© EuroFootball.com
On Thursday, the coach of the Spanish national team, Luis Aragones, announced the list of 22 players for the qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup in Germany against Lithuania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Quite unexpectedly, the second goalkeeper of the national team this year became the impressive "Villarreal" goalkeeper Jose Reina, replacing the veteran Santiago Canizares.
Returning to the team are "Valencia" defender Vicente, who missed most of the season due to a knee injury, as well as the newly crowned UEFA Champions League winners with "Liverpool" midfielders Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia.
From the previously announced preliminary list of players, after the training camp, "Arsenal" player Jose Antonio Reyes and two "Deportivo" players were dropped: midfielder Juan Carlos Valeron and defender Enrique Romero. The only representative of this year's underperforming "Deportivo" in the national team is versatile midfielder Albert Luque.
The list does not include the "Real Madrid" duo of Ivan Helgueros and Guti or the "Valencia" star Ruben Baraja.
An interesting fact is that the most players in the national team, three each, are from "Valencia," "Real Madrid," and "Atletico" clubs. "Betis," "Athletic Bilbao," "Espanyol," and "Barcelona" clubs each have two players in the team.
Composition of the Spanish national team
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real), Pepe Reina (Villarreal)
Defenders: Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Sergio Ramos (Sevilla), Asier del Horno (Athletic Bilbao), Pablo Ibanez (Atletico), Juanito (Betis), Michel Salgado (Real)
Midfielders: Ivan de la Pena (Espanyol), Joaquin (Real Betis), Xavi (Barcelona), Albert Luque (Deportivo), Pablo Orbaiz (Athletic Bilbao), Antonio Lopez (Atletico), Luis Garcia (Liverpool), David Albelda (Valencia), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool), Vicente (Valencia)
Forwards: Raul (Real), Fernando Torres (Atletico), Raul Tamudo (Espanyol)
