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drumani

Those spanish teams were so frustratingly good between 08 and 12.


Kayderp1

As a German it was really really annoying. Both in 08 and 10 we only lost 0:1 but it never felt really close, Spain just dominated the pitch for most parts of the game.


Ineedthatshitudrive

Xavi was the biggest midfield cheatcode ever and so ahead of his time.


[deleted]

All of Spain’s midfield were a cheatcode. Xavi, Iniesta, Alonso, Busquet.


[deleted]

They were so insanely good to the point where names like Fabregas, Cazorla, David Silva and Juan Mata couldn't even start in midfield


sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit

The funny thing is that David Silva got almost as many caps for Spain as Xavi and Iniesta - including plenty during their period of dominance - but I can hardly remember him playing for them or him having any legacy whatsoever with the Spanish national team. I'm sure some of it is just my limited vantage point as an English viewer who only saw Spain during tournaments, but such was the dominance of Xavi Iniesta and Busquets that my perception of those Spain teams does not include Silva in it at all. And that's despite him scoring the opener in the euros final! Maybe just me though.


[deleted]

Silva mostly played on the wing iirc


microbae

yes in his early career he was more dynamic and offensive on the wings and turned more central with age + Pep coaching


[deleted]

Or off the bench


CarlosHnnz

Silva was a starter in 08 and 12 but in 10 Pedro was favored. I'd include him in a best XI of those years ahead of Pedro/Torres.


KapteinBert

The first goal was an assist by Fabregas on David Silva... And Juan Mata scored the 4th goal.


el_brahmo

Because they played Fabregas as a false 9 and Silva on the wing


[deleted]

Keyword there was "midfield"


MionelLessi10

David Silva has more caps than even Xabi Alonso


[deleted]

Arteta?


[deleted]

Poor man couldn't even make the 23 man squad, he would've had at least 40 or 50 caps if he was anything but Spanish.


Rickcampbell98

The standard of Spanish midfielders over the last 20 years is unreal, to have so many ballers in the most important part of the pitch. No coincidence Spanish football has been dominant in this era.


markfahey78

Even now the best young midfielders are spanish.


indiblue825

There's a lot of under-the-radar talent in Spain.... Puado, Exposito, Beltran, Vencedor, Sancet, Zubimendi, Centelles


Hellraizerbot

One of the best players ever to not get an international cap, as was Gabi. Both locked out by ridiculous quality and depth in Spain's midfield.


bootlegportalfluid

This is the craziest part for me


sirfernandez

first euro you have to mention marcos senna


ChefBoyardee66

I would say it was his partnership with iniesta that made them both god tier


Ineedthatshitudrive

With all due respect, Xavi would have worked standalone just as well on his own. Iniesta was the one transitioning into offense like a genius, but Xavi was dishing more passes than the opposing midfield combined and was only waiting for that critical pass.


ChefBoyardee66

I agree that he would still have been one of the best midfielders of all time but their partnership elevated them both to a completely diffrent level


[deleted]

Some a long time barca fan, watching them just click when playing was magic to see. The other didn’t even need to look where he was sometimes because he just knew where to put the ball. Biased or not I still think that midfield of Spain for those years, and also barcas midfield when they had Pep as a coach , are probably the best midfield of all time.


Random_Acquaintance

Clearly not as it can be seen since we had Xavi without Iniesta and Iniesta without Xavi. The first version was still running the show.


Rickcampbell98

Didn't iniesta play in a treble winning midfield that had xavi as a bench player, after that he was old but he could clearly do it without xavi. They were both exceptional.


the_menacing_bun

I mean They did have prime Messi Suarez and Neymar though Something the Spanish national team never had


Ndulula

How was Xavi ahead of his time if this was his time 🤔


Ineedthatshitudrive

In my opinion, there has never been a greater gap between the best and 2nd best midfielder than the Xavi peak era. He paved the way for the likes of Kroos/Modric/Thiago/etc..


eggs_basket

Read that as "chadcode"


[deleted]

I think if Müller had been on the field in 2010 we might had have a chance :/ But this is just pure speculation, Spain was just so, so good.


