Why Spain Is Soccer’s Version of the Miami Heat

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 29, 2012

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Quick, when I say "Miami Heat," what do you think of? The superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade coming together with Chris Bosh to chase multiple NBA championships.  You think of "The Decision," the highly publicized "not one, not two" pep rally and their first year together under the intense scrutiny of a rabid media.  

Ultimately, you may think of the Dallas Mavericks blitzing past the Heat and celebrating their first NBA title on Miami's floor, and how the team in the center of it all last year is back in the playoffs still looking for that first title of the Big Three era.

Now when I bring Spain to mind, what pops into your head? Bullfighting, tapas and vino tinto.  Come on now, let's focus on sports. Let's, in fact, focus on the Iberian nation's most popular sport, football.  

Spain has long had two of the most successful, widely followed club sides in the history of the game, Real Madrid and Barcelona.  And in startling contrast to the dominance of the Spanish giants, the national team forever disappointed in major international tournaments.  As the favorite, full of potential on paper but underwhelming, Spain was bounced early on far too many occasions.

Of course, that's all changed in the last four years.  La Furia Roja won Euro 2008 and backed it up with their first world title at the 2010 World Cup.  Between titles they won 15 consecutive matches part of a three-year, 35-match unbeaten run.  

How they won—dominating possession, threading short passes around the pitch in the tiki-taka evolution of total football—was as noteworthy as their championship runs.  The likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Piqué and Casillas cemented their places amongst the world's best active footballers simultaneous to the team's awesome achievements. 

While this iteration of the Miami Heat has only been together one full and one shortened season,...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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