“Xavi is eternal. Even when he is not at his very best level physically, he plays a kind of football that gives oxygen to a team. He is football”
Tag: spain
Valerón will be best remembered for his part in the Depor side of the turn of the 21st century. A quiet, loyal man, his 13-year spell was seminal
The Fernando Torres of the 2000s may not always have been blessed with world-class teammates, but he was a force like no other
Carles Puyol was the architect of an enduring legacy that heralds him one of the best defenders in Barcelona and world football history
Some people will argue Guti should be nowhere near this list, but they miss the point of what he was: the most bafflingly brilliant footballer of his era
Through his rise above adversity, Iker Casillas can instigate a change in one’s perception of greatness, which suggests a talent worth celebrating
The owner of an absorbent footballing brain, Xabi Alonso would become one of the world’s most perceptive and intelligent midfielders in the 2000s
While the Spanish Civil War sent the best Basque players away from their home country, football allowed them to plant seeds in another
The infamous Copa de la Liga will never be lifted again but its legacy lives on in the whispers, shadows and food menus of Spain
While Santi Cazorla is still blissfully leaving defenders in his wake, we shouldn’t take the third chapter of this extraordinary love story for granted
He broke all the La Masia goalscoring records and was dubbed the new Messi, but Bojan Krkić failed to live up to the hype. Why?
Coming through the ranks as part of Real Madrid’s legendary Quinta del Buitre, few of their own have gone on to greater things than Emilio Butragueño
On the verge of a humiliating exit, Spain would need to score 11 goals against Malta to progress to Euro 84. They remarkably netted 12
Long before Rafa Nadal became one of the great modern sportsmen, his uncle, Miguel Ángel was one of Spanish football’s finest defenders at Barcelona
What is perceived to be a golden age for football in Madrid may only be the beginning of a significant shift that could permanently alter Spanish football
Long before a short, shy forward by the name of Messi came from afar, another diminutive figure in Paulino Alcántara blazed a trail in Barcelona
One quote aptly covers the career of Spain’s greatest goalkeeper: “There are only two goalkeepers: Ricardo Zamora on Earth and St Peter in heaven”
Happy birthday LaLiga – the all-encompassing machine that now attracts a billion viewers a year. It wasn’t always that way, though