Forwards of the Spanish national team. The best goalkeepers of the Spanish national team. "Artistic disorder" in the center of the field

Casillas' long career in goal for the Spanish national team began with a bottle of aftershave lotion, which was broken by his older teammate and competitor Santiago Cañizares. The Valencia goalkeeper was cut so badly by shrapnel that he was forced to miss the 2002 World Cup, where Iker played so well that everyone in the world understood why he was nicknamed “The Saint.”

Casillas, like the rest of Spain, had to wait until 2008 for trophies. Having become a real veteran and having started an affair with Sara Carbonero, Cas on big international tournaments demonstrated an unusual style of play: he made a considerable number of mistakes in the group stage, after which he played flawlessly in the finals. Iker's kiss with his beloved immediately after winning the World Cup he entered football history forever.

Alternative: Ricardo Zamora

Protection


Now you don’t immediately remember that one of the brightest athletes of Andalusia became the world and European champion in the position of the right lateral. Even as a teenager, Ramos was considered the “golden boy” of Spanish football and fully justified all advances, including the amount paid by Real Madrid to Sevilla for a very, very young talent.

Ramos is an emotional player who can lose position in front of his own goal or get sent off, but he makes up for these shortcomings with versatility, amazing aerial performance and very confident support from the attacking players. Ramos made it into the main team of the national team at the age of 20 - since he actually ended the international and Madrid career of a veteran, whom we will put as an alternative choice for this position.

Alternative: Michel Salgado

The Barcelona captain spent most of his career in the center of defense, but started as a right-sided player and in this capacity even made it into the 2002 UEFA All-Star Team. Puyol was distinguished by his ability to put out any fire in the penalty area, his play on the second floor, his concentration, but above all, his character and leadership charisma.

Carles was the kind of player who does not relax when the score is 4:0 in favor of his team and does not give up when the score is 4:0 in favor of the opponent. Despite the fact that Puyol relied on his fighting qualities, he could occasionally throw out these are the things. He ended his career with the national team, having played exactly 100 official matches for it.

Alternative: Carlos Marchena


In 89 appearances for the national team, Hierro scored 29 goals and remains fourth on the team's all-time goalscoring list, while also serving as a centre-back. Two episodes with his participation are particularly memorable - how he scored the winning goal for the Danish national team in qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, which Spain, which was left with ten men, could have missed; and how he missed the decisive penalty against England at Euro 1996.

When I remember Hierro, for some reason his broken nose immediately comes to mind, although I look at the photographs and understand that it was just an episode, and not a facial feature that constantly accompanied the image. Probably, it fit too well with his character and constant threat, whether in his own penalty area or someone else’s.

Alternative: Gerard Pique


Camacho's career path is in many ways similar to that of Sergio Ramos - a full-back, considered a great talent from a young age, at 18 he moved to Real Madrid and cemented his place in the national team for many years to come. Except that Camacho’s playing style was completely different, which is not surprising, given the difference in size.

Camacho was a hero of an unheroic era for the Spanish national team - having taken over his post in 1975, he went with the team through all the major tournaments of the decade (1982 World Cup, 1984 European Championship, 1986 World Cup and 1988 European Championship), the most worthy of which was the French Euro, where the Spaniards lost to the hosts of the tournament in the final.

Alternative: Joan Capdevila

Midfield


In a football sense, Xavi has always been a metronome man. It’s just that circumstances gradually developed in such a way that he best qualities turned out to be in demand both in the club and in the national team top level. Under Rijkaard at Barça, the midfielder suffered from his own lack of demand, and Furia fans reacted painfully to his habit of tucking his socks, on which the Spanish flag was displayed, inside - since he was a Catalan, they saw this as something more than a banal habit.

The work of Pep Guardiola and Luis Aragones brought maestro Xavi to the fore. He was voted the best player of Euro 2008 because it was his performance that best reflected the style of the entire Spanish team. Brought up on the best examples of the art of passing, Xavi helped Spain enter the best era in its history.

Alternative: Josep Guardiola

Luisito was Spain's first national pride on the world stage. A handsome man who embodied on the field everything that the Spaniards love so much in football - outstanding technique, soft accurate passes and sudden shots on goal - he was the first of the entire nation to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or.

During his playing career, Suarez experienced a transformation from a classic attacking midfielder in the Spanish championship to a smart rear playmaker, who was molded from him in the much more tactically sophisticated Serie A. Suarez was able to repay his homeland for sending him to Helenio Herrera for football skills courses by winning the 1964 European Championship . To this day, this was the only victory of the Spanish national team at major international tournaments.

Alternative: Sergi Busquets


For several years in a row, we used Iniesta’s surname exclusively in the same context with Xavi, and sometimes we lumped them together into “Javinesta”. But if Xavi is more and more about the process, about the trend, about the football flow, then Iniesta is a punchline, an exclamation point at the end of a florid sentence. Silent Bob, who says all the most important words at the end of the film.

Best player of the 2010 World Cup final, best player of the Euro 2012 final, best player of Euro 2012. The main recognition was that no matter what stadium Barcelona player Andres Iniesta appeared in, nowhere did he hear anything but applause addressed to him, even if the stands booed all his other teammates.

Alternative: Pirri

Attack


It’s not that we see Villa very often on the right side of the attack, but his versatility allows him to be placed here out of the entire three strikers. It’s very easy to talk about David Villa’s place in the national team - he is its best scorer in history.

David is a true example of a self-made man. From the Sporting double team via Zaragoza, he made his way to the top clubs, and joined the national team at an adult age - almost 25 years old. He had no preferable starting data other than his own talent and ability to work. Although not possessing the characteristics of a classic centre-forward, Villa was renowned for his effective use of both legs, mobility and good dribbling. Which ultimately helped him replace our next hero in the team.

Alternative: Amancio Amaro


For the Spanish national team, Raul is rather a tragic figure. He was the top or one of the top scorers in every qualifying stage in which he took part. But when he led the national team to a major tournament, he was the man who often buried it there. Whether it was a miss from an advantageous position or a missed penalty in the 90th minute, as in the quarter-finals of Euro 2000.

Moreover, when the Spanish national team took that decisive step and entered a triumphant era, there was no place left for Raul in it. Luis Aragones, known for his dislike of Madrid, saw his “black mark” in the legendary striker and replaced him with David Villa. Spanish fans rioted, collected petitions to return Raul to the national team, but the title of European champions silenced everyone. However, whatever the outcome, Raul is a special figure for Spanish football, and it is very difficult to imagine any team without him.

Alternative: Fernando Torres


He would definitely be among the best left wingers in the history of football - the incredibly fast and technically gifted Francisco Gento scored on big holidays, but gave out assists all the time. His club career turned out to be much brighter than his career in the national team (this is true for almost everyone who defended the colors of Madrid in the second half of the fifties), but in terms of playing for his country, Gento has something to be proud of.

Gento played more than 40 games for the national team, playing at two World Cups, although he did not play a significant role in Spain's gold Euro 1964. In the early sixties, he was among the 11 best football players in the world for three years in a row.

Alternative: Emilio Butragueno

Trainer

In the history of the Spanish national team, there were several specialists who were close to turning the rich potential of their players into trophy reality. But only the stubborn, superstitious and experienced Aragones managed to break the image of charismatic losers.

He followed his line, turning a deaf ear to criticism regarding the choice of certain players. While he was accused of racist remarks, he gave his team a starring role to the naturalized Brazilian Marcos Senna and instilled in the national team a style of play that, within a few years, would tire everyone with its tiredness in laudatory journalistic texts - tiki-taka. Under Aragonés, the Spanish national team became a team with a fundamentally different mentality, the mentality of winners.

Alternative: Miguel Muñoz

Photo: Gettyimages.ru /Clive Mason, Denis Doyle (2,12), Lars Baron, Martin Rose/Bongarts, Michael King, Kevork Djansezian, Schirner/ullstein bild, Michael Steele, Jeff Gross, Ben Radford; commons.wikimedia.org /Nationaal Archief Fotocollectie Anefo

Spain has had several outstanding goalkeepers, each of whom personified an era.

Spain's top five goalkeepers

I’ll make a reservation right away that I won’t take on the responsibility of ranking these people, because each of them was the best in their time, so I’m ranking the goalkeepers in chronological order.

  • Years in the national team: 1920-1936.
  • National team appearances: 46.

The legendary goalkeeper, who was known in Spain only as "" was known for his amazing reaction, incredible jumping ability and ability to parry 11-meter shots.

The Spaniards went to the 1934 World Cup largely thanks to their goalkeeper. There they lost to the hosts of the tournament - the Italian national team - only in a replay, after the Italians literally knocked out Zamora - doctors recorded a concussion and fractures of two ribs in the goalkeeper.

And the prize for the best goalkeeper of the Spanish championship still bears the name of Ricardo Zamora.

  • Years in the national team: 1964-1976.
  • National team appearances: 49.

Iribar is a true Athletic Bilbao legend. He spent his entire career at this club, playing about five hundred matches for them. But in the Basque Country he is idolized not only for this - in 1976, Iribar entered the derby with Real Sociedad with the Basque flag, the public display of which was then prohibited in Spain.

As for his performances for the Spanish national team, Iribar broke Zamora’s record for the number of matches for goalkeepers, and also became the European champion, because it was he who defended the goal of the “red fury” in the tournament that brought her the first title.

  • Years in the national team: 1985-1998.
  • National team appearances: 126.

Zubizarreta did not win titles in the Andoni team, but this does not negate his greatness. The permanent goalkeeper of the Spanish national team at four world championships and two European championships (this contrast arose due to the fact that Andoni was a reserve goalkeeper at Euro 1984, and the Spaniards did not qualify for the 1992 tournament).

For a long time, Zubizarreta remained the national team's record holder for the number of matches played, until representatives of the “golden” generation of Spaniards overtook him.

  • Years in the national team: 2000-2016.
  • National team appearances: 167.

And here is a representative of that very “golden” generation. was not only the main goalkeeper of the Spanish national team at its victorious World Championships (2010) and European Championships (2008 and 2012), he was the captain of this team.

It is simply impossible to overestimate his role in these victories - just remember the fact that in ten playoff matches of these three tournaments, the Spanish national team did not concede a single goal!

  • Years in the national team: 2014 – present.
  • National team appearances: 25.

De Gea is included in this list, perhaps a little in advance. He was clearly unlucky with time, because the period of his formation as a goalkeeper coincided with the era of the great Casillas.

But I think Iker has a more than worthy replacement. De Gea has been in the public eye for ten years now, in last years He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and in terms of the number of matches won alone, he is the undisputed leader.

With such a rear, the Spanish national team may well aim to repeat its recent achievements.

    Spain national football team: history, style and features of the game- The eminent Russian coach Anatoly Byshovets told RIA Novosti on Tuesday that he has a very positive assessment of the Russian team’s chances in the first match of the group stage of the European Football Championship with the Spaniards, which will take place in Innsbruck on June 10. Team … Encyclopedia of Newsmakers

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Books

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  • Cherchesov: Stani, Stas, Salamych, Zhidkov Ivan. They didn’t believe in him, they laughed at him, they didn’t understand him, journalists wrote about his inevitable failure, and the fans...

For many decades, the Spanish national team could not achieve outstanding results. The team, as a rule, successfully made it through the qualifying tournaments of the World and European Championships, but did not stay at the championships for long and did not advance beyond the quarter-final stage. The first major success came in 1964: the Spaniards became winners of the second European Championship. The success was repeated only in 2008 on the fields of Austria and Switzerland. In 2012, the Spaniards became three-time European champions and the first to win this title twice in a row.

In July 2008, Spain reached the top spot in the FIFA rankings, becoming the first team in history to never win the FIFA World Cup.

On July 11, 2010, having beaten the Netherlands in the final with a score of 1:0, the Spanish team became the world champion for the first time; Andres Iniesta scored the only goal. The Spaniards became the fifth European team (after Italy, Germany, England and France) to win the World Cup, and the fourth European team (after Italy, Germany and France) to win all three of the most prestigious tournaments for national teams (World Cup (2010) , Olympic Games(1992) and continental championship (2008 and 2012)).

Iker Casillas has played the most matches for the national team - 167 matches; The national team's top scorer is David Villa (59 goals).

As of January 18, 2018, the national team ranks 6th in the FIFA rankings, and 4th in the UEFA rankings as of October 11, 2017.

The current captain of the national team is the captain of the Real Madrid club, Sergio Ramos.

Spain qualifying route

The Spanish team spent the qualifying round in one breath.

Football experts unanimously said that the Italians would impose a fight, but it didn’t turn out that way. Lopetegui’s team simply destroyed their rivals one after another, and since the Italians were unable to do anything against the “red fury,” the teams of Albania, Macedonia, Israel and Liechtenstein even more so failed.

Four team players scored five goals each in the qualifying campaign: Costa, Isco, Morata and Silva. The latter also managed to give five assists.

Spain national team at the 2018 World Cup

Group stage

At the World Cup, the team started with a crazy draw against the Portuguese (3:3). Then, with great difficulty, the Europeans broke the resistance of the rebellious Iran (1:0). At the same time, the Asian “bus” became a real problem for the Spanish team.

In the last round there was a rather dangerous match with Morocco, considering the tournament schedule. The Spaniards saved the draw only in the last minutes thanks to a goal from Aspas, but overall the Moroccans proved that it is possible to play on counterattacks and achieve results even against the stars of European football.

1/8 finals and elimination from the World Cup

The Spanish national team crashed in the 1/8 finals of the 2018 World Cup with Russia. Having scored first, Fernando Hierro's team out of the blue brought a penalty into their own goal, having conceded in the first half. In the second half of the meeting, as well as in extra time, the “red fury” was unconvincing. As a result, it came to a penalty shootout, where luck turned its face against the Spaniards.

The final composition of the Spanish team for the 2018 World Cup

The following 23 players will go to the FIFA World Cup in Russia:

Goalkeepers: David de Gea (Manchester United), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Athletic), Pepe Reina (Napoli)

Defenders: Alvaro Odriozola (Real Sociedad), Nacho (all Real Madrid), (both Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal)

Midfielders: , Marco Asensio, Lucas Vazquez (all Real Madrid), (both Barcelona), Koke, Saul Niguez (both Atlético), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern), (Manchester City)

Forwards: Diego Costa (Atlético), Rodrigo (Valencia), Iago Aspas (Celta)

The largest number of Real Madrid representatives is six, while the Barcelona players are four. Changes in the squad can occur before June 4 only in the event of an injury to one of the players.

The team will meet Portugal, Iran and Morocco in the group stage of the tournament. If they reach the 1/8 finals, the Spaniards will play with one of the teams in Group A, where the Russian national team plays.

Schedule of matches of the Spanish national team at the 2018 World Cup

Young talents of the Spanish national team

The Spanish national football team for the 2018 World Cup has in its ranks quite a lot of young talented players who recently successfully played for youth national teams. We list: David De Gea, Inigo Martinez, Jose Gaya, Daniel Carvajal, Saul Niguez, Koke, Paco Alcazar, Alvaro Morata.

Thus, goalkeeper De Gea constantly surprises with his calm and confident play. His actions are absolutely precise. Defender Inigo Martinez can read the game well, which gives him the opportunity to be proactive and win a duel with any attacker. Interestingly, Inigo's physical characteristics and defensive style are very reminiscent of the game of Sergio Ramos, the captain of Real Madrid. Their combination on the field promises spectacular football.

The Spanish left-back Jose Gaya, in turn, resembles his predecessor Jordi Alba in his play: both are high-speed, with accurate passes, and frequent connections to the attack.

Daniel Carvajal, who was recently returned to the team by Real Madrid, played for the German Bayer Leverkusen, where he was recognized as the best defender in the 2013 Bundesliga. Literally everyone knows the Spanish central defender Saul Niguez from his beautiful goal against Bayern Munich. After which many European clubs became interested in the promising defender. Very talented, efficient and technical.

The star of Atlético Madrid is another football prodigy - midfielder Jorge Resurección Merodio, or, as everyone calls him, Koke. In a world-class adult tournament, he will only have to feel the full responsibility of playing on the field.

The 2018 Spanish national football team also included young midfielder Paco Alcácer (who has excellent scoring ability) and striker Alvaro Morata, who has an innate scoring instinct and excellent aerial ability.

Krasnodar will be the Spanish base for the 2018 World Cup

The Spanish national team has decided on the location of the team headquarters during the 2018 World Cup. Sports director of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) Fernando Hierro said that the base will be located in Krasnodar.

We decided that Krasnodar will be the headquarters national team Spain. At the beginning of February we will begin to resolve organizational issues,” EFE quotes Hierro.

At the World Cup, the Spanish team will play in Group B. The team will play its first match on June 15 in Sochi against the Portuguese, then on June 20 in Kazan there will be a meeting with the Iranian team, and in the final round group tournament On June 25 in Kaliningrad the Spaniards will play with Morocco.

History of performance at international tournaments

The Spanish national team has gone through a rather thorny path in order to stand on par with the giants of world football. Until 2008, the Spaniards had only one European title, won at the 1964 home championship.

But having won three major tournaments in a row, Spain categorically and unconditionally joined the ranks of the strongest teams in the entire history of world football.

History of the Spanish national football team

World Championships

  • Participation – 14 times.
  • Champion - 2010.

Period of failure

For many years, Spain did not know success at world championships. The Spaniards missed 6 of the first 10 world championships, and only since 1978 have they been regular participants in world football forums.

Not to say that before this the Spaniards were whipping boys - for example, in 1934 they dropped out of the tournament after a scandalous match with the Italians, and at the first post-war championship they found themselves in the final pool of 4 teams playing for the title. And in 1962, the Spaniards could not get out of the group, which included two future finalists of the tournament - Brazil and Czechoslovakia.

But still, these results clearly did not correspond to the potential of the team and the class of players called up to the national team.

The fact is that, having world-class stars in almost every version of the national team, the team’s coaches could not assemble a complete team.

There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is the peculiarity of the Spanish state, consisting of provinces that are collected in 17 administrative regions and between which there are often tense or even antagonistic relations, as, for example, between Catalonia and Madrid. Naturally, this cannot but affect the football players.

Finding stability

However, gradually the Spanish team began to gain its rightful place - starting from the 1982 home championship, the Spaniards only twice failed to qualify from the group, constantly being the favorites of the World Cup.

The composition of the Spanish national team looked especially impressive at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups - Zubizarreta, Michel, Bakero, Martin Vazquez, . But, unfortunately, the team, capable of much, did not reach the medals - in Mexico, the Spaniards lost to the Belgian national team in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals, and in Italy, already in the 1/8 finals, they lost to the Yugoslavs in extra time 1:2.

But I would like to highlight two teams - the Spanish national team of 1994 and 2002, and here's why.

In 1994, the national team faced an unusual situation for the Spaniards - Butragueño’s generation had already left, and Raul’s generation had not yet arrived, and the team that went to the World Cup in the USA had only two world-class players - goalkeeper Anthony Zubizarreta and central defender Fernando Hierro.

The middle line and attack, although made up of skilled players - Guardiola, Begiristain, Luis Enrique, Goicoechea, were still not up to the world level. And in Spain’s attack, Barcelona’s reserve Salinas played, completely losing out to the competition in the club with Stoichkov and Romario.

And at that tournament, the Spaniards appeared as a TEAM, where each player was ready to play for themselves and for that guy. This team reached the quarterfinals, where they were stopped by the genius of Roberto Baggio, who scored the decisive goal at the very end of the confrontation.

At the same time, both victories of the Spanish team are undeniable and unique in their own way: in the playoff matches of both championships, the Spanish team did not concede a single goal! And if we add here 4 clean sheets in the playoffs of the World Cup that was victorious for the Spaniards, the result looks absolutely fantastic.

 

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