The Day After

So that was fun.

A 4-1 win in the opening game of a major tournament always feels good. I see these ‘ex-bullfighters’ feel the same as many of us do: elated!

Accolades are raining in for the Spanish team.
ESPN Soccernet scribe Phil Ball says in his article about the game:

All in all, this was a slick performance, with the three ‘fs’ (fast flowing football) much in evidence. The Spanish press will be drooling for the rest of the week, as will the European press, who fancy Spain more highly than do the Spanish. But folks have drooled before, particularly in Germany, only to see Spain fall at the first tough hurdle. They’ll be hoping this isn’t a case of déjà vu.

As Ball says, there’s this morbid belief among Spanish fans that we’ve seen this before. Who do we lose to in the quarterfinals this year? the average fan will lament.

Only time will tell, but from what I saw yesterday, this team won’t go down easy. Unless their defense gets in the way.

Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl is ga-ga over striker David Villa:

David Villa isn’t just the Man of the Match, he’s the Man of the Tournament (so far). It wasn’t just that the Valencia striker had the first hat-trick in a European championship since Holland’s Patrick Kluivert in 2000, it was the way in which Villa pulled it off. Each of his three goals showed a different part of his vast skill-set. The first showed Villa’s desire and willingness to run as a trailer on the break (big ups to Fernando Torres for the pass-back). The second showed Villa’s ability to make an incisive run and hit a killer one-time shot through the legs of ‘keeper Igor Akinfeev. (Credit the weaving run and assist from Andrés Iniesta.) And the third showed Villa’s skill on the ball as he beat Roman Shirokov and ripped his shot past Akinfeev once again. What a remarkable clinic on how to finish–the rarest and most valuable skill in the game (as the U.S. showed in its recent zero-goals-in-three-games tally). Villa’s transfer value was already high before today, but now it has to be up in the stratosphere.

Well said … Villa is a rare talent and I don’t want him to leave Valencia. But if he goes, his price tag just went WAY up due to yesterday’s performance.

At least El Guaje isn’t letting last night’s performance get to him.

“It was the best (performance of his career) because it was at the start of Euro 2008,” Villa said Wednesday. “We won and I got three goals but I don’t know if it was the most complete game (I’ve ever played). I’m very happy with the work we achieved yesterday. We have a lot of hope. I’ll just try to relax and enjoy it now.”

He even shifted praise to fellow strike partner Fernando Torres.

“I got two goals benefiting from his work,” said Villa, who also pointed to Torres’ run on the second goal as prying an extra marker away. “He did the unseen work behind the ball and I got the credit and that’s why I celebrated with him.”

Villa passed Torres to become Spain’s 10th best scorer with 17 goals from 32 matches. The 24-year-old Torres has 15 goals from 50 matches. Impressive numbers for the young strikers. Raul who?

Although the win over Russia looked like a cakewalk, coach Luis Aragones doesn’t see it that way. Neither do I. Russia’s central defense was certainly lacking in many facets of the game.

“Physically (Russia) are a very strong side and they pressed us hard in the first half,” said Aragones. “I thought we were a bit lucky.

“We scored on the break and just when they were putting us under heavy pressure we got the second. However, we are very good at playing the ball around when we have control and I’m very happy with the whole group.”

Aragones said the big victory would have an affect on Spain’s future opponents.

“This win will help us psychologically,” he said. “A 4-1 win gives us a big boost and it is a win that will not just help us but is also good with a view to our next opponents because they are going to look at us with more respect. We must not carried away, however, as in four days we have a game against a difficult Sweden side.”

That they do.

The grumpy coach also heaped praise on the strike force of Villa and Torres.

“When I think of Villa, it’s a name that makes me think of scoring,” he said. He also said that Liverpool’s Fernando Torres, who was substituted shortly after half-time for Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas, was a “brilliant” player. How very true.

So on we go in this exciting adventure known as Euro 2008.

For all of Villa’s goals, ‘Nando’s tricks, Cesc’s benching and the defense’s sloppy play, Spain is 1-0 and on their way.

I have a funny feeling this isn’t history repeating itself … something feels different about this Spanish side.

They’re the sexy pick of the European press and many believe, like the 2004 Boston Red Sox and the 2005 Chicago White Sox of baseball fame, they’re ready to break the drought bubble. Maybe the Cubs can win the World Series this year?

Maybe Spain can win a major football tournament?

Time will tell. Stay tuned.