A New España

January 13th, 2009 | by: Anthony |

Spain is my life. España es mi vida. Which ever way you want to put a spin on it, or whatever language you say it in, it doesn’t take away from the fact that it describes me perfectly.

I’m Anthony, a Spaniard by blood and birth, now living in Canada. When I saw the lack of activity here on the Spanish World Cup Blog I was quite disappointed to say the least. Just because there’s been no international matches for some time now, doesn’t mean nothing is going on in the wonderful world of La Furia Roja. I had to take this over, I need the world to (especially after becoming European Champions) know Spain, how amazing our team is, and why we deserve more than any other team to be seeded number one in the world.

I also write for the Sevilla Offside and started doing so because I wanted everyone to know about my beloved team, and over the past couple months things have started to pick up and more people are reading about Sevilla. It’s still a work in progress of course, we don’t have the stature of the Real’s and Barca’s of the world but we won 5 trophies in 15 months before, something Barça or Real can’t say they’ve ever accomplished. It seems that I’m doing a good job with my club so I thought I’d try doing it with my country.

So let’s start with the news that yesterday Cristiano Ronaldo beat out our two beloved European, Cup-Winning Spaniards Xavi and Fernando Torres which was no shock really. Not because I don’t think Xavi and Torres are worse than Mr. Ronaldo but favouritism is a huge part of our lives these days ladies and gentlemen, what can you do? It’s funny because Xavi was player of the tournament for the Euros and I think that should play a huge role in the decision making process considering Cristiano couldn’t do a thing for Portugal. And Torres, well what can I say about this guy, most ever goals by a foreigner in his first year in the Premier League, pretty amazing feat if I do say so myself. Not only did he defeat these two champions but this is what really surprised me. He edged out both Messi and Kaká for this award. I don’t like to get involved in these things (okay, well, maybe I do, just a bit) but Messi is clearly the best player in the world. In fact, I think all those four other men up on stage with cry baby Ronaldo are much better players than him and if I was assembling my dream team I would definitely pick one of the other four.

I guess FIFA felt bad for Cristiano’s little car crash earlier this week so they gave it to him, none the less, not deserved in my opinion.

Onto better news here as the RFEF (Real Federacion Española de Futbol, or the Spanish FA) announced that the upcoming friendly against England will be played in none other than El Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in my hometown of Sevilla. Of course when I heard this I was beyond ecstatic and it’s a shame I live about a 9 hour flight away or I could have walked around the corner from my house to go watch the match. The match was actually originally supposed to be played in Madrid either in the Santiago Bernabéu or Vicente Calderón but due to previous reports of racist chants being chanted by Spanish fans at several black English players the RFEF was forced to change the venue in fear that if they didn’t the match would not take place. In my opinion this is good, don’t really have a reason for it other than it’s in Sevilla and we haven’t hosted an important international match since that of the 1982 World Cup Semifinal game between Germany and France although we did host the 1886 European Cup Final (Now known as the Champions Leauge) in which Steaua Bucharest handed Barça a 2-0 defeat.

It truly is good to get international football back in Sevilla and it’s also a perfect time for something else. Yup, that’s right, Mr. Del Bosque himself has called up Jesús Navas into the Spanish men’s team for the upcoming game against England. Jesús has represented Spain in u-17, u-19, and u-21 competitions but has had difficulty playing matches outside of Spain due to his serious homesickness’. Del Bosque also said that Diego Capel will most likely be called up into the squad to face the Three Lions and when I hear more about that I’ll be sure to let everyone know. The match will take place on February 11th and my mouth is watering at possibly having the two future wingers of the Spanish national team on my beloved Sevilla, it’s a win/win here for me really.

Some more good news here as French Newspaper L’Equipe named Casillas, Xavi, and Fernando Torres to their “Best starting XI of 2008″, once again showing that we definitely have some of the best players in the world. Somehow David Villa got beat out of his place alongside Fernando Torres in the French Newspaper to Zlatan Ibrahimovic… Don’t ask me how… The IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) Named Iker Casillas the best Goalkeeper of the year and Xavi the best playmaker of the year, adding to our honours in Spain.

