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Same old Spain Underachieving side must climb out of early hole
Posted: Wednesday June 14, 2000 09:21 AM
This time it would be different. This time it would end in triumph not tears. This time Spain would finally carry its dazzling qualifying form into a major tournament and challenge for a trophy. Norway didn't like that little theory and promptly up-ended the Spaniards in their very first outing at Euro 2000. So much for Jose Antonio Camacho's team overcoming years of Spanish under-achievement. I was among many who felt this would finally be Spain's year. It was third-favorite entering the tournament and was basking in the glory of Spanish success on the club scene, where an unprecedented three Primera Division teams reached the semis of the Champions League before Real Madrid beat Valencia in an all-Spanish final. In Raul it has a world class star who led all-scorers in qualifying. Spain rattled up 42 goals in reaching the finals. Everything was pointing to an upsurge in fortunes. One defeat clearly doesn't mean they are finished, but it hurts them greatly in terms of morale. How many of their players will now be thinking "here we go again", however hard they try to banish it from their minds? A blunder by goalkeeper Francisco Molina gifted Norway its winner in Rotterdam. Two years ago it was Andoni Zubizaretta's howler against Nigeria which condemned Spain to a 3-2 defeat in its first World Cup group game. A goalless draw against Paraguay followed, taking qualification out of its hands. When it finally hit form and crushed Bulgaria in its third group match, Paraguay made its free-scoring efforts redundant by beating Nigeria and joining the Africans in the last 16. Spain was out.
There's no question Spain has also had its share of bad luck in major events over the years. It was better than England in the Euro 96 quarter finals, but lost on penalties. Italy was fortunate to defeat it in the 1994 World Cup knockout phase, when Spain deserved more than a controversial exit. It most famously flopped as World Cup host in 1982, losing on home ground to Northern Ireland before somehow scraping through to the next stage where it lost to West Germany and drew with England. But the catalogue of misfortune had to end sometime, surely. So why not Euro 2000? A new century, a new Spain.
But alas for Camacho and his squad, who were stifled by Norway's direct and aggressive style and looked far from title contenders, they are faced with the same old mountain to climb after game one. How ironic they set themselves the steepest challenges, even in the low countries. Phil Jones is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International. Jones is part of the World Sport crew that is in the Netherlands and Belgium covering Euro 2000.
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