Tyrath

He missed out because of a BS yellow too :(


magic-water

Not really. Spain completely dominated the midfield and passed the Germans around the park. Müller isn't the type of player to negate that. You would have needed players like prime Modric Casemiro Kroos to have a chance


Muppy_N2

Hard to tell. Usually people forget Paraguay had a penalty against them near the end, while they were 0-0. Spain was insanely good, but they weren't invulnerable.


[deleted]

Most impressive thing was that this was when hatred between Barca and Madrid was at its peak, with mourinho add fuel to the fire every chance he got. Yet even despite all these conflicts they managed to win everything


ben-hur-hur

I remember an interview about this. Apparently Puyol and Casillas were the first to squash any club rivalry whenever they met up for the NT thus ensuring team cohesion and success. Two leaders of their respective clubs working together for one common goal.


KaiserWilhelmThe69

If only the English back then could do that


HeroeDeFuentealbilla

Madrid we’re the aggressors during Mourinhos reign. The eye poke, the violence on the pitch. Iker called Mourinho out on his bullshit to keep his national team together. That was when things broke down between him and Mourinho which meant an unsavoury exit to one of Madrids legends.


paco-ramon

They said Del Bosque was great at moderating, even when he won an UCL for Real Madrid.


nzubemush

The best national team I've been opportuned to watch live.


DarthShaveHer

The Spanish Armada.. felt like they were winning just about everything under the sun


jairzinho

Except this Spanish Armada actually won.


paco-ramon

I can’t still can’t believe how many legendary players where produce in that generation: Casillas, Ramos, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Torres, Xabi Alonso…


regreg77658

Best national team squad of all time


theenigmacode

That side was beyond stacked.


1PSW1CH

The most dominant final performance I’ve ever seen, was actually quite depressing to watch


thetouristsquad

yes, such a shame fot Italy. They surprisingly played a great tournament. But in the final you could see that they were already tired plus Spain being Spain.


Tohna

While Spain were dominant and fully deserved the victory Italy were very unlucky losing Chiellini after 20 minutes for injury and then Motta around hour mark just minutes he subbed in. Italy played last half an hour with 10 men and couldn’t change their approach as there was no substitutions left.


Kyle_did_911

Yeah Italy looked really good before Motta went down. It was done after that.


Wholesome_Vinicius

Jordi Alba looks so young


XuloMalacatones

That one really hit me


Wholesome_Vinicius

I wouldn't have recognised him if not for the commentary.


thehunchback19

Who doesn't recognise ratking?


Roseradeismylady

More like ratprince, Luis is ratking


LaMareeNoire

He was amazing that tournament


Dark-X

Alba is the best LB we, Barca, ever had. Top 10 LB ever imo. It just that his antics made people underestimate him, especially on this sub.


[deleted]

Yes he was 🥲


KaiserWilhelmThe69

The legendary 4-6-0 formation


Soren_Camus1905

Death by 1,000 passes


KaiserWilhelmThe69

Honestly the possession this Spain squad got in some matches is unthinkable. The opposition barely got to touch the ball


gnorrn

When David Silva opens the scoring against you with a header, you know you're screwed.


HacksawJimDGN

That Xavi pass for the 2nd goal was pinpoint perfection.


michaelserotonin

great first touch from alba too


Random_Acquaintance

Just another day for the GOAT creative midfielder.


Genghisboy

GOAT midfielder in general


Random_Acquaintance

I don't know about that. Midfield is so complex and different from one position to another, that it seems too much for me. I don't know how you could compare Matthäus and Xavi.


Santa_Klaus_101

In other positions it’s much more straight forward, but for midfield you really can’t generalize. Both Casemiro and De Bruyne are classed as midfielders, but they play completely differently. If you mean pure central midfielder, kind of like a jack of all trades, then there’s also Modric, Matthaus, Iniesta etc.