Earlier in the month the RFEF made a formal presentation to confirm their candidacy to host the 2018 World Cup Finals jointly with Portugal. I think it’s about time a major tournament was played in Spain and as winners of the European Championships this summer I think we more than deserve it. It’s a more than safe country, with the perfect lifestyle, amazing hotels, attractions, the most beautiful cities in the world, and even if we’re sharing it with the dirty corner to the West, I’m 100% sure the final will be played in Spain. There were many other countries that submitted a bid such as Belgium/Holland, Australia, and England, all of which are no where near as attractive as my beloved España.

To end this all off on a good note I’ll put it out there that Pelé (yes, the best player EVER) has tipped us to win the World Cup 2010 in South Africa saying that “They are the best team in the world, no one can deny that”.

Until next time..
¡¡Qué Viva España!!

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alexa

wow, 2018. i hope that goes through b/c then that’ll give me 9 years to save up big time.

Qué Viva España for sure.

ps – i hope ramzi won’t follow you here jajaja
http://www.relaxladies.com/escorts-madrid Escorts Madrid

Spain has its best team ever, yet there are other teams around able to win the world cup. Argentina will be very difficult to defeat. However, Spain in very strong at the moment and its tournament last eurocup was almost perfect, so… Best luck for Spain!!!

Iniesta, Xavi, Senna… Vaya pedazo de centro del campo. ;o)
Corey

Ironic how you took over for Ryan on the Sevilla blog and also on the Spain one. Oh well, good luck.
http://france.worldcupblog.org Laurie

Is anybody else midly amused by the fact that an escort service takes the time to leave an on-topic comment on a footy blog, or is it just me?

(Welcome, Anthony!)
http://spain.worldcupblog.org Anthony

I don’t think Argentina will do as well as anyone is saying they will, with Maradona as the coach they’re just a huge joke.

Corey, did Ryan previously write here? Never knew to be honest, i saw two girls that used to do it and since there was no recent updates since October I put in a request to do it. Either way, it’s one place we can agree on something, put it that way.

And thanks Laurie.
http://greennina8989.skyblog.com soraya

i loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove espana ,it is my favorite country .
by:a moroccan girl ,called soraya
third eye

I had always wanted to know: Why is Jesus Navas left from the National team. So, I read articles about him and they said that he suffered from home sickness which causes seizures to him.

However, he said that he wanted to cure this strange illness so that he can fulfill a dream that he cannot achieve.

Is he ready yet? I would gladly see his face in the outfit of Spain rather than Carzola (When he replaces Iniesta). Plus, his free kicks are superb. However, I do fear that Del Bosque might have a tough choice ahead of him. With Joaquin’s recent comeback, he might be obliged to leave one of these players. (Between Joaquin and Navas). He’ll probably take Navas because he’s younger than Joaquin and thus has more ambition (?). But, I don’t want to see Carzola again, that’s for sure. Plus, in the left flank, If I were him, I would call Vicente instead of Mata to replace Silva during his recuperation. (He’s back I ow but not fully fit.)

What about De la Red? Is he going to have a call again? Because I heard that he had a hearth problem…

AHH, Welll!!! Too many questions, too many comments in one post. But, this is good, keep up the good work.
http://spain.worldcupblog.org Anthony

third eye, like you said Navas suffers from severe homesickness that has caused him to have seizures and break out in things such as hives, and cold sweat etc… It’s a shame really because he’s a class act, and is only going to continue to get better. Apparently his sickness is getting better and he can now travel for longer periods of time before he starts to feel homesick.

The reason he is being included in the friendly against England is because it is at home in Sevilla so there’s no need to worry about homesickness there lol. But I have to disagree with what you said about Cazorla. The kid plays with heart and determination and I’d much rather see him there than Joaquín or Vicente who in my mind are both past their prime and have never performed well for Spain so I don’t think they deserve to be in the lineup. I’m really against older players being in the lineup, sure they provide the experience but look at Raúl, he never did a thing for Spain, I never want to see him back in the squad… ever! I like Mata too, although he is a bit young, I think Capel is going to be the future left winger after Silva though as he’s already been called up and is playing some beautiful football of late.

De la Red I heard isn’t going to be in the squad anymore, they don’t want to risk anything and no one ever wants a repeat of Antonio Puerta, It’s just not worth it. It’s sad too because I really think that De la Red was going to be one hell of a player, not to mention he has a cannon of a shot.

