The façade of the University of Salamanca is one of the preeminent examples of Plateresque, noted by its ornate and detailed ornamentation of Spanish Baroque architecture.

Spain limps into their second Euro 2012 qualifiers against Lithuania, as injuries forced five of their usual call-ups from participating in La Furia Roja’s two upcoming fixtures.  Cèsc Fabregas, Fernando Torres, Pedro Rodríguez, and Jesús Navas all have different knocks and nicks, but the man that Vicente del Bosque will miss the most is the conductor of both FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, Xavi Hernández.

The Spanish press has been badgering the squad about the absence of Xavi, and understandably, they have been on the defensive.  Carlos Marchena believes that Spain is not overdependent on Xavi, and Gerard Piqué stated that while Xavi is an irreplaceable cog to the Spanish machine, players like Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets, and Andrés Iniesta can replace him for this short stretch.

Spain will host Lithuania on Friday at the Estadio El Helmántico in Salamanca, and with its capacity hovering just over 17,000 spectators, the stadium chosen by the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) shows that the federation does not consider this qualifier as a grade A matchup.  Vicente del Bosque and the players, however, insist that they are not taking Lithuania lightly, saying all the right statements to diffuse any notion that Spain is merely dismissing this match as a walkover.

They should not overlook Lithuania because they have been unbeaten in their two qualifiers, holding Scotland to a 0-0 draw and coming away with a 0-1 surprise in the Czech Republic against the team many consider the second favorite in Group I.  La Liga followers will most recognize Marius Stankevicius, a versatile defender who played for Sevilla on loan last season and is currently on loan to Valencia this season.

Lithuania will rely on their veteran leadership of their captain and all-time leading goal-scorer Tomas Danilevicius, who has scored a respectable nineteen goals in fifty-nine appearances for the national team, the rock in central defense and all-time cap leader Andrius Skerla, and the creative and hard-working orchestrator in the middle of the field Edgaras Cesnauskis.

For what it is worth, Spain has won three of their four prior meetings against Lithuania, the one being a draw at Lithuania during the 2006 World Cup qualification.  Especially away from home, Lithuania will flood their own half with all ten outfield players and try to keep a clean sheet while capitalizing on the one or two counter-attacks Spain will afford them.  Vicente del Bosque has experimented with a 4-4-2 formation without Xavi available, featuring Fernando Llorente and David Villa up front.  On paper, Spain should have no problem against a team that has some decent credentials, but Lithuania will carry the confidence from defeating the Czech Republic in Olomouc, and whenever there is little space in which to work, Spain will find it hard to scythe Lithuania’s disciplined and organized defense and midfield.

The times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and include the pregame pleas­antries.

Oct. 8

Spain vs. Lithuania – 3:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN3

Injuries forced Vicente del Bosque to alter his standard squad for Spain’s forthcoming Euro 2012 fixtures against Lithuania on Friday and Scotland on Tuesday.  Xavi Hernández is suffering from tendinitis, Cesc Fábregas has an ankle injury, Jesús Navas is dealing with a thigh strain, Fernando Torres limped off against Blackpool on Sunday with a groin problem and Pedro Rodríguez sustained a hamstring injury on Saturday against Mallorca.

Del Bosque rewarded Villarreal and Valencia for their stellar starts to the campaign by calling up four players to replace the injured, two from each team, that rarely receive an invitation to the national team squad.  While Santi Cazorla, Carlos Marchena, and Joan Capdevila from Villarreal are regulars on the national team, del Bosque also included Bruno Soriano, a no-nonsense defensive midfielder with one cap to his name, and Borja Valero, a creative playmaker who will make his maiden voyage in international football with the Spanish national team.

From Valencia, del Bosque recalled Pablo Hernández, who has not made an appearance for La Furia Roja since scoring in a friendly against Austria in November 2009, and gave Aritz Aduriz, a physical center forward similar to Fernando Llorente, his first call-up to the national team.

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Víctor Valdés

Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Arbeloa, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, Nacho Monreal

Midfielders: Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Bruno Soriano, Santi Cazorla, Borja Valero, Pablo Hernández, David Silva

Forwards: David Villa, Fernando Llorente, Aritz Aduriz

After Euro 2008, Vicente del Bosque took the reins of the Spanish national team from Luis Aragonés, the man that led Spain to their first international tournament conquest since 1964 when they hosted and won the second UEFA European Championships, known then as the European Nations’ Cup.

Aragonés’ tactical style went completely away from former Spain bosses Javier Clemente and, to a lesser extent, José Antonio Camacho and Iñaki Sáez with a fluid, passing, possession game that would frustrate the opposition into defending for most of the match.  Aragonés lifted the underachieving moniker off this Spanish national team and infused the confidence and the mental fortitude that the Spanish player did not command for the better part of fifty years.

Whereas Aragonés displayed a more demonstrative attitude both on the training pitch and the technical area, del Bosque showed an understated and tranquil demeanor that would also work with a dressing room full of world-class players and egos.

