Spain!

Hi, I’m Cesar from the Valencia Offside and I’ll be one of your many Spain Euro 2008 writers as the national team prepares for this summer’s tournament.

The national team in Spain is a funny one. They have this entire ‘dear me’ attitude about them.
On one hand, they’re one of the most talented sides around, capable of beating anyone on any given day.

On the other hand, they’re frighteningly inconsistent. They choke on big occasions, as any follower of the side will tell you. They’re maddening, to be sure.

But where does this hail from?

Could it be that the side is simply not cohesive, being that club football is king in Spain?
Or does it have to do with the politics of the nation, an entity that doesn’t have a central underlying theme to it besides the national flag?

We’re a mere 50 days from Spain’s June 10th tournament opener against Russia in a competitive Group D that includes defending champions Greece and the always tough Sweden … what are Spain’s chances this time around?

We’ll get to that in the days and weeks ahead. For now, let’s enjoy the remainder of the league and figure out who Spain will bring with them to the tournament in Austria/Switzerland.