I have to say that I agree with this line of thought. Plus, players like Joaquín or Reyes are overrated, and I think they lack mental strength. Anyway, Cazorla is a decent enough winger, and Sergio García can double as a winger or striker. And, IMO, Guti instead of Alonso was a no-brainer. About taking another striker, if Raúl was not to be picked, I'd taken Tamudo, in spite of his so-so season.
I'm no particular friend of Real Madrid and I don't want to return to the days when RM players got favorable treatment when it came time to choose the team. But I got to admit Guti has been waying on my mind as a major blunder by Aragones. Yes, he is inconsistent But man he had 17 assists this year!! that leads La Liga. And he could have easily been sent in from the bench if we needed him... Now it means that Cesc needs to fill the role of advanced mid. He needs to fill a role that Guti could do easily. This for me is a blunder....and I hope it doesn't ruin an otherwise interesting experiment in Spanish football: playing without pure wingers.
I would have taken Guti instead of Alonso too and 1 pure winger. Need some variety, you never know what will happen when you get there.
interesting looks like this could be the team to start against Russia ? Casillas Sergio Ramos -- Puyol -- Marchena -- Capdevila Senna Iniesta -- Xavi -- Cesc -- Silva Torres possibly Alonso instead of Senna ? what do fans think of Aragones generally ? Will you be happy to see him leave ?
Found this list of squad shirt numbers (unsure if the player's names will be printed as listed) 1 - Casillas 2 - Albiol 3 - F. Navarro 4 - Marchena 5 - Puyol 6 - Iniesta 7 - Villa 8 - Xavi 9 - Torres 10 - Cesc 11 - Capdevila 12 - Cazorla 13 - Palop 14 - Xabi Alonso 15 - Sergio Ramos 16 - Sergio García 17 - Güiza 18 - Arbeloa 19 - Senna 20 - Juanito 21 - Silva 22 - De la Red 23 - Reina
No f*ing way. Alonso's record with the NT is mediocre at best (TBH, I'm not sure why he was called up), and Senna has had one cracker of a season.
Aragonés used exactly that lineup in training yesterday. Glad to see some consistency, finally. We've found something that more or less works and we're sticking to it.
good to see Juanito on the bench, he never should have been called up for Euro 2008. I can't wait for Luis Aragones to step down and get some new blood as NT, he should have left like he had promised after WC06. I would like to see Vicente Del Bosque or Lorenzo Serra Ferrer come on at NT once Aragones contract expires. Aupa Espanha y Viva Er Beti Manque Lopera! Er Pichi
Aragones' selections are appalling. He is a stubborn bastard basically. Raul scored a hell of a lot of goals for RM this season and Guti was top of the assists charts. I guess he just doesnt want any players that can challenge his authority.
Supporters wallpaper for all the Spain fans.. - full size at my gallery - http://kitster29.deviantart.com/
Hi guys, I’m a newbie and this is my first post. I searched for Spain national team and la liga forums and decided to join this forum. I am really glad to see quite a few Spanish fans here. I read a few of your comments and agree with some of you guys about the Spanish national team. Firstly, I think Aragones is a cranky old man. His biggest mistake here is excluding Raul. What puzzles me is that Raul was included in the last world cup team when his form was crap. Now when he has finally rediscovered his form and playing well, he is ignored. It doesn’t make sense at all. Aragones also should not have ignored Joaquin. True that Valencia was crap this season but those of us who watch Spain know that Joaquin is always motivated to play for Spain and usually shines in the red shirt. I also think that Spain’s weakest link is the central defense. Puyol looks tired and there is no real good CB to partner him. I would’ve chosen Pique and Alexis over Marchena and Juanito. The later two are quite prone to errors. I was also against Xabi Alonso’s inclusion. This guy has been out of form for years and doesn’t deserve to get picked. He was the idiot who caused France to beat Spain in the last world cup. With so many talented midfielders in Spain, I would have gone for either Guti, Capel, Navas, Joaquin or Arteta. I hope Senna gets the first choice as DM. Anyway, I hope Spain plays to their potential in this Euro and go far in the tournament. They are so talented but just can’t produce a solid performance consistently in the international tournaments. Looking at Aragones’s line up, my first eleven picks for Spain would be: Casillas Sergio Ramos -- Puyol -- Marchena -- Capdevila Cesc -- Xavi -- Senna -- Silva Torres -- Villa Viva Espana
I would include Iniesta instead of Cesc, but then the midfield is the only part of the field where one might disagree as the defense and attack are pretty much set with the players that were brought along (and/or were available)
You couldnt find room for spain's best midfielder, iniesta? He has been barca's best midfielder for two seasons and he single handedly won games for spain during qualifiers.
Actually I was debating in my head between cesc or iniesta. It's a tough call but I want to give the benefit of the doubt to cesc even though he has not performed to his best for Spain so far. No doubt that Iniesta has played better in the Spanish shirt than Cesc but I just feel that it is time for Cesc to shine for the national team. I feel that Cesc is a bit more creative than Iniesta. Iniesta is better at running with the ball and beating defenders. It's a tough choice but I feel that it's Cesc's time to shine. If Silva doesn't have a good first half, I would bring Iniesta in to replace him in the 2nd half on the left wing.
I think in a 4-4-2 you have to leave either Cesc or Xavi on the bench. On the right Iniesta is the better option. Cesc is more of a playmaker, his strength is not running at players, which is something you need on the wings. The only time I think Cesc and Xavi will be on the pitch at the same time is in 4-1-4-1 behind Torres. ------------Senna------------- Iniesta----Cesc----Xavi---Silva
Why is Torres continuely being inserted into the lineup when he has shown to be a failure for the national team on almost all occasions? How many chances does he need?
"We've worked hard to be here, we are on a fantastic run of results and we now have to focus on the single goal of winning the tournament. It's a wonderful challenge and we are here to win." -- Fernando Navarro
Group D, Matchday 1 Spain 4:1 Russia 1-0 : Villa 20' 2-0 : Villa 44' 3-0 : Villa 75' 3-1 : Pavlyuchenko 86' 4-1 : Fabregas 90+1' ------------------ Casillas Sergio Ramos -- Puyol -- Marchena -- Capdevila ------------------- Senna ----------- Iniesta -- Xavi -- Silva --------------- Torres -- Villa 54' Cesc for Torres 63' Cazorla for Iniesta 77' Xabi Alonso for Silva BOOKINGS: none