Anyways, hope that just about summed up everything for you. Feel free to drop by again and ask any questions you’re curious about. Thanks for the comment.
third eye

Thank you!

About De la Red, it’s very sad indeed. I liked him so much. He is\was a very good defensive midfielder with the ability to go forward quite superbly. He would have been a “Pep” style of player if Madrid had given him the chance. Too bad all this had to happen…

About Carzola, even thought he likes to run, it’s all he can do to my eyes. He isn’t that good. He’s one of those player you put at the end of a match because he runs fast and can’t do much else. You put him in the very beginning, and he’ll choke.

About Joaquin and Vicente, they didn’t pass their prime. In contrary, they are at their prime. They are 27 years old both. Joaquin has the desire to return to the National side and Vicente is regaining confidence. Vicente runs fast, is skillful and has a unforgivable clinical finish for a winger. Thought, I heard or, to be more precise, I’ve seen on Youtube that he didn’t get along very well with his teammate. Once, he fought against Puyol which was kind of funny to watch! Thought, I agree with you when you said that you prefer to let the chance to younger players. But, to me, Vicente has a lot to prove. As for Joaquin, I wouldn’t mind at all if he isn’t call. (But, I would rather see him than Carzola…God, it seems that I have a personal grudge agaisnt that player lol…) Raul?…. Beurk…. HE is the incarnation of the word choker. Never want to talk about him…

About Diego Capel, I totally forgot that little Dude. He’s definitely going to take Silva’s place in a near future. But, I don’t think that Mata can do the trick. You see, Mata’s style of playing is similar to Carzola. He runs fast but isn’t very skillful, plus his finish is lame.

About Argentina, they have good players. Messi is on fire and Aguero too. Tevez plays a little less than last year which might ultimately undermine his overall performances. Zanetti is too old to be a right anymore.. Their central defence might be their biggest weak link. Heinze is soooooooooo slllloooowww. He’s sooo overrated. It’s a good thing that Manchester united sold him to Real Madrid. I didn’t want to see him in the EPL anymore. (lol). They have good young player but they seem to stick with their old ones such as Zanetti, Rodriguez, Crespo (If he still plays…), Burdisso… Well, and to topple everything, they went after a man that has no a good record in managing. Maradona had coached Boca Junior with little success. The best coach they had was the one during the 2006 World cup. They sacked him because he wanted to prioritize the young player. Thus, he didn’t include in his squad the veterans like Zanetti or Sorin (I think so…) But, they’ll loose. They don’t have what it takes. They believe that Messi can mimicate Maradona’s performance and lift a cup all by his own which is totally impossible in our modern era of football.
http://spain.worldcupblog.org Anthony

My thing with Cazorla is he’s a threat when he cuts in because of his speed. Like you said “he likes to run”, yes, but when you have a player like them it leaves the opposing defense on their toes wondering what to do and as a result he can make his way to the opposing goal and by that time either have a crack or dish it off to Villa or Torres. I don’t believe he’s good enough to start but definitely as a sub he’ll be useful.

I don’t rate either Joaquín or Vicente, they’re just average players, I’d much rather see Navas play, hes quicker and has more skill, Joaquín comes off to me as clumsy and after watching the Valencia-Sevilla match today my opinion hasn’t changed, he’s not a world class winger, just good. Agreed about Raúl, never speak of him again, I can’t stand the man.

Mata is improving but I think Capel is a more near-future replacement for Silva, I can see Mata playing second-fiddle to Capel once Silva retires. I don’t think Mata is starting quality but kind of like Cazorla, good as a substitute. Basically what you said but I rate them a bit higher lol.

Argentina, hhahaha. I don’t even know what to say, but I totally agree with you about Messi not being able to single handedly win things for them, fútbol isn’t like that anymore, you really need an all around solid team – exactly what Spain had this past summer in Austria/Switzerland. I don’t think Argentina will do that great, they’ll make the quarter finals or maybe semi’s if they’re lucky, but definitely no further than that, they still don’t have the depth in my opinion.
Samuel

Spain were amazing at Euro 2008. Silva and Guiza really caught the year. it would be great to see them have a great run in the Confederations cup, and play the defending Champs Brazil at the final..good luck