Spain are perennially cursed with being many people's pre-tournament favourites at any given World Cup or European Championship and then imploding at the quarter final stage at best. Much like the Dutch, they are proof that a squad full of talent doesn't always mean a talented team and seeing as it's been over forty years since they won their only major tournament (1964 European Championships) I fear much the same this time around.
Spain left it late for qualification out of a potentially tricky Group F especially after two defeats on the bounce away to Northern Ireland and Sweden in late 2006. True class shone through eventually for the pre-qualification favourites but not before a few scares from the Scandanavians and surprise package Northern Ireland almost forced them into a battle for 2nd place. Top spot it was though and renewed optimism for the summer.
A title winning player and coach with Atletico Madrid, Luis Aragones is probably more famous (or infamous) these days for his racial slur in 2004 aimed at Thierry Henry in a conversation with then-Arsenal striker Jose Antonio Reyes. A tough uncompromising character, Aragones is definitely his own man when it comes to difficult decisions such as leaving the out of form Raul Gonzalez out of the Spain squad.
It's been quite a season already for Liverpool's big money signing Fernando Torres and with his highest ever goal tally in a season already secured he can start to plan ahead to finally overcoming that "underachiever" tag that hangs around his national team's neck like a millstone.
Arsenal playmaker Cesc Fabregas may not be hitting the same heights he did at the start of the Premier League season but the already vastly experienced youngster is still a surebet to be one of the top midfield performers in Austria and Switzerland.