Vicente del Bosque’s breakthrough came in 1999 when he succeeded John Toshack at Real Madrid, and in his four years at the Santiago Bernabéu, he delivered two UEFA Champions League titles and two La Liga titles among his greatest accomplishments.  If there were a melting pot of potential rifts in world football, Real Madrid would lead the way in this competition.  Even as President Florentino Pérez and sporting director Jorge Valdano began to seize total control over player personnel, del Bosque soldiered on without creating ripples and keeping to the job at hand.

Del Bosque knew that he inherited a well-oiled machine from Luis Aragonés after Euro 2008, and to change that style could mean a precipitous fall from grace.  For some managers, they have to put their stamp on their team, even if it is to the team’s detriment.  With the players currently established on the national team, the way they currently play suits these players perfectly.  Del Bosque’s humble nature ensured that he would not interfere negatively with this team.  Why change what works, and del Bosque continues to follow this line of thinking.

What Vicente del Bosque has done that is different from Luis Aragonés has brought a sense of calm and serenity that was needed when Spain’s outstanding results could have left the team complacent and without urgency.  Even if the United States did not upset Spain at the semifinal stage of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup to end their thirty-five match unbeaten streak, del Bosque had the demeanor and the respect of the players to quell any sort of arrogance that could have easily built over this amazing run.  Spain played with their Plan A, and they were going to live and die by that strategy.

For the Dutch, the Clockwork Orange of the 1970s with Rinus Michels as the mastermind and Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens as the total footballers created the mystique behind the Netherlands national football team.  After this era of Dutch football, those who followed in their footsteps needed to live up to their example.  As with all national teams, throwing twenty-three different personalities for a short amount of time could lead to a tumultuous cacophony of noise, and the in-fighting among the Dutch footballers has been well documented.  If only a small part of this fighting, emulating their forefathers while achieving positive results took a toll on the Dutch national team.

Installing Bert van Marwijk as the national coach after Euro 2008 seemed to continue this tradition as they rolled through World Cup qualification, albeit in a consensus easy group.  Their pre-World Cup friendlies saw no indication of a stylistic change as they breezed through Mexico, Ghana, and Hungary, the former two being World Cup teams that had decent chances to advance into the latter stages of the tournament.

Van Marwijk, however, made the brave decision to abandon this notion of total football somewhat and adopt a more pragmatic style.  Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong became van Marwijk’s destroyers in the defensive midfield while allowing Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie, and Arjen Robben to play their football in the final third.  Breezing through their World Cup group and the Round of 16 against Slovakia, they faced Brazil in the quarterfinals, who themselves had gone through a minor facelift under Dunga to a more physical style.  Felipe Melo and Gilberto Silva vs. van Bommel and de Jong became the main battle throughout the match, even though the glamour players had their moments.  The Netherlands survived the encounter, and after a captivating semifinal against Uruguay, the talk roused up from the Dutch about how they were going to attack the Spanish.

Dirk Kuyt became the Dutch representative of this bravado, taking a dig at Germany’s performance while touting his team’s own intentions for the final against Spain when speaking to The Guardian:

“We are not afraid at all.  You could see the Germans were afraid of Spain.  They didn’t try to attack.  We are going to attack and then you will see weaknesses coming to the surface.  If you play like the Germans, you are definitely going to lose.  We don’t have players who are afraid and we don’t have players who feel small against the big opponents.  There is respect but not fear.”

After the first fifteen minutes of the final, the Dutch did not live up to the big game they talked before the World Cup final.  Spain definitely deserved credit for frustrating the Netherlands with their ability to play keep-ball, but the initial and nominal pressure they initiated in the Spanish half of the pitch dissipated by the tenth minute as they began to pack the midfield and the defense in their own half of the field.  Physical became more cynical to near violent as Mark van Bommel chopped down Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández on more than a few occasions, and Nigel de Jong infused the spirit of Jean-Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport when he sent his flying, extended leg straight into the chest of Xabi Alonso.

Are these two pictures really that different?

Bert van Marwijk must have concluded early on that if he tried to play football with Spain, La Furia Roja would run away with the final.  As the Dutch became more physical, the Spaniard did not adjust well with this sudden change in tactics.  For the final fifteen minutes of the first half, the Dutch created the more quality chances, while the Spanish began to give the ball more readily than they had for most of the World Cup.

As the second half wore on, the conscious effort of the Dutch to break up the Spanish with hard tackling and well-timed fouls meant that they had less possession to carve out meaningful attacks, so they needed to exploit whatever counter-attacking opportunity they could muster.  Arjen Robben could have made himself a Dutch hero in the same sentence with Johan Cruyff and William of Orange with two one-on-one situations that were the only two threats on Iker Casillas’ goal.  Casillas went the wrong way but left his legs extended to save one Robben attempt, and Casillas snagged the ball from Robben’s feet as Robben tried to dribble around him.

The Spanish kept with their gameplan and stayed patient throughout this adversity.  Save for those Robben openings, Spain went out to win the match in the last half-hour, whereas the Netherlands looked more and more to extra time and penalties.  Into extra time, the Dutch began to tire, and their discipline, which had already been reduced to near zero, finally caught up with them when John Heitinga received his second yellow card when he took down Iniesta as he was making his run into the box.  If he had not been given a booking earlier in the match, many would have considered the foul on Iniesta a smart play, even if it would have carried a cynical tinge, but with Heitinga sent off with eleven minutes left in the second period of extra time, the chances that Spain had of netting the first goal multiplied exponentially.