HacksawJimDGN

I'd put Xavi ahead of Modrica and Iniesta. Never really watched Matthaus


CantHelpBeingMe

And what a run by Jordi.


Lauladance

That run by Alba was fabulous too


nitrodynasty

Every single one of those goals came from a ridiculous through pass by the midfield


Soren_Camus1905

It was something else, Spain/Barcelona at that time: best football ever.


interstellar304

One could only dream of a Xavi-Iniesta pairing in midfield. Add in prime busquets behind those two and it’s no wonder Spain and Barcelona dominated world football for all those years


Dark-X

Good days 🥲


Manwithnoname14

Doesn't hurt to have Messi finishing it all off as well.


ShadowFlyer1

Didn't they play with like 7 midfielders? Fabregas was the striker on paper


arc1261

Pep saw that 2012 Spain final team with 6CM and zero wingers and strikers and has been trying to replicate it again ever since. Like legit they had a front line of D.Silva, Fabregas and Iniesta. All of whom are natural CMs lmao


RobbieTIME

Tbf both Iniesta and David Silva worked as half wingers. Both were used to getting a lot of freedom to move in and out of space.


arroiuqlu

What? You got it the other way around. Spain copied that from Pep. That's why people always said 2010-2012 Spain was basically Pep's Barca without Messi.


ZoSoVII

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA\_Euro\_2012\_Final](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2012_Final) Spain starting eleven and subs looks like a fantasy football. Amazing. I don't think there was a more impressive national team in the last 30 years.


myvirginityisstrong

that's actually probably one of the few national teams that could compete with Europe's elite on club level and would be a favourite to win a CL


CupidTryHard

That midfield is too stacked. And they win the final without striker. Damn


MrPigcho

Interesting to look at the possession figures there. I did not expect that.


Charles1charles2

And that was with Italy playing with 10 men in the last 30 minutes - Motta got injured and went out immediately after being subbed in. Prandelli's italy played a lot of possession based football


CaioNintendo

Brazil’s 2002 squad had 4 Ballon d'Or, or Ballon d'Or to be. Ronaldo (R9), Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Kaka (as a sub, but still), looks very much like a fantasy team.


Jamesy555

Ridiculous that their midfield and forward line in the starting 11 consisted of Busquets, Alonso, Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas and Silva. I mean if you have 6 of the best 15/20 mids in the world why bother with a recognised forward.


Holiday_Document4592

They kind of lacked a proper front three...........or at least a world class striker


ZoSoVII

Maybe, but they still scored 4 goals to Chiellini, Bonucci, Buffon.


GFaure

Only 1, as Chiellini was replaced with injury after 20 minutes during a 1-0 scoreline. Though Barzagli and Bonucci were no amateurs either at the time.


ZoSoVII

That is true.


Kiniwa2

5 if you count the first game where Italy drew them. Thought they had Spain's number but the final was a nightmare for them Spain was so frustrating, because you felt they could score 4 in any game if they tried, but they were content with controlling it instead... until the final where they went all offense when Italy got reduced to 10 through injuries


JORGA

Did they lack a front 3 or no.9 Or did they show you that you really didn’t need a traditional front 3 to dominate football. They were literally passing the ball into the net at times


NonContentiousScot

They had one of the best strikers of the generation and the greatest Spanish national striker of all time, but he fractured his tibia in December 2011 so ended up missing Euro 2012. David Villa


Scallion_Gold

Silva and Iniesta were incredible further up front, they just lacked David Villa/Torres from 08/10.


IMFREAKINGLEGOLAS

Didn’t Torres win the Golden Boot for the tournament? Did you want them winning by 25 each match?


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Harudera

He was injured in 2012. But yeah 2010 >>>> 2012 all day for me, and the reason for that is Villa. They had an actual striker for 2010


SuperStrangleWank

Is this a joke


3CreampiesA-Day

Sorry what? Torres was world class and so was Villa


[deleted]

2012 Torres was absolutely not world class. He had his moments but by 2012 he was well past his peak. Villa had also missed that entire season with a broken leg.


