where instead of todays modern knockout style, they played in a three team group that included West Germany, who they lost to, and England, who they managed to draw. Spain and England mirrored each other in many ways that year in that neither had big stars to speak of, but were still expected to do better. The best team of the three, West Germany, moved on from that group and eventually lost to Italy in the final. So was 1982 a disappointment for Spain? Sure. Did they underachieve? While Brazil would be labled the biggest diappointment in 1982’s World Cup, ultimately the answer for Spain was yes because by not winning their first group, they ended up in a tougher second round group and the writing was on the wall from there even if they were expected not to make it out of the second round once the groups were announced. The games against the those teams were close, but close will get you fired and Santamaria was sacked and the run of disappointing results began to take hold.

For those of you who were not able to see some of those great teams of 1982, I encourage you to get some DVDs and watch some of the best teams around especially the Brazil-Italy game that I still remember as one of my favorite games ever and it is what solidified my interest in the sport both as a player and a fan.

1986

Spain headed to Mexico as one of the top teams and was expected to do very well. With Butragueno, Michel, Salinas, and Zubizaretta in goal, Spain had a nice mix of youth and experience with some real standout talent. In their group, they were paired with Brazil, who they lost to 1-0 in their opening match in a close game where they played well, Northern Ireland, who they beat this time, and finally Algeria, who was a pushover. Spain finished second in the group to Brazil and moved to the next round. A solid start.

Unlike 1982, they now had a knockout round and Spain was paired with Denmark in the round of 16. Any Spain fan remembers that match as this is where The Vulture put four past Denmark and sent them home. What makes this World Cup disappointing was the next round when they lost to Belguim on PKs in the quarterfinals. Yeah Belguim had Pfaff in goal and Enzo Scifo, but you cannot lose that game even if PKs are what it takes to send you home. Spain should have been able to test itself against Argentina in the next round and instead looked past Belguim thus making this World Cup even more disappointing then 1982.

1990

In 1990 I got to see first hand the excitement in Spain as the team geared up for Italia 90. I was spending the summer living in Mallorca and traveled throughout Spain and saw the excitement from Palma, La Coruna, Madrid, and even some of the smaller towns like Santiago. I can only imagine how the country must have been when they were hosting just 8 years before as the people really get excited for the World Cup.

Spains leaders again were Michel, Butragueno, Salinas, and Zubizaretta. While Butragueno was showing his age, Michel was fantastic. In their group, Spain was paired with Belgium, who they beat, South Korea, who they beat, and finally Uruguay, who was a tough defensive minded team in 1990, where they earned a draw.

As winners of their group again, Spain headed into the knockout stage against Yugoslavia where in an exciting game, they lost 2-1 in extra time. Stojkovic was amazing for Yugoslavia and the team included a young Davor Suker who would lead Croatia to a great result in 1998, but as in 1986, Spain lost a game they should have won and went home clearly a disappointment as the talent on this team was much better then the round of 16 result they earned. The underachiever label was now for real not only because of the results, but because of the level of teams that were eliminating them from the competition.

1994

Was life any better then in 1994 if you were an american soccer fan? The World Cup had finally made it to our shores, albeit eight years too late to save our once proud NASL. For Spain, at this time, the underachiever label was real and they again brought a strong team to the USA to try and show that they were one of the better teams in the world.

Spain was lead by one of my all time favorites in Luis Enrique but were very much in transition. Gone were the greats like Butragueno, Michel et al and in came players like Nadal, Sergi and Hierro(who was on the 1990 team in a limited role). Even a young Pep Guardiola was in the squad and saw some time. Expectations were minimal compared to previous World Cups, but there was some real talent in this team and with veteran goalkeeper Zubizaretta still around, Spain was again a team to watch.

Matched up in a group with an aging but defending champ Germany, who they drew with in Chicago, Korea, who they also managed a 2-2 draw with after pissing away a 2-0 lead in the final minutes, and lastly, Bolivia, who they beat thanks to a PK by Guardiola and two from the underrated Caminero. They finished second in the group and got paired up with Switzerland in the round of 16.

This World Cup seemed like one where Spain exceeded expectations but after destroying Switzerland 3-0 in the round of 16, fans had to be disappointed with the 2-1 loss to Italy in the quarterfinals when a goal by Roberto Baggio in the last few minutes sent Italy on to the semis.

When Spain loses in a knockout stage to a real world power, it cannot be considered an underachieving tournament unless you get blown out. The Italy game was tough and Spain could head home feeling good as a team that was not expected to do well, made a nice run. With Luis Enrique leading the way, they had to feel like 1998 would be their year as it would be a short hop to France for the next World Cup where they could eliminate any thoughts that people might have that they were underachievers.

