Spain in the previous World Cups

[dor02]

When do you think Spain had the best chance to win the World Cup?

[minorthreat]

Definitely in '34. I believe that they would have won the entire thing if it wasn't for the fact that both Ricardo Zamora and Isidro Langara went down injured before the semifinals.

[unclesox]

I thought the '86 team had a great chance after they tore apart that strong "Danish Dynamite" team 5-1 in the second round.
Of course, if they had beaten Belgium in the quarters, they would've faced Maradona/Argentina in the semis. :eek:

[Borruma]

Hard to tell.

By my own Admission I have no idea about 1934 (someone fill me in)

1950 - Despite making top four for the first (and so far only) time they never really had a chance of winning it. Brazil were too strong that year and it's somewhat of a miracle that they exploded in the final game.

1986 - Belgium or no Belgium, Maradona was just too good.

1994 - Had they beaten Italy they would have made the final - so I reckon this was their best chance. Funny, the 94' wasn't their best squad - no match for 86' or 02' I reckon.

2002 - Lucky to beat Ireland, Unlucky in the match against youknowwho - I reckon they would have lost to Germany in the semis anyways.

EDIT: Didn't they one year have both Di Stefano and Puskas on their team - what happened there? and what year was it? 1962?

They had no chance I believe in 98' or 90'. At the time they hosted the world cup in 1982 they were quite weak and had no real chance, should have done better though seeing as they were hosts.

[The Potter]

I know this is getting ahead of schedule but......


Cassilis
Del Horno
Pique
Ramos
Reyes
Cesc
Alonso
Xavi
Insiesta
Torres


With a decent maneger 2010 should not be out of the question. :)

[lanman]

Didn't they one year have both Di Stefano and Puskas on their team - what happened there? and what year was it? 1962?

On paper 1962 was a great Spanish side - Puskas, Di Stefano, Luis Suarez, Jose Santamaria and Francisco Gento were all all-time greats. Part of the problem was the age of their best players (Suarez was yet to reach his peak) both Di Stefano (who didn't play in the tournament due to injury I think) and Puskas were 35 and Santamaria was 32. They also had the luck to be drawn in one of the finest groups ever at the World Cup - alongside Brazil (enough said), a very good Mexico side and an outstanding Czech side (who reached the final) lead by the great Josef Masopust.

[MoRado]

Spain has a great team, but they always suck in WC's....

[ben-bon 12]

well, i disagree in that one man, cause spain made a great WC IN JAPAN & KOREA,and they got robed in the last game

[Bilbao Lion]

I know this is getting ahead of schedule but......


Cassilis
Del Horno
Pique
Ramos
Reyes
Cesc
Alonso
Xavi
Insiesta
Torres


With a decent maneger 2010 should not be out of the question. :)

:confused: What about Vicente & Joaquín?

[The Potter]

:confused: What about Vicente & Joaquín?


Well to be fair I couldn't include everyone.

[dor02]

Hard to tell.

By my own Admission I have no idea about 1934 (someone fill me in)

1994 - Had they beaten Italy they would have made the final - so I reckon this was their best chance. Funny, the 94' wasn't their best squad - no match for 86' or 02' I reckon.


They had no chance I believe in 98' or 90'. At the time they hosted the world cup in 1982 they were quite weak and had no real chance, should have done better though seeing as they were hosts.

In 1934, Spain beat Brazil 3-1 and Brazil sent a second string team. Spain at that time had one of their greatest keepers, Ricardo Zamora. In the Quarter-Finals, Spain drew 1-1 with Italy and lost the replay 1-0 (there was a rematch because penalty shootouts weren't put into place.)

In 1990, Spain lost to Yugoslavia 2-1 after extra time in the second round and Yugoslavia had one of their greatest sides. The other teams from Spain's group that went through to the second round were knocked out straight away. Uruguay lost Italy and Belgium lost to England (at the last minute of extra time.) Spain could have defeated England but not Italy on Italian soil.

Spain had a better chance in 1994 to knockout Italy than in 1934. It was in the USA and Spain lost it at the end because of a beautiful Roberto Baggio goal. Spain had more possession than Italy but Salinas missed an easy chance. Not their greatest team as you said but they still had some very good players.

In 1998 Spain were one of the favourites but they just had a bad time. Some players like Zubizarreta were getting old and Raul hadn't exactly reached his peak yet.

[minorthreat]

On paper 1962 was a great Spanish side - Puskas, Di Stefano, Luis Suarez, Jose Santamaria and Francisco Gento were all all-time greats. Part of the problem was the age of their best players (Suarez was yet to reach his peak) both Di Stefano (who didn't play in the tournament due to injury I think) and Puskas were 35 and Santamaria was 32. They also had the luck to be drawn in one of the finest groups ever at the World Cup - alongside Brazil (enough said), a very good Mexico side and an outstanding Czech side (who reached the final) lead by the great Josef Masopust.Spain were also very poorly coached in '62, and used tactics that were considered antiquated even by the standards of the 60's.

[dor02]

They also had the luck to be drawn in one of the finest groups ever at the World Cup - alongside Brazil (enough said), a very good Mexico side and an outstanding Czech side (who reached the final) lead by the great Josef Masopust.

Mexico were a bit stronger than in previous World Cups but they weren't that good. Their only good player was their goalie, Antonio Carbajal, who rates among the all-time great goalies and played in five World Cups for Mexico.

[lanman]

Mexico were a bit stronger than in previous World Cups but they weren't that good. Their only good player was their goalie, Antonio Carbajal, who rates among the all-time great goalies and played in five World Cups for Mexico.

Granted, but there were worse teams at the tournament (Switzerland being one) and the Czechs and Brazil were awesome sides. In terms of the players on show you could make a case for it being one of the best groups ever drawn.

[dor02]

Granted, but there were worse teams at the tournament (Switzerland being one) and the Czechs and Brazil were awesome sides. In terms of the players on show you could make a case for it being one of the best groups ever drawn.

All you have said is true.

The teams that had less quality than Mexico were Switzerland, like you have said, Colombia and Bulgaria.

Switzerland had a slump after 1954 when they reached the Quarter-Finals on home soil but they weren't ever a big team anyway.

Colombia were making their debut and they were an unknown quantity. Their qualification alone surprised lots of people. Interesting fact: Colombia played no internationals between 1949 and 1957

Bulgaria began their long reputation for being a weak team but they did have one good player called Ivan Kolev, who could play in the inside-left and outside-left positions. Otherwise they didn't have anyone.