Nations / Dave Farrar / 05 June 2008 / 2 Comments

Spain have talented players coming out of their ears, and with a relatively easy group it's obvious why they are second favourites to win the Championship. But Dave Farrar is advising a tentative interest in the Spaniards. Read his thoughts here.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED

After two games of qualifying, Spain were in desperate trouble. They'd been beaten in a thriller in Northern Ireland, and then succumbed more meekly in Sweden, and their defensive frailties had been there for all to see. The key match in qualifying was on the 24th March against Denmark, at the Bernabeu. Goals just before half time from Morientes and Villa snatched a 2-1 win in a game that Spain could have lost, and four days later they followed up with a 1-0 win over Iceland. From that point Spain won all bar one of their games, and those two early defeats remained the only times that they were beaten in the whole campaign. They were never convincing, never bullied a side as the talent they possess suggests they should, but do the qualifying results show that Spain have finally learned to win without doing it beautifully? If they have, then 2008 might just end the 34 year itch.

COACH: Luis ARAGONES

Aragones has been a coach now for nearly 35 years, having taken over as player coach of Atletico Madrid in 1974, the season after he had scored for them in the European Cup Final against Bayern Munich. He is known as "the wise man of Hortaleza", but it's his nickname as a player that best sums him up: Zapatones, or "Big Boots." He is lucky to still be in a job, after making racist comments about Thierry Henry and Samuel Etoo, and regularly abusing players, once describing the Real Sociedad striker Darko Kovacevic as being "uglier than two horses." For all of his evident nastiness, doubts also remain about his coaching ability. In the World Cup, his ideas seemed formulaic and archaic, and he never seems sure of his best team. Rather like France, Spain might have to win despite their coach, rather than because of him.

KEY PLAYERS

Fernando TORRES

Fernando Torres has been so good in his first season in the Premier League that he could probably fill all three "key player" positions. The theory goes that it takes a striker at least a season to adjust to life in England, but Torres hit the ground sprinting and has never looked back. 24 goals would have made him top scorer, but for Cristiano Ronaldo. His record for the national team needs a bit of improving, only averaging 1 goal in 3 games, but he goes into Euro 2008 in the form of his life, and freed from the shackles of Rafa Benitez' pedestrian approach, could be a new Van Basten, twenty years on.

Marcos SENNA

It's still called the "Makelele role" as if somehow there were never holding midfielders before the Frenchman arrived on the scene. Marcos Senna has had another impressive season at Villareal, and, while he isn't one of the names thrown forward as one of Spain's glamour players, he plays the deep-lying midfield role to great effect. Sir Alex Ferguson was interested in bringing him to Old Trafford before the signing of Owen Hargreaves, and the naturalised Brazilian Senna would have done every bit as good a job. He must protect Spain's creaky backline (one of Sky's Spanish football experts told me last week that Spain weren't good enough at the back to win a major tournament) and if he can accomplish that, will emerge as a player every bit as important as the bigger names in front of him.

David VILLA

With all of the hullabaloo surrounding El Nino, his probable striker partner for Euro 2008 is being overlooked. This time last year David Villa was being linked with all of Europe's glamour clubs, but instead opted to stay with Valencia. As their season deteriorated, so did his European profile, but he remains one of the best finishers around, and his three goals in the 2006 World Cup matched the tally of Torres. He top scored in qualifying for Spain, and to score 18 goals for Valencia this season has been some achievement. He's currently double the price of Torres to finish as top goalscorer at Euro 2008 - value hunters, get involved.

VERDICT

If you were looking at the squad and the squad alone, then you'd be mad to make anyone other than Spain favourites for Euro 2008. To what extent can you dismiss their regular underachievement at major championships, and, like Sky Sports, pin your colours to their mast? They are one of the likely winners of the tournament and I certainly wouldn't out you off backing them, but a word of caution. It's not a squad that wins you a major tournament, more 14 or 15 players. The excellent players that will not be used by Aragones do not necessarily mean that those he has picked will be good enough to win only Spain's second major trophy. And then there are the doubts about Aragones himself. If you put aside his nasty right wing views, which I must admit I struggle to do, then you still must ask yourself if he is really good enough to coach a team to a victory of this magnitude. One La Liga title and four Spanish Cups in a long coaching career suggest that he may not be. I'm a sucker for Spain's talent, though, and think that they're in a weak group. I'll back them to win the group at [1.97], and back Villa to be in the top 3 top tournament goalscorers at [6.0]. Spain to win it? They can, but there are too many flaws on and off the pitch for me to get involved at [7.0].

Tags: David Villa, Euro 2008 Betting, Fernando Torres, Football Betting, Group D Betting, Spain