1998

1998 saw some changes as we now had 32 teams qualify for France 98. Unlike 1994, Spain was very much a favorite and despite the underachiever label still hanging over their head in many circles, they were still seen as a favorite.

In what many saw as the “Group of Death” for 1998, Spain was matched with Nigeria, who beat them 3-2 in the opening match. A young Raul scored for Spain and despite the loss, the team was still seen as a strong contender with potent scoring ability and a veteran, if not over the hill, Zubizaretta in goal.

The next game is what probably solidified Spains long term label as underachievers in World Cup competition. They drew with an average Paraguay team who was inspired by Chilavert. A 0-0 draw? With all that offensive firepower? That for the most part ended Spains World Cup that year. The final group game, a 6-1 blowout of 1994 semi finalist Bulgaria, meant little and only showed Spain to be a team that in the minds of many could not even beat the “mid majors” of world football. Forget about winning games that mattered against the big teams.

Spain had hit a low point internationally and with the underachiever label clearly in place, the federation had to wonder what needed to be done to get results that were not only not embarrassing, but which would bring a World Cup to Spain.

2002

Despite what happened in 1998, only a fool would not have seen Spain as one of the top teams in the tournament in 2002. Look at the talent on this team. A young Casillas in goal. Hiero still managing the back in his fourth World Cup. Puyol, Juanfran, and Nadal. Raul, Diego Tristan during his brief period of dominating form, and my man Luis Enrique. Xavi, Morientes, Helguera, and Joaquin on the bench. Need I say more?

In their group they easily beat Slovenia 3-1. Up next was old foe Paraguay who they also dominated 3-1, and finally they beat South Africa 3-2. The whole team contributed. It was not just one guy. Raul, Morientes, Hierro..you name it and they all did well. They were the best team leaving the group stages.

Knockout stage time and they beat Ireland in penalties after a last minute goal by Ireland forced PKs. Spain dominated. Just watch the highlites. What a team to watch.

Then came the quarterfinals against host South Korea. I remember this game simply because it felt like the fix was in from minute one. Just watch the highlites of this one……

Spain was out on PKs. This was Spains best World Cup team ever in my opinion and they could have easily won the tournament. If any good news could be taken from this World Cup it was that Spain seemed to have a real pipeline of talent that would make it a threat to win internationally like never before.

2006

Seems like yesterday huh? As you get older the time just goes by faster and faster. 2006 looked to be a repeat of 2002 as Spain went in as a favorite and were put in a fairly easy group. They first beat Ukraine 4-0, then Tunisia 3-1, and lastly Saudi Arabia 1-0.

Again some bad luck hit Spain as no matter how well you play, if another good team plays poorly, you see them sooner then expected and that was the case in 2006 as Spain was matched up with an old, slow, but experienced France team who decided they wanted to make one more run for glory after barely surviving the group stages when they played like the old men they were.

The talent again for Spain was obvious. Raul, Casillas, Puyol, and newcomers Torres, Sergio Ramos, David Villa, and Cesc Fabregas et al. How do you lose? When the same players for France play in 2006 like they did in 1998 its not your year. Watch the highlites…..

So there you have it. From 1982-2006, Spain has underachieved no matter how you look at it. When they lost with less talent, they lost to not so talented teams like Belgium or Yugoslavia. When the talent increased and they saw bigger games with the likes of Italy or France, they came up short. They even failed to get out of the group stage in 1998 when they had enough talent to win the whole tournament. Ultimately 2002 will be looked at as the biggest disappointment because they had their highest level of talent ever and were knocked out by a smaller team who had no business being on the field with them. The referees had quite a bit of work to do to get it to PKs.

With a win in Euro 2008, Spain showed that it can perform to its talent, but Euro 2008 did not have Brazil or Argentina in a knockout round. Spains talent level is now as strong as any country in the world and the days of domination by the big four should end with a team like Spain winning a World Cup.

Spain is the one team that can break into that small group of World Cup winners and until they do, they will live with the label of underachievers along with the Dutch who could make their own argument as the top overall international failure of modern times.

As we get closer to 2010 and Spain finalizes its World Cup roster, we will again see the level of talent on the squad that few teams can match and Spain like most World Cups in recent memory, will head into the tournament as one of the favorites.

Lets hope its a Dani Guiza goal that brings to Spain what so many great teams and players have been unable to do since 1930.

Enjoy the World Cup everyone. I hope to see some of you on a beach in Palma. Be sure to stop by the Agua Bar.