© EuroFootball.com
There is probably no European football team complaining more about lack of success than the Spanish national team.
Year after year, at various European and World football final tournaments, the Spaniards are considered favorites, but each time the "Red and Blacks" disappoint their fans. In recent years, the curse for the Spaniards has been the quarter-finals.
It was in the quarter-finals that the Spaniards, led by Jose Antonio Camacho, stopped at the 2002 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship. Even the brightest stars playing for this team did not allow for greater expectations. Is this a curse, or is Spanish football truly not worthy of awards? Coaches change in the country, new talented players emerge (Spain constantly wins in youth tournaments), but the result remains the same.
The last major success for the Spanish team was 20 years ago - at the European Championship in France. The representatives of the Pyrenees then reached the final, but it was extremely difficult to resist the home team, the French. In that final, the legendary Spanish goalkeeper Luis Arconada let in a goal after Michel Platini's penalty kick. The ball slipped under his arm. Since then, at best, the Spaniards reached the quarter-finals, although clubs constantly win European trophies.
In the first half of the 20th century, the Spanish national team was not considered one of the strongest in Europe. At that time, football trends dictated others - Italians, Austrians, Hungarians. At the end of the fourth decade of the century due to the civil war that started in the country, many of the most famous football players left Spain, and Spanish football completely declined.
Having lost their talents in the post-war years, the Spaniards began to recruit players from other countries. In 1957, Alfredo Di Stefano made his debut for Spain, and a little later, Ferenc Puskas.
The debut of the Spanish national team in the European Championships took place in 1960. They successfully played in the qualifiers, but they did not get to the quarterfinals. After convincing victories in the round of 16 against Poland, the Spanish national team did not travel to play the quarterfinals in Moscow - General Franco forbade his players to play in the Soviet Union. Thus, the Spaniards, who were very strong at the time, were disqualified, and the first European Championship ended in the quarterfinals. It is not excluded that the questionable decision of Franco brought a curse on the Spanish national team: many times later it stopped at the same stage, which gives Spaniards nothing but tears of frustration!
Overall, if you believe in numerology, then this year the Spaniards should expect success. Spain shone for the first time in the European Championships in 1964, when it became champion for the first and last time, winning against the USSR in the decisive match. The next time Franco could not protect his team from meeting with the hated Soviet footballers: he could not interrupt the European Championship final, especially when it took place at home. But this victory was only beneficial for Spain. The Spaniards won - 2:1 and won their first and last trophies. The last one, excluding the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona.
