Spain

As you know, to defend the title is much more difficult than winning it the first time. Spanish team has accustomed everyone to victories. Naturally, the fans are waiting for a triumphant continuation of the series. Do not even wait, but demand. And any result worse than the first place will be perceived as a failure. Suck is the pressure that the "Red Fury" comes to the Euro with.

The victory in the upcoming European Championships in Spain will establish a unique achievement - to win three major international titles in four years. And there is no one that won Euro two times in a row. The team from the Iberian Peninsula will probably not have such a chance to make history in the near future, if they fail.

Surely the young fans who just started watching football think that it was always strong as it is now. No, until the last few years the team was considered "one of the many", while to the level of the Germans or, say, the Brazilians was much higher. And even on Spanish soil from time immemorial were born many talents, for a long time only a few team had even short-term successes. Among these can be remembered the fourth World Cup in 1950 or the triumph of The Continental Championship in 1964.

The fact that Spain is only now appeared in a number of recognized leaders we can blame the country and the mood inside it. Spain, Catalonia and the Basque Country can never unite with each other. Often there were occasions when the Catalonians and Basques simply refused to play in the team. Thought and believe themselves to be regarded as independent of these areas. However, there were also such cases that the talented members of Catalonia or the Basque Country where not called into the team, preferring the Spanish thoroughbred players from "Real".

Now the world has become much more civilized. Luis Aragonés has also had a habit to decouple players that he did not like from a personal side. In the other side Vicente del Bosque is by nature a democrat. Even though he himself is a true "madridista", he is constantly inviting promising players from Barcelona and the Basque stars asterisks.

The way to Poland and Ukraine.

In the history of the Spanish national team has already been such a case, that, having won a major tournament, they could not even get through to the second. For example, after the triumph in the 1964 "Red Fury" for three cycles did not get to the finals. So before the qualifying tournament for Euro 2012 with Spain, not everyone predicted a landslide victory in the group. If only because such failures in the past had taken place.

But in the end Spain has surpassed all expectations by achieving 100% of the result. And all this despite the fact that among the contenders there were traditionally strong Czechs and Scots, inconvenient Lithuanians, and capable of sensation Liechtenstein. Tough matches constantly happened. So, at home against the Czechs, Spaniards where the first to miss the goal and only shortly before the end they pulled out a victory.

The official matches are not for experimenting, but in friendly matches Vicente del Bosque was happy to let the beginners play, and was trying out the new combination. As a result, in some matches the Spaniards where defeated. It is interesting that opponents of "Red Fury" were either representatives of Latin America or European grants. By the way, England, and Italy defeated the Spaniards with a minimum score. Such things could not give use optimistic thought.

Mentor.

Last year, a significant event happened in the life of Vicente del Bosque. King of Spain granted him the title of marquis (even more honorable than a knight in the UK). This is how much Juan Carlos was impressed with the first victory of the team at the World Cup in South Africa. Among other things, that victory made del Bosque truly great, only a handful of coaches has conquered both the Champions League and world championship gold medals.

Of course, critics who believed that Vicente del Bosque can only work with the native "Real", and could not cope with the national team, went silent. As you can see, he gets everything done. And, very importantly, good attitude with the Catalonians. This is partly because of his son, who was born with some weakness in health. As del Bosque told himself, at first he and his wife cried and where angry of God for the fact that their child was sick, but only later realized the opposite. The family is happy, and his son has grown up and loves football. His favorite player is Andrés Iniesta. How could Vicente del Bosque not respect the Catalonians?

The fact that before work in the national team, their coach never had a coaching practice for three years, was a reason for concern for the Spanish. And in his last club he did not meet the expectations. The longer he was on trial with the "Beşiktaş" longer than he was their coach. In general, The Football Federation of Spain took a great risk. The most important thing was the fact – that he established himself as a winner coach, even if somewhat inexperienced. In three years at the helm of "Real", he won everything he could. As you can see, this quality remains with him and his team even now.

The current squad

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (captain) (Real Madrid) Víctor Valdés (Barcelona) Pepe Reina (Liverpool)

Defenders: Raúl Albiol (Real Madrid) Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) Juanfran (Atlético Madrid) Jordi Alba (Valencia) Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) Álvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid)

Midfielder: Javi Martínez (Athletic Bilbao) Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona) Xavi Hernández (Barcelona) Cesc Fàbregas (Barcelona) Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid) Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) Santi Cazorla (Málaga) David Silva (Manchester City) Jesús Navas (Sevilla) Juan Mata (Chelsea)

Forwards: Álvaro Negredo (Sevilla) Fernando Torres (Chelsea) Pedro Rodríguez (Barcelona) Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao)