Spain vs. Peru

So before Spain lose to Team America 3-1 next Wednesday in their final tuneup before June 10th’s opening match of Euro 2008, the seleccion try their luck against Peru on Saturday.

There are still some kinks to work out.

For example, what will be the attacking formation? Will Valencia striker David Villa start or will he come off the bench?

“We are going to try out two systems, one in each half,” coach Luis Aragones told reporters on Friday.

Villa is expected to start up front alongside Liverpool’s Fernando Torres in the first half with Aragones trying out a 4-4-2 formation against the South Americans.

Aragones is expected to switch things up and play with a lone striker in the second half as he reverts to his favored 4-1-4-1 line-up.

The veteran coach said his main worry ahead of next month’s tournament in Austria and Switzerland was to ensure all his players were fit and fresh.

“Other sides have preferred to have three warm-up matches, but I’ve opted for two because the players need some rest, more for psychological reasons than physical ones…. We are not in the best moment, but most teams will not be. The players aren’t at their peak after playing the league, the Champions League and the Cup. The work we have done to help them rest should be good, but we know it is the same for everyone.”

Very true. It’s almost like these players get absolutely no rest before the tournaments start. And we wonder why the quality of these happenings has been going down the toilet for so long … but seriously, doesn’t it sound like Aragones is already making excuses should Spain get ousted early?

The former Betis and Valencia coach was asked who he could see winning the European Championships if the Spanish were out and he plumped for the Azzurri and Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Iberian neighbors.

“For me, Italy is the favorite, then Portugal, but there are others that nobody has mentioned like Romania. But that is just my opinion. In reality there are 12 or 14 teams that could win it,” Aragonés said.

Glad to hear he thinks Spain is a favorite … UGGH …

Looking ahead to the group stage, the trainer explained that he expects a tough time and recognized that all three teams that Spain will play have a chance of doing well.

“Sweden will be difficult, as will Russia and Greece. We always say that it is easy after seeing the draw, but now that we are close it is never easy.”
Anyways, check out this article by BBC broadcast journalist Paul Fletcher about Spain and it’s futile attempts at winning previous tournaments. It’s pretty funny. Here’s an excerpt …

I love Spain. I love the food, I love the price of wine in restaurants, I love the fact that I don’t feel like a complete imbecile when I’m there because I can speak a little of their language, and I love the fact you can watch top-flight football without your bank account taking a pounding like the one suffered by (Germany’s) 6th Army after its assault on Stalingrad turned sour.

But there are things about Spain that trouble me, peculiarities that defy reasonable explanation.

One of them, for example, is the curious way in which some Spanish men drape pastel coloured V-neck sweaters over their shoulders.

Another is the poor record of Spain’s national football team. So many talented players but so little success at major tournaments equates to one of life’s great imponderables.

The latter was very much at the forefront of my thoughts during a recent trip to Spain with my wife and her father.

For the rest of the article, please click the link above.