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Spain 5-0 Belgium; The Name’s David.

September 6th, 2009 | By: Anthony | 19 Comments »

We’re back, in case you hadn’t already noticed. Sure we hit a few bumps in the road, most noticeably against the USA and South Africa in the Confederations Cup as well as a few unconvincing victories of late but you really didn’t think that was going to last long did you? Well if you did, you were terribly wrong to say the least.

Yesterday we absolutely ran rout over Belgium in A Coruña with David Silva and David Villa stealing the show netting 2 goals a piece. This secures our passage to South Africa next summer in a World Cup which will be one to definitely remember.

Everyone knows David Villa is probably the best striker in the world, if not then for sure the most consistent but this often overshadows the class of his Valencia teammate and fellow David – David Silva. Sure Silva isn’t a household name like the Torres’ and Casillas’ of the world but if anyone ever doubted this kid’s ability, look no further than last night’s match.

Marcos Senna made his return to the national squad but Del Bosque didn’t risk his fitness and as a result started Sergi Busquets in the middle alongside Xabi Alonso. Xavi started on the right and Silva on the left to complete the four man midfield. Sergio Ramos was out of the squad injured and Arbeloa therefore took his spot at right back; Barcelona pair Gerard Piqué and Carles Puyol started as centre backs and Capdevila started at his favoured left back spot. It appears to me that Marchena has officially lost his spot as centre back after Piqué’s obvious dominance over the past year for both club and country. Obviously up front Torres and Villa were paired to round up the starting XI.

Xavi and Xabi provided multiple opportunities for both Torres and Villa but our two frontmen were wasteful, missing easy chances on the Belgian goal. To add to our frustration, Villa was awarded a penalty which he then stepped up, took, and missed having smashed it straight down the middle only for it to be stopped by Gillet’s trailing legs. Villa seemed to brush this off like a true professional though as shortly after he set up his fellow Valencian, Silva who smashed his shot past Gillet to finally put us up 1-0.

We were a bit unlucky to only go into the break up 1-0 but none the less, we were the much more dominant side with the Belgians not really threatening Iker Casillas at all.

We started the second half just as we ended the first and that was on top. Silva this time turned provider for his Valencia teammate Villa when he put in a cross to El Guaje who then cut in from the left and smashed it under the outstretched arm of Gillet to put us up 2-0.

Belgium was highly demoralized and it showed right after our goal when they gave us possession and Piqué ran threw the Belgians to play a little give and go with Villa and finally finish it off to see the score line at 3-0. Sure, the flick on by Villa to set up Piqué for the goal was great and the vision was impressive but the goal was created all by Gerard’s pure determination and resilience, running all the way up from defense and carrying on to finally score.

At about the 75th minute we struck again when stand-in right back Arbeloa put in a perfect ball for Silva who smashed it into the bottom left corner to basically seal the match as Belgium didn’t really look like they had a chance to come back.

Cesc Fàbregas then was subbed in for Xavi and almost scored right away but once again Gillet made an impressive save. Shortly after, Xabi Alonso also tested Gillet with a long and hard strike but the Belgian goalkeeper came out on top.

The match was all but over as with five minutes left Xabi Alonso sent in Fàbregas with a perfect pass to beat the offside trap and the Arsenal midfielder then touched it to Villa who finished what was a gift of a goal.

So with our thumping of Belgium, we have continued our flawless qualifying record and with a win against Estonia midweek, we would officially qualify for South Africa 2010.

I think some special shout outs are in order to really emphasize our emphatic victory yesterday and obviously the first one goes to little David Silva who was definitely my vote for man of the match. He scored two and just was a nuisance for the Belgians all day who failed to contain him. Second was obviously David Villa who scored two and set up another two and probably had the most complete performance out of any of our players. The only thing he did wrong was miss a penalty which is uncharacteristic of him but all credit due to him as he bounced back and lead the team to a convincing victory. Last but not least Xabi Alonso who anchored the midfield in Senna’s absence and also played the role of supplier as he was constantly linking up with Villa and Torres up top.

One player I’m on the fence about was Arbeloa as he did a pretty decent job but he lacks the attacking instinct of Ramos but having said that, he’s a much more disciplined player and when you have a midfield like we do, we don’t necessarily need those overlapping runs. So all in all, a good performance by Álvaro.

