I have just watched the best football team in my lifetime and I have to say it has been an absolute joy to watch. This Spainish team would give the great 1970 Brasil team a real game! The passing and movement has been simply breathtaking and they are light years ahead of every other team on this planet. They will go on to surpass Brazil, Argentina and everyone else. I don't feel downcast by England's performaces as I feel that we are amongst the also rans. Football is the winner when you have a team this good and they have set the blue print as to how football will be played in the future. The days of kick and rush, launch it up to the striker and battle for the knock downs are being consigned to history and a new era of passing, clever and incisive football has taken over. Brasil unless they up their game will be surpassed. As English football goes we now have to take on the challenge and start again from scratch. A great night for football
This Spanish team couldn't hold a candle to the Brazil '70 team, or the Maradonna Argentinian team of '86...simply not in the same league, if Germany hadn't chosen the semi final against Italy to have their worst game in years I would have fancied the Germans to beat them... Iniesta is absolute quality tho'
Welly we agree on many things but you are talking bollocks! This Spainish team would have wiped the floor with the Argies in '86, they wouldn't have let Maradona have the ball! There has never been a German side in history that would have matched the Spainish! You forget that most teams have a focal point as a stand out player, in this Spainish side all the players are stand out (apart from Arbeloa).
I think the icing on the cake would have been Ramos' cheeky little back-heel near the end! His grin lit up the whole stadium, what would it have been like if he'd scored?
This Spainsh team is so good I even think that they would have given the Ipswich 80/81 side a decent game! This is how highly I rate them!
Nope, this Spanish team would not have contained Maradonna in '86... it's pretty much the same team that lost 3-1 t0 France in the 2006 World Cup! They're half decent, I'll grant you, but not that good, they'll be found out in the 2014 World Cup...
How can you compare brasil of 1970 when football was played at a complete different pace. The fitness of modern day teams is on a complete different level. Alot of that brasil team were heavy drinkers and smokers so I dont think can compare the two era's but if you had to pick then spain would tire brasil 1970 out by the 30th minute.
Well athletes have Sports Science now so as far as I'm concerned the argument is academic. Take those Brazilian players (Argentinians of 86 not even close) and put them in the modern era and then you have a game, I'm sure the Brazilians would edge it. Back to reality though and it's not just the XI that's scary, the Spanish have plenty in reserve and young talent coming through. I think Argentina are probably second at the moment ahead of Brazil. The Germans probably come in fourth or fifth along with Italy and only after those sides can you start thinking about England alongside Portugal, Holland, France and Uruguay.. I wonder if anyone else can catch up by 2014.
For me brasil from the 70's had alot of skillful players but I think they would struggle in the modern era the pace of the game was alot slower. its like comparing barcelona to r madrid of the di stefano era when the fitness and quality and tactical knowledge & fitness was alot lower back then. Right now I can only see spain, germany. Argentina or brasil winning the WC2014. As for england they are way behind the best nations. When I watch england play I just laugh because apart from terry, cole and gerrard they are hugely overrated they had some of the worst stats in euro 2012.
argentina 86 were such a one man team! agree with warky, i think this spain side will now go down as the greatest
Argentina in '86 & '90 were both one man teams! This Spainish team will go on to dominate world football for another decade while also rans like us try and catch up! Every one lauds the Germans but they are bottlers, there have been far less talented German teams that have won trophies! In our case we all know that we are light years behind the best 4 teams in Europe and even if we do go down the road of concentrating more on technique, we will have to wait at least until 2016 before we can compete, and this is being optimistic!
I didnt watch the game last night and what I am going to put certainly isnt my view but its interesting how perspectives change. Earlier this week there were general talk that Spain were easy to play against. The thoughts that England would of done better against spain than Italy due to the Spanish philosophy. The fact that spain were boring, negative and never attacked in the true sense of the word. The semi final against Portugal, which I did watch was basically waiting for Ronaldo to turn on the style and walk around Spain according to the BBC pundits. 90 minutes later and the world has them as the best team ever. As I said at the start, not my opinion. I dont generally watch International matches and my memories dont take me back to the great teams of the past I just find it interesting how there can be such a wide range of views over a team that regardless of whether they are the best of all time or not have certainly done right to be on their current run.
Well since you haven't seen the games tractorbhoy, Spain were extremely poor earlier on in the tournament and their two games prior to the final were so bad they were painful to watch. Against Portugal they started playing their football only in extra time and then, in the final, they were absolutely exquisite. I agree with Warky about the Germans being overrated. I do think at the time England had a better chance against Spain than against Italy - but I think now, with a third tournament win behind them this Spanish team will feel like Supermen and must be favourites to win in Brazil. The reason for the poor start? Well I just wonder whether it was a hangover from Guardiola's exit. Barcelona were far from their best at the end of the season.
Spain have only conceded 1 goal in over 1,000 minutes of competitive football and at this competition they have scored the most goals! Not too shabby for a team that apparently has put in some "poor" performances! It just goes to show how you can not please everyone!
Come on Warky... they rode their luck against Croatia and were outplayed by the Italians in the group stage, narrowly beat a pitiful French side in a dire game and went through against Portugal on pens. They were poor before the final, it's not even debatable.
If being poor means that you don't concede and still win then I wish we had a very poor team! The plain truth is that this Spainish team is the best football team in my life time and it just shows the huge gulf in class between them and the rest! I love watching their passing, movement and pressing when not in possession. The way they just play it out from the back even when they are under pressure. Other teams would look to get rid in those situations and invariably lose possession as a result. This Spainish team have got everything and will dominate the world game for another decade. They play football the way it should be played!
So you enjoyed the Portugal and France games? As every manager in the world sits down with his cornflakes this morning and contemplates how he'll bring that style to his own club, it's interesting that the only player with enough quality in our squad to play that style of football doesn't get to play, I'm sure you know who I'm talking about!
Paul Scholes in his pomp wouldn't have been out of place in this Spainish side, and I would even go as far to say that Giggsy would be in with a shout!
