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Two years after World Cup triumph, Spain’s dominance still reigns

Spain (Getty Images)

Spain's dominance on the international stage is now four years and running, a period that began with La Furia Roja's triumph at the 2008 European championship and one that was punctuated at the beginning of this month, with their second consecutive continental title. 

In between that, Spain had its greatest moment — capturing the 2010 World Cup, an event that happened two years ago today. It was the culmination of the peak of the team's accomplishments matched up with the prime years of some of the world's greatest players like Xavi and Andres Iniesta. FIFA captured the build-up to the final match against the Netherlands from a wide array of angles along with footage of the actual match with commentary from players, coaches and referee Howard Webb in a documentary titled "Match 64: The inside story of the Final," which was released today.

With the Olympics on the horizon and Spain, which captured the 2011 U-21 European title, a favorite to win the gold medal, it's hard not to look into the future and predict more success. Considering the talent on the current roster and in the youth ranks, Spain should contend for an Olympic gold medal and the next 2014 World Cup title as well. 

The documentary is a bit lengthy, but if you can set aside some time give it a watch and let us know: Is this Spain generation on the greatest national team run of all time? Do you see Spain winning Olympic gold and more international tournaments in the coming years? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. +1

    The only team to eliminate Spain from a major internation tournament during that time span was the USA at the 2009 Confederations Cup.

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  2. I agree with you that the buck might stop for the Spanish and probably will; however, just because other South American countries will be playing in Brazil does not mean a thing with respect to their success, believe me.

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  3. Wow. The game footage with multiple angles and interspersed with interviews is excellent–a true, ahem, “must see” video. The film does not ignore the thuggery (my word, not Fifa’s) of the Dutch team in final. Beginning at the 49-minute mark, goes into detail about the hard tackles, with both Dutch Coach Van Marwijk and his assistant claiming the “physical” nature of the game was not part of their coaching plan and basically blaming their players for being nervous and out of control. But then, in revisionist history at its best, Van Marwijk implies that Spain was hitting harder. I lost all sympathy for the Dutch team in the WC Final 2010 and it was nice to see them humiliated in Euro 2012.

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  4. One of the most magnificent teams in history but I have a feeling that the buck will stop in Brazil 2014. You have the Brazilians, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile on their home continent that could give them great competition aside from the usual European sides.

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  5. The best is always a difficult determination, but they are easily among the greatest ever. Why limit yourself to only one when you can appreciate Brazil, Germany, Spain and all the great squads from differents eras?

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