Our flop of the match was obviously Torres who in my opinion is terrible overrated. Sure he shines at Liverpool but I dare anyone to name a great achievement that he’s reached with us. He smashed the woodwork twice and missed a few sitters throughout the night that in any other match, could have been crucial. Not his best performance by his and our high standards.

We now focus on taking on Estonia on Wednesday in Mérida so we can finally book our flights to South Africa next summer.

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Comments

By amunt valencia | September 6th, 2009 at 7:38 pm

i love both the david and hope they continue to perform well for both country n club

AMUNT VALENCIA
VIVA LA ESPANA

Posted from Canada

By mark | September 6th, 2009 at 8:42 pm

torres is world class over rated? i have no idea what planet ur living on

if England had 1 striker of Torres’ class we would be happy

just cause u have villa also dont say torres is over rated, christ!

he is up there with the worlds best and when he doesnt score himself he makes space for others to do so

and yes i am a liverpool fan but that is by and by!

Posted from United Kingdom

By The Wall | September 6th, 2009 at 9:08 pm

It took all 11 players on the field to dominate. The Che and Cules and the Merengues, all did their parts.

Posted from United States

By Seth | September 6th, 2009 at 10:27 pm

lol Anthony I love your blogs. Full of cockiness haha.

If Portugal do not make it, I’m cheering for my Iberian brothers!

By Denise | September 6th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

Hey Anthony, nice article by the way!

I just wanted to agree with you on a few things. First off, I believe that Villa is the best striker in the world. Yes, he is my favorite player, but that’s besides the point, he just is the best. I’d love to hear who anyone else can come up with. Villa’s stats can’t be denied. He’s averaging about a goal a game for Spain and has 13 goals in 12 internationals right now. That’s amazing. He’s such a great player, and he deserves so much more credit than he gets. Some players do half of what he does, and are treated like all stars. I believe he is the best striker in the world. He’s a great goalscorer, has great vision, has the ability to weave around defenders, and is not selfish. Well, enough of my Villa rant, the next thing I’m going to agree with you on, is Torres’ overratedness. I couldn’t agree more with you that he’s terribly overrated. Sure, maybe he’s a big man on Liverpool, but when it comes to Spain? Has he really done anything impressive? No. Everyone always talks about how Torres is the “superstar striker for Spain” and is the “one to watch”, but I don’t think so at ALL. If you really look at it, its Villa who’s doing all the scoring. Torres gets credit for flopping each game, and then when he actually DOES score, no one will shut up about it. Everyone treated Torres like a star when he scored the goal in the final of the euro, but who carried the team there, getting top scorer in the process? Villa. Who scored 8 goals in qualifying to get them in? Villa. Who scores in almost every game for Spain now? Villa. Torres is so overrated, and horribly inconsistent. His ball movement leaves much to be desired, and he’s really not all he’s cracked up to be up front. They give him much more credit than he deserves. I’d like to agree next on your praise for Silva. I personally think we should play him more, as a starter. Xavi, Iniesta, Silva, and Senna makes my ideal midfield. I also really like Fabregas, he’s too good to be sitting on the bench. I know we usually stick with one defensive mid, but I’d really like to see Fabregas in there as opposed to having someone like Alonso or Senna. I love Xavi, he’s a quiet player who gets the job done. I’d definitely say Villa and Silva were the MVP’s. Silva constantly troubled the defense, while scoring 2, and Villa had a great game, scoring 2 and getting the assist on 2. I was disappointed about the whole penalty thing, but its uncharacteristic of him, he usually puts them in. The GK just barely saved it. The defense did well too. I think Pique deserves that spot over Marchena honestly. Marchena got a little scary with his constant fouling. Pique imo is the better defender, and we all know Puyol is one of the best center backs. I honestly prefer Albiol on the wing, as opposed to Capdevila. I haven’t really seen anything spectacular from him. I know he can spark attack, but its nothing Albiol can’t do. I’d love to see Sergio Ramos and Iniesta return soon. We should definitely beat Estonia on wednesday. The WC is gonna be great, I can feel it. It was a shame that Spain fell to the US, but we’re back, and I know we’ll have a great chance at winning.

Viva Espana!

Posted from United States

By Jay | September 6th, 2009 at 11:10 pm

@Denise – Agree with you, and I just want to say that it’s time we drop Torres, and play 4-5-1. This way we do not miss out on Fabregas, and concentrate our attacking force on Villa. Torres is useless anyway. And before anyone says “well Torres doesn’t score but he makes space for others!” well so does Villa, AND he makes lots of assists.

Posted from Canada

By Elisa | September 7th, 2009 at 12:08 am

Anthony, I just think that Torres is not in form yet. He always gains a little too much weight over the summer the break and just needs some time to get fit and on form. Is Villa a better striker? IMO yes, but Torres is right up there. Either Guaje or Niño can play upfront on their own. Don’t forget that Fernando scored the winner in the Euro 2008 final. He is quality and just had a bad day at the office.

Posted from United States

By Fayez | September 7th, 2009 at 1:13 am

Villa > Silva > Torres.

Torres is definitely overrated…He only gets 1 good game or so every 5 matches, but thats just it. Villa is consistent in almost every match he plays. 33 goals in 52 games for Spain is a phenomenal scoring record.

Posted from Kuwait

By amunt valencia | September 7th, 2009 at 3:08 am

mark
indeed torres is over-ratted
i have been following him since his atletico days
there are so many days that he just disappears
n then there are so many days taht he is insignificant except a moment of brillance where he scores n all is forgotten
a world class player imo is a guy who is always there for the team nputs performance every fuckin single time-villa etoo henry n et come to mind but not torres
i would say england has a better striker in rooney

even for both spain n liverpool he seems to dissapear sometime n doesnt do well agaisnt mediocre defender anyone remember vs spurs or vs turkey

coming from a die hard spain fan

Posted from Canada

By Level7 | September 7th, 2009 at 8:58 am

Wow Denise, that was a long post to say, ‘I agree.’

By kat | September 8th, 2009 at 10:04 am

villa is the best striker.. villa to be at his best is when he plays along with a striker.. coz villa unlike others in not just a striker but also a great assister..
in valencia we have seen at times during the matches when he hardly got the ball and falling back to midfield to getting involved.. but still managed approximately 15 field goals and rest penalties.. his most productive time was IMO in 06 when both he and morientes were very good.. i think torres is a better striker than morientes(though i love mora).. torres was always considered as a child prodigy and et all.. so he may have not lived up to the hype but he is still an excellent striker and one of the top5 strikers presently..
to be honest after villa i can think right now of only drogba, torres and benzema..

Posted from India

By john | September 9th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

Glad to see Spain back in impressive form, though Belgium isn’t exactly the toughest of opposition.

On the subject of Torres, I have to agree that he’s a bit over-rated, and it’s because he plays for the Premier League, I would bet. If asked to choose between him and Villa, there wouldn’t be a millisecond’s hesitation: David Villa. Any and every day. But I’m not sure that that warrants all the criticism of Torres. Villa is better, but Torres can wreak havoc on the break, presents a more physical, aggressive presence in the box, and (though this might be a sentimental thing) embodies the spirit, the fury and fight, of the Spanish National Team. I like his presence on the team, and I’m glad Del Bosque sees his value.

I know we’re fully stacked in the midfield, but I wonder if and when Granero will be given another chance for the side?

Posted from United States

By john | September 9th, 2009 at 1:07 pm

And speaking of over-rated EPL players, Reira anyone? Or am I just biased?

Posted from United States

By elisa | September 9th, 2009 at 2:16 pm

Kat – totally agree, that was what I meant to say. And John, both Riera and Arbeloa – totally overrated. Can we get a real winger and fullback? I also worry about a proper backup for Capdevila.

Posted from United States

By john | September 9th, 2009 at 3:26 pm

Man, after sticking up for el nino, he’s blowing chance after chance out there tonight.

Posted from United States

By Patrick | September 9th, 2009 at 6:30 pm

I gotta say I disagree with Torres being over rated, or at least, to the extent that everyone seems to feel. He may not score all of the goals, but he most definitely creates space and takes tension off of the other players because he is such a big name. You gotta give credit where credit is due. Villa is better, but Torres isn’t god awful.

Posted from United States

By Nikkno | September 18th, 2009 at 4:57 pm

Hi, Villa is the best striker at this moment. Unfortunately he is not brazilian or argentinean-

By Allison Joseph | September 24th, 2009 at 11:51 am

This blog has been a useful read.

By Level7 | September 27th, 2009 at 12:45 am

Torres over rated??!!? You guys for real or on drugs?!!!? Villa running a muck, yes. But no need to bag Torres. He is World Class!

Comments are closed