The addition of Cesc Fàbregas for Xabi Alonso in the 87th minute reinvigorated the lagging Spanish attack, and he positioned himself in the middle of the eventual World Cup-winning move in the 116th minute when Rafael van der Vaart gifted his mishit clearance into to the path of Fàbregas.  Fàbregas slotted in Iniesta to his right, and Iniesta blasted his half-volley through Maarten Stekelenburg’s hands for the cathartic moment that sent the Spanish players and the technical staff into absolute bliss.

The Netherlands felt as though they needed to add more steel into their team to negate the chance of being exposed, and even though they went away from what they said prior to the match, it nearly brought them to the penalty shootout, where they would have had an equal shot to walk away with their first ever World Cup trophy.  They made a deal with the devil, and it swiped the rug from underneath them at the final instant.

All that matters is the trophy, and any way a team decides to play, it is usually the right way as long as they win.  The Dutch played conservatively with a venomous bite, and if they had won, they would have been duly praised for their grit, determination, and willingness to dabble into the dark arts of football to win.

This way was how Spain used to play under Javier Clemente, but under this current regime, there is a 180° difference from Clemente’s reign.  No upper echelon national team has been courageous enough to play football with Spain for the whole of the ninety minutes, so the Spanish should have no reason to change their style or tactics.  Sometimes this extreme patience may frustrate fans who expect them to find that cutting ball a majority of the time, but to see a team that melds flair with a stubborn arrogance makes this version of the Spanish national team utterly watchable.

David Villa became the talisman for the Spanish national football team, scoring five of Spain’s six goals in the tournament.  Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta controlled the midfield with their incisive passing and ball possession.  Fernando Torres could not get into stride as he struggled for form from his April knee surgery and was eventually benched in favor of Pedro Rodríguez against Germany.  The Cesc Fàbregas saga between Arsenal and Barcelona continued to rage as Fàbregas insisted on returning to the club of his youth while committing to Arsenal as their captain at the same time.  Telecinco sports journalist Sara Carbonero somehow “distracted” boyfriend Iker Casillas before the Switzerland game and directly led to Spain’s only loss of this World Cup.

All these stories followed La Furia Roja throughout this World Cup, but the under-reported story with this team is the effectiveness of the back four, in particular the leader of the defense, Carles Puyol.

Spain has conceded only one goal in their six games, and in that goal, they allowed against Switzerland, it took a disorganized scramble and a fortuitous bounce for Gelson Fernandes to tap the ball into the open net.

For those who put any stock into the Castrol Index rankings, the top four ranked players in this World Cup are the four Spanish defenders, with Sergio Ramos slightly edging Carles Puyol for the top spot.

Save for Ramos, who tends to relish the limelight, especially off the pitch with his party boy reputation, these Spanish defenders love that the vast majority of the attention falls upon their other teammates.  With championship teams that are known for their offensive flair, they can only operate to their fullest extent if their defenders are solid enough for them to throw men forward.

Although the Three R’s (Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo) headlined Brazil as they won their fifth World Cup title in 2002, the work rate of Lúcio, Roque Júnior, and Edmílson gave Cafu and Roberto Carlos the freedom to become de facto wingers and the three R’s to dazzle the world with their Samba flair.

The legendary 1989-90 Real Madrid team netted a staggering La Liga record 107 goals, with Hugo Sánchez scoring a record 38 goals in one season.  Real Madrid ran away with the league, winning by nine points (Note: in those years, wins accounted for two points instead of the current three points, so using the current point system, Real were fifteen points better than second-place Valencia) not only due to the brilliance of Sánchez up front and Emilio Butragueño and Míchel creating behind him but with the three central defenders that commanded the back line: first-year defender and eventual Real legend Fernando Hierro, elegant sweeper Manuel Sanchís, and gritty Oscar Ruggeri.

The 2008-09 FC Barcelona team that won all six tournaments they entered included a trio of forwards that propelled their team into the most feared club in Europe: Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, and Samuel Eto’o.  With Xavi and Andrés Iniesta providing perfection for the front three to finish those patented Barça moves, they forced teams to defend with nine and ten men for the full ninety minutes.

While this team kept possession of the ball as well as any team that ever graced the pitch, there were times when they would turn the ball over in midfield, and the opposing counter-attack would sail into full-flight.  Dani Alves, Gerard Piqué, and Éric Abidal closed the ball down as quickly as schoolchildren running to beat the class bell, but Carles Puyol was their leader.  In the 2009 Champions League final against Manchester United, when the Red Devils scrambled and threw more men into attack to pull themselves back into the match, Puyol appeared everywhere, as he cut down potential attacks from Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov, etc. as well as flying forward on more than one occasion to augment the attack.

Although Iker Casillas has been the captain of the Spanish national team since Euro 2008, Carles Puyol continues to lead the back line with his tenacity and braveheart defending.  Vital blocks on potential shots on target from Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Mario Gómez, organizing the defensive four, and his ever-running engine proved significant in keeping the Germans out, but the goal he scored will be the moment that most will remember from this semifinal that sent Spain into further uncharted territory: a FIFA World Cup Final.