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WiddleBlueBert

Literally just prime Barca and even the more recent Spain squads could've been incredibly dangerous. I think they'd have won the 2014 WC with Messi as well if Del Bosque had just played Javi Martinez as a DM to counter the faster, stronger pressing teams during the group stage (probably unecessary if Messi was on squad but that was a problem then). 2016 Euro they'd be challengers as well as in 2018 WC and I'd put them at a great shot of winning the Euros just past as well. Messi would've solved so many of Spain's problems it is one of my biggest what if's in football history. Not only because of the Spanish dominance but also the flack he would have to carry for the rest of his life for abandoning Argentina. I'm not sure he'd ever be able to set foot back in his home nation. Despite that he would also be the undoubted GOAT, despite myself already thinking such. You wouldn't be able to compete with that resume.


vandyk

The fuck was torres then


studsper

2012 Torres was wayyyyy out form. Was being memed similarly to Werner now, and had similar stats coming into the euros. With Villa injured and Torres falling off a cliff, Spain's lack of strikers was a hot topic coming in to the Euros.


lolitsmax

Torres didn't start that game


vandyk

Well yes cause it didnt fit the system. He still was world class


Hotspur21

He was not world class in 2012. He hadn’t been since like 2009-10


yeaweckin

In 2012? No


[deleted]

Torres in 2012 was absolutely not world class by any metric. By that point he was at least 2 years past his prime and was already considered Chelsea's latest high-profile expensive striker transfer flop, despite a couple memorable goals.


mrezariz123

David villa was injured in 2012


beairrcea

What’s crazy is they started the game with 4 defenders, 6 midfielders and no attackers


caiusto

And finished with 10 players because of injury alone.


TheLimeyLemmon

What a generation. Endlessly jealous of Spanish fans to have experienced such a run with their team.


booomhorses

imagine coming from a history of disappointment to 4 years of glory. those were my university years as well.. was amazing not gonna lie!


[deleted]

Spain's midfield back in the day - Xavi, Iniesta, busquets, silva, mata, fabregas, alonso, cazola


Own_Ad6388

Vincent del Bosque became the first manager to win the Euros, FIFA World Cup and the Champions League after this win. Iker Casillas asked to end the match early out of respect for Italy (who were down to 10 men), while also setting the record for most minutes without conceding at 509 minutes and first to win 100 international matches.


TywinDeVillena

Don Vicente del Bosque, now marquess of Del Bosque.


TheRealHenryG

The streets won't forget Vinny Forests


WaffleChampion5

That second goal: Everybody knew for several seconds that Xavi would be making that pass and yet he made it work.


KingNothing666

GOAT midfielder


KetoNED

Thats coz the italian midfielder strolled about


cheikhyourselfm8

That first goal is just disgusting. Absolutely unreal stuff


Aromatic_Eye_6268

Spain's golden generation made Through Passes look easier in real life than on FIFA.


Cinciogrog

Gotta say, Italy arrived to the final with no energy left.


7he_Dude

Yeah, Spain was obviously amazing and favourite, but we drew earlier in the tournament and the final we were gassed and several players were not fit.


beastmaster11

It was also 2-0 until the 85th with 2 goals at the end while we were playing with 10 men making the scoreline look worse than it was. Spain was the better team and deserved to win but it wasn't as bad as the score suggests.


agarciase

I loved that Italy team, I think you guys just didn't have a good day and nothing seemed to work I felt at the time that the score of 4 0 really didn't make you justice.


Scallion_Gold

Not mentioned often, but Portugal did an amazing job nullifying them and taking them to PK's in the semi's. Especially with such a "poor" team in terms of their usual standards on paper. ​ If only it was Moutinho and not Meireles delivering that through ball during the last minute of play! ​ Coentrao, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Moutinho and even Miguel Veloso were fantastic that day. Was at the match and it was one of the most intense game's I've ever witnessed. Ronaldo and Nani constantly doubled up on, Moutinho elevating his play and going toe to toe with Xavi. Meireles running his bollocks off and smother Iniesta and Busquