Is Spain Soft?

Yesterday I proposed a Starting XI that looked like this:

Casillas

Fernando Torres, Morrientes

Is this the most talented Starting XI Spain has to offer. NO.

So why did I pick those guys?

Cause these are the best players NOT PLAYING IN SPAIN. Let’s face it,…La Liga’s brand of continental futbol just does not cut it when you get to the World Cup.

Ever wonder why the German national team which plays with all the flair of a East German Trabant yet manages to do well cup after cup? Speed, physicality, no flair with a splash of skill mixed in. That’s the witches brew.

Have you watched a La Liga match lately? I swear I saw one player receive a pass, dribble over to the sideline grab a drink of water, a puff of the manager’s cig and then wander back out to pass the ball.

The closest thing to the speed and physicality of play we will see at WC06 has to be the EPL or the Bundisliga and that is why I choose the lineup above.

Even then…..the word that comes to mind is SOFT. I mean sure - Jose Antonio Reyes plays for Arsenal but even as a Reyes and Arsenal fan I can tell you that Reyes spends more time on his backside whinging about a play then putting up with the abuse a player of his skill will inevitably receive.

Does Spain have time to toughen up between now and the WC06 or are they doomed?