Earlier in the match, Andrés Iniesta whipped in a high-velocity cross into the six-yard box for Puyol, and he could not keep his diving header underneath the crossbar as it flew over it for a goal kick.  That opportunity was arguably Spain’s best scoring chance before Puyol redeemed himself in the 73rd minute, and the manner in which he scored Spain’s lone goal is reminiscent of a central defender’s dream goal: a flying header from a corner kick.

With Spain’s lack of height, Xavi usually decides to execute a short corner routine, and Germany caught on to this tactic and sent an extra man around the corner flag.  Xavi, however, sent a bending ball from the corner into a dangerous area, where Puyol had a running head start to the penalty spot, and with his flowing curly locks, he powered his jumping header past a helpless Manuel Neuer as Spain’s patience paid off in an unusual fashion.  The extra man sent to mark Iniesta for the short corner combined with Germany’s zonal marking gave Puyol the opportunity to have an unmolested attempt at the header.

While many expected this Spanish team to dazzle with their midfield maestros and their creativity, David Villa has been the only player to finish consistently.  Because of this, Spain has scored more than one goal only twice in six matches, and the team had to be vigilant in defense in case of a well-timed counter-attack from the opposition.  With the sputtering in front of goal, Spain had to find different ways to score as well as maintain focus in the back when their teammates played keep-ball for minutes at a time.

This Spanish team, although constituted mainly from the Euro 2008 winning side, will not reach those same scoring heights as that team because national teams have had two more years to prepare for these unique set of characters, and Spain manager Vicente del Bosque is intent on playing this possession game set forth by previous manager Luis Aragonés.

The Dutch will likely provide a different test not encountered by Spain this World Cup because of their hardened midfielders Mark van Bommel and Nigel de Jong.  If Germany could be blamed for having too much respect for Spain, the Netherlands will not fall into that same trap because van Bommel and de Jong will have no problem flying into tackles and pressuring high up the pitch to prevent Spain’s hypnotic ball possession.

Sunday’s final will be highly tactical, especially if the match remains goalless for the first hour.  Regardless of how the Dutch and Spanish attack each other, the job remains the same for the Spanish defense: quickly retrieve the ball when Spain loses possession.  Spain will find it difficult to score on the Netherlands, and if Spain concedes the opening goal, the Netherlands will surely defend for their lives with all ten outfield players.  While David Villa and Xavi have been the two best players for Spain in this World Cup, Vicente del Bosque will rely on his star defenders to stave away the potent Dutch attack, and it will be they who decide the winner on Sunday.

With an unfathomable yet realistic possibility of an unceremonious exit from FIFA World Cup 2010, the Spanish national football team tussled with a Chilean side that has been one of the most impressive teams in this tournament thus far.  Marcelo Bielsa, Chile’s manager, insisted on a positive approach with an indirect emphasis on flair that is usually reserved for their South American rivals Argentina and Brazil.

While Bielsa transformed an underachieving and underwhelming Chilean national team into a legitimate force in international football, he still has the lingering stain of Argentina’s 2002 World Cup disaster when, as Argentina manager, he failed to send La Albiceleste through the group stage for the first time since the 1970 World Cup when Argentina failed to qualify for that tournament.  He stated his intention in the preceding press conference that his team would go out to win the match despite only needing a draw to ensure a place in the Round of 16, and through the first two matches, there was no reason not to take his word.

For Vicente del Bosque, his team improved dramatically as they notched a 2-0 victory against an overmatched Honduras team that looked grateful just to participate in this World Cup, but the building theme that the Spanish wanted to quash was the lack of finishing at those vital moments in the penalty area.  Of the 63% of the possession Spain had against Switzerland, 34% of that 63% was in the Swiss final third, but they could not break through an obstinate Swiss defense.  In the first two matches, Spain accumulated a staggering forty-six shots but only mustered eight shots on goal in each match.

Understandably, Fernando Torres has shown some rust because he is still recovering from knee surgery in April that cost him the rest of the Premier League season for Liverpool, but the chances he has wasted are uncharacteristic of his normally lethal nature up front.  Torres, however, only shares the responsibility for these squandered opportunities, as his fitter and healthier teammates have also missed their chances.

Vicente del Bosque did not feel compelled to make significant changes to his starting eleven despite ruing their uncomfortable position in the group, the only alteration being Andrés Iniesta returning to the lineup after sustaining a hip injury against Switzerland in favor of Jesús Navas, who continually worked the right flank and wore down Honduran left back Emilio Izaguirre.

For Marcelo Bielsa, his three modifications were not due to choice as Carlos Carmona and former Villarreal midfielder Matías Fernández were suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, and Real Zaragoza striker Humberto “Chupete” Suazo simply could not continue as he has played a total of ninety minute in the past three months after fighting through chronic shoulder, thigh, and hamstring injuries.  In their stead came Marco Estrada, Jorge Valdivia, and former Real Sociedad and Real Betis playmaker Mark González.

True to Bielsa’s word, Chile came out with a forward-thinking approach, and the South American rang the first warning bells when Jean Beausejour cut back a pass toward Mark González in the penalty area, but the ball was slightly behind González, and he could not fire a decent shot on Iker Casillas’ goal.

If Chile seemed to roll on as they have in this tournament, Spain could not adjust out of first gear.  Their normal passing brilliance had yet to shine, a sign of the palpable nervousness they displayed in the opening twenty minutes.  A moment of brilliance (or a moment of madness for the Chilean point of view), however, settled the growing jitters for the Spanish, and from that moment, Spain controlled the pace of the game as is their normal mode of play.

In the 24th minute, Xabi Alonso sent a long, hopeful ball down the left flank to a streaking Fernando Torres, and Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo sprinted to the left touch line to diffuse the potential threat, but Bravo kept it in play only for David Villa to latch on to it first-time from the left sideline forty yards into the open net.  Many questioned Bravo’s kamikaze effort, but in the direction that Bravo ran, he could have easily kicked it straight out of play for a throw-in.  Bravo’s mistake was in hooking his clearance back into play as he kicked it into the path of David Villa.  With the Chilean defense closing in, Villa could not afford to take a touch to settle the ball if he wanted a shot at the open net, and his technical magnificence shined as he whipped a curling shot with his “weaker” left foot and bounced once and into the net.

Chile’s discipline frittered away throughout the match, including Marco Estrada’s sending off and crucial yellow cards for the two starting central defenders Gary Medel and Waldo Ponce, which will force all three players to miss their Round of 16 match against Brazil due to suspension.  Ponce, in particular, could have easily seen red after he impetuously kicked Fernando Torres’ leg as Torres was about to throw the ball into play.

When Andrés Iniesta passed the ball into the lower right corner of the goal in the 37th minute to give Spain the 2-0 lead, Chile’s existence in this tournament fell into peril for the first time, as a Switzerland win against Honduras in the other simultaneous match would now mean a Swiss advancement.

Second half substitute Rodrigo Millar made sure that this scenario would not occur, as another patient Chilean buildup led to Millar’s shot at the D toward the right near post.  The ball deflected off Gerard Piqué in the opposite direction, and Iker Casillas could not recover in time to readjust to the ricochet.

A 2-1 result favored both Spain and Chile, and for the rest of the match, both teams went into cruise mode, especially in the last fifteen minutes, when Spain knocked the ball around in the midfield and in their own third, and Chile more than obliged by not pressuring the ball whatsoever.  As the mechanics of the tournament work, one cannot blame either team for their performance in the final half-hour, but for the fans at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, they had no sympathy as whistles of derision could be heard over the ubiquitous vuvuzela.

Spain won their group in a fashion that surprised many, but as Álvaro Arbeloa explained in the press conference before the Chile match, their Euro 2008 triumph did not wholly consist of the sparkling possession football that is synonymous with La Furia Roja. According to Arbeloa, Spain played a brilliant semifinal and final, but the quarterfinal penalty shootout against Italy and the last minute win against Sweden in the group stage showed that people tend to idealize the past

Spain is following that path in this tournament, as they are slowly raising their level as their journey in South Africa continues, and against a compact and defensive Portugal in the Round of 16, Spain must continue to be patient and develop a more ruthless attitude at goal because quality chances will be at a premium.  The Iberian derby will reach fever pitch on Tuesday evening, and if Portugal decides to open up their play, this match could be one of the most riveting occasions of FIFA World Cup 2010.

This writer has not fallen off the face of the earth after the season concluded in mid-May.  I am writing this as I leave on a boat from Napoli en route to Palma de Mallorca.  I have been traveling through Europe these past weeks, and I was in Barcelona to cover the FC Barcelona presidential elections, and that report will be disseminated once I return to the United States next week along with columns about the Spanish national team in South Africa.

After a self-imposed hiatus from a long but thrilling La Liga season, La Liga Talk will be the home for the Spanish national team in FIFA World Cup 2010.  After a couple of friendlies against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Korea Republic, where La Furia Roja did not play as well as expected, Spain still holds the co-favorite title with Brazil to win the World Cup.  These international exhibitions before the tournament only matter if a player or players suffer injuries that will affect their health status for any official game time (ask Ivory Coast about Didier Drogba).

As well as covering Spain throughout their excursion in South Africa, La Liga Talk will host many articles and columns about transfer rumors (including the overanalyzed and overwritten Cesc Fàbregas saga) and other news related to the twenty teams in Spain’s first division this summer.  For example, the FC Barcelona presidential elections will take place on June 13, and the man that will lead from the top will have a major role in the future direction of one of the top club teams in world football.  The success of outgoing president Joan Laporta heaps more pressure on the next president to continue these successful, trophy-winning seasons.

While there are no matches played on the pitch during the close season, the constant battles waged by the clubs off the pitch can sometimes determine final placement in La Liga more than what the players do on the field.  So keep updated with summer Spanish football news with La Liga Talk, as it will be out on the forefront on the top stories emanating from Spain.

Will Spain's fortunes in the World Cup be similar to Euro 2008 or the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup?

On Tuesday, the goalkeepers and defenders were discussed, and Wednesday, the midfielders were discussed.  With all of the creative talent in the midfield, that will bring the pressure on the forwards to convert the multitudes of chances that Xavi, Xabi Alonso, etc. will create for them.  Obviously, the two starting men up front would be David Villa and Fernando Torres, but Torres currently faces an uphill battle to be fit enough for their first World Cup game on June 16 against Switzerland because he is still recovering from knee surgery in April that cost him the rest of the Premier League season.

Thus, the reserve forwards will have a significant role to play, and while those two spots are not secure, Fernando Llorente of Athletic Bilbao has the third-choice forward in his hands.  Included in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squad, he epitomizes the target-man center forward with his height and strength.  His technical skill should not be overlooked either, and with fourteen goals in La Liga and eight goals in the Europa League this season, only injury or a disastrous training camp will prevent him from making the squad.

Álvaro Negredo endured an inconsistent season with Sevilla, failing to impress enough to dislodge either Luís Fabiano or Frédéric Kanouté up front.  Because both could not continually stay fit, Manolo Jiménez and Antonio Álvarez gave Negredo numerous chances to prove himself.  His occasional run-ins with the Sevilla technical staff did nothing to paint himself in a more positive light, but when he played for the national team in his four appearances, he belonged.

His two goals against Bosnia and Herzegovina certainly showed his potential, but if Vicente del Bosque will finalize the last few spots based on current form, Negredo will have plenty of work to do in the last week of the La Liga season, the Copa del Rey final against Atlético Madrid, and the training camp to convince del Bosque that he deserves a seat on the plane to South Africa.

Dani Güiza has been the third forward since late 2007 for the Spanish national team, and his two goals in Euro 2008, including the match-winner against previous European champions Greece, showed that he could shine in the limelight of international football.  He made a newsworthy transfer in the summer of 2008 when he moved to Fenerbahçe for €17.4 million after winning the Pichichi with Mallorca in the previous season, and while he has had moderate success with the Istanbul club, he has not lived up to that transfer fee.

This season, he scored eleven goals in the Turkish Süper Lig but did not score in any of Fenerbahçe’s Europa League matches once they qualified for the group stage.  Llorente, Negredo, and Güiza are similar strikers in style, so Vicente del Bosque will have to decide among the proven international Güiza, the in-form Llorente, and the mercurial but talented Negredo.

That leaves the wild card in this discussion, Pedro Rodríguez.  A talented player from the La Masia youth academy of FC Barcelona, his original role on this year’s Barcelona squad was to be a backup to Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry, but as Henry slogged through a dip in form, Pedro unexpectedly rose in prominence, and he became the first player to score in six different competitions in one calendar.

Firmly entrenched in the three-pronged attack for Barcelona, he does not just score the meaningless goals when Barcelona is up two or three goals.  In the Champions League, Copa del Rey, and important La Liga matches, he scored numerous times that either tied the match, gave Barça the lead, or provided that two-goal cushion to ease the nerves.  Uncapped at the international level, that might be a knock to most players, but with his revelation of a season combined with a skill set that is completely different from the other strikers contending for the reserve forward spots, Pedro has a better than a fifty percent chance to join some of his Barcelona teammates in South Africa.

Whatever decisions Vicente del Bosque makes for his final 23-man squad, the wealth of talent from which he has an honor to choose is unparalleled in international football.  As detailed in Spanish national team history, they have always had supreme skill yet folded in the biggest moments.  With their Euro 2008 success, this team might have exorcised those demons, but now they are co-favorites with Brazil to win World Cup 2010, and anything less than a finals appearance will be a bitter disappointment.

Vicente del Bosque’s Provisional 30-Man Squad

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Víctor Valdés, Diego López, and David de Gea

Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Arbeloa, Raúl Albiol, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, and César Azpilicueta

Midfielders: Xavi Hernández, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Juan Mata, David Silva, Marcos Senna, Santi Cazorla, Jesús Navas, Javi Martínez, and Cesc Fàbregas

Forwards: David Villa, Fernando Torres, Fernando Llorente, Pedro Rodríguez, Dani Güiza, Álvaro Negredo

Vicente del Bosque hopes his team will continue its trophy-winning ways at World Cup 2010.

Yesterday, the goalkeeping and the defense were discussed, and while the three goalkeepers contending for the final goalkeeping spot will state their cases to Vicente del Bosque on and off the pitch, they will have little to no chance of participating in the World Cup.  The players who will compete for the final midfield spots, however, will more likely have a chance to run onto the field in South Africa.

Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, and Cesc Fàbregas, stalwarts in Spain’s midfield, have had chronic injury concerns throughout the second half of the season.  Iniesta might be back for FC Barcelona in their final match against Real Valladolid after a hamstring tear six weeks ago; Xavi continues to play with a muscle injury in his leg that could jeopardize his World Cup ambitions; and Fàbregas is still in rehabilitation after cracking his fibula against Barcelona in the Champions League in April.  While all three will be on the squad, there is no guarantee that they will be able to play in every World Cup game.

Besides the aforementioned midfielders, Xabi Alonso, David Silva, Sergio Busquets, and Marcos Senna seem to be locks for the plane to South Africa, so the last four midfielders will be competing for the last two spots: Juan Mata, Jesús Navas, Santi Cazorla, and Javi Martínez.

Juan Mata, in tandem with David Silva and Pablo Hernández, contributed significantly to Valencia’s attacking midfield as the fourth-best offense in La Liga.  While Mata has had a tendency to drift in and out of matches, he rose to the call nearly every time that Valencia needed him.  Nine goals in thirty matches in La Liga from the left wing position, a relatively healthy campaign, and three goals in seven international matches for Spain are an abundance of accomplishments that sees his inclusion into the Spain squad a near formality.

Jesús Navas’ anxiety problems due to clinical homesickness have been well documented, but his commitment to fight this issue as well as stellar play for Sevilla has reassured Vicente del Bosque that selecting Navas into his squad will not become a detriment to the team.  More than what he has done on the pitch, the courage and perseverance necessary to overcome his psychological problems shows that the crushing pressure of a World Cup will not get the best of Jesús Navas.

Flying down the right wing for Sevilla all season, he became the linchpin for Sevilla’s attack because of intermittent injuries to Luís Fabiano and Frédéric Kanouté.  Many times during Sevilla’s inconsistent season, he was the only player that had any sort of capability to bother the opposition because of his speed and guile.  Because Spain does not have a true right winger in the squad, Navas will likely earn a seat on the plane to South Africa.

Santi Cazorla is the only player that could oust Navas from the World Cup squad.  Equally competent on either wing, Cazorla has been a mainstay on the Spain squad since his surprise inclusion into the UEFA Euro 2008 squad, where he came in as a substitute in five of their six matches.  The injury bug bit Cazorla all season with inveterate leg and back issues, and Villarreal missed his influence considerably, as they mired in mid-table for a majority of the season.  Cazorla is starting to regain his fitness after he came back from injury in mid-April, but unless he stars in the Spain training camp and exhibitions, his lack of game action will be the sole reason he is left off the squad.

Javi Martínez of Athletic Bilbao was one of the surprise selections by Vicente del Bosque into the thirty-man squad, but if one has watched La Liga all season long, Martínez would not be that much of a revelation.  Only twenty-one years old, Athletic saw him as such a talent that they paid Osasuna €6 million when he was only seventeen.

More than a typical Bilbao rugged midfielder, his dribbling and shooting skill is unquestioned, as shown here in one of the most spectacular individual moments of the season.  His box-to-box energy throughout the season kept Athletic in the hunt for a European berth, and without his industry in their midfield, Gaizka Toquero and Fernando Llorente would not have enjoyed the freedom to focus on the final third.  Nearly every World Cup squad includes one player from left field, and although del Bosque has a glut of central midfielders, Javi Martínez should not immediately be dismissed as one of the seven that will not make the final 23-man roster.

Tomorrow, this column will focus on the battle for the final spot in the forward position.

Vicente del Bosque’s Provisional 30-Man Squad

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Víctor Valdés, Diego López, and David de Gea

Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Arbeloa, Raúl Albiol, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, and César Azpilicueta

Midfielders: Xavi Hernández, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Juan Mata, David Silva, Marcos Senna, Santi Cazorla, Jesús Navas, Javi Martínez, and Cesc Fàbregas

Forwards: David Villa, Fernando Torres, Fernando Llorente, Pedro Rodríguez, Dani Güiza, Álvaro Negredo

On Monday evening, Spanish national team manager Vicente del Bosque detailed the initial squad he will invite to Spain’s World Cup training camp.  The thirty-man team will be whittled down to twenty-three by May 19, and for the most part, the squad has picked itself.  The competition for those final few spots will concentrate on three areas: third-choice goalkeeper, fourth-choice forward, and the last two midfield spots.

The only question for the defense is if Osasuna left back César Azpilicueta can steal a spot from one of the midfielders.  Equally capable on the left wing as well as left back, Azpilicueta has never played for the Spanish national team at the senior level.  At twenty years of age, he will be the future left back for Spain, but with the expectations so high on this particular Spanish squad, Azpilicueta will be on the outside-looking-in because Álvaro Arbeloa can slot in at either full back position if either Sergio Ramos or Joan Capdevila gets injured or needs rest.

As for the goalkeeping situation, Iker Casillas and Pepe Reina are locked in as the number one and two goalkeepers respectively, so the last goalkeeping berth will be among three players with vastly different histories.

David de Gea of Atlético Madrid was the third-choice keeper on his own team to begin the season behind Roberto Jiménez and Sergio Asenjo.  At nineteen years old, he was a mere afterthought, as Atlético signed Real Valladolid keeper Sergio Asenjo over the summer for €5 million to be the goalkeeping future.  Early struggles for Asenjo and injuries for Roberto thrust de Gea into the unexpected spotlight, and he responded with a veteran’s savvy, keeping Asenjo on the bench and eventually sending Roberto on loan to Real Zaragoza in the January transfer window.

Víctor Valdés has been the starting goalkeeper for FC Barcelona since 2004, and although he has finished in the top three in the race for the Ricardo Zamora trophy (the award given to the goalkeeper with the lowest goals to games ratio) since he earned the goalkeeping helm, winning it twice, former national team manager Luis Aragonés and current manager Vicente del Bosque never seriously considered him as a potential call-up to the national team.  A combination of inopportune, high-profile errors and occasional run-ins with managers have been presented as reasons why he was kept off the national team, but with his high-level play in the past two seasons, Vicente del Bosque may find it hard to continue to justify Valdés’ exclusion.

Unfortunately for Diego López, he came up through the Real Madrid cantera while Iker Casillas manned Real’s posts as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.  He left Madrid in 2007 to join Villarreal, knowing that there was little chance he would overthrow Casillas in the Real goal.  López’s good form with Villarreal led del Bosque to hand him the third-choice keeper berth over Andrés Palop in early 2009, and he has been ensconced in that spot since then.  While he continued his consistent play this season for Villarreal, he might be penalized for both Villarreal’s underwhelming campaign and the grassroots swell of support for Víctor Valdés.

Tomorrow, this column will focus on the last midfield spots.

Vicente del Bosque’s Provisional 30-Man Squad

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Víctor Valdés, Diego López, and David de Gea

Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Arbeloa, Raúl Albiol, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, and César Azpilicueta

Midfielders: Xavi Hernández, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Juan Mata, David Silva, Marcos Senna, Santi Cazorla, Jesús Navas, Javi Martínez, and Cesc Fàbregas

Forwards: David Villa, Fernando Torres, Fernando Llorente, Pedro Rodríguez, Dani Güiza, Álvaro Negredo

Elogio del Horizonte (Eulogy to the Horizon), one of the famous works of Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida, stands sentry over the Gijón coast.

After a less than impressive performance by the Spanish Armada in European competition, these teams return to their domestic responsibilities in order to regain their confidence.  Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao traveled to Wolfsburg and Anderlecht, respectively, and became punching bags for those teams as both Wolfsburg and Anderlecht scored four goals on their visitors.  They never had a chance, and both Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao exited the UEFA Europa League with a silent whimper.

The three Spanish representatives in the UEFA Champions League failed to display their prowess in Europe’s most glamorous club competition but still maintain the upper hands in their ties.  Although Real Madrid faces a one-goal deficit against Olympique Lyonnais, they return to the Bernabéu in the second leg, and they have won every single match there this season.

Sevilla visited frigid Moscow and secured the away goal in a 1-1 entertaining draw.  Mark González, a former rival of Sevilla when he played for Real Betis, scored the goal of the round with a wonder strike from thirty yards that froze Andrés Palop to even the score, but Sevilla still controls the tie as they return to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.

FC Barcelona’s attacking intimidation took a significant hit against Stuttgart because the Germans did not relegate themselves to playing with ten or eleven men behind the ball.  Barcelona will always have a dominant possession edge, but the chances they created were few and far between, whereas Die Roten could have easily scored two or three more goals with a slightly better touch in the penalty box.  This match is akin to Barcelona’s first leg against Lyon in the Round of 16 last year, where they struggled but managed to squeak out a 1-1 draw away from home.  When they came home to the Camp Nou, they demolished Lyon 5-2 in a match that was not close as the score indicated.  The Catalans hope to reincarnate those same spirits this year, but this Stuttgart team seems determined to become the giant-killers of the round and defeat the reigning European champions.

The two teams that actually played well were Atlético Madrid and Valencia, although both needed late winners to advance to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Europa League.  An otherworldly performance by Club Brugge goalkeeper Stijn Stijnen kept the Belgians into extra time, but the persistence of David Villa and Pablo Hernández eventually broke the brick wall to score twice in extra time to advance to the next round.

Atlético Madrid controlled their match against Galatasaray, but the match looked prime to go into extra time until Caner Erkin received his second yellow card for a late challenge on Juan Valera.  Diego Forlán converted on an ingenious pass from man of the match José Antonio Reyes in the 90th minute to send Los Colchoneros into the second knockout round.  Both Atlético Madrid and Valencia will play against each other in the late Sunday kickoff, and a prediction for how Atleti will perform against Los Che is a useless exercise given their completely incomprehensible form from one match to the next.

The times listed are Eastern Standard Time (EST) and include the pregame pleasantries, although sometimes the matches on the DirecTV La Liga specific channels may not go to match coverage until right before kickoff.

Feb. 27

Getafe vs. Real Zaragoza – 11:55 AM on Gol TV

Tenerife vs. Real Madrid – 1:55 PM on Gol TV

FC Barcelona vs. Málaga – 3:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Feb. 28

Real Valladolid vs. Mallorca – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 456

Sporting Gijón vs. Osasuna – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 457

Racing Santander vs. Almería – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 458

Villarreal vs. Deportivo La Coruña – 10:55 AM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Sevilla vs. Athletic Bilbao – 12:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Atlético Madrid vs. Valencia – 2:55 PM on Gol TV

Unfortunately, the Xerez – Espanyol match at El Chapín will not be shown on US TV.

International Friendly

Next Wednesday is the last international date before the end of the club season, and national team managers will use these friendlies more as a training regimen than anything else.  Spain will play France at the Stade de France, and while Raymond Domenech bled some new blood in his 23-man squad, Vicente del Bosque featured little change.  What is most significant is that Álvaro Negredo keeps his spot over Fernando Llorente, and Jesús Navas’ excellent play has kept his place in the squad.  A winning formula over the past three years, del Bosque need not change for the sake of change.

France vs. Spain – 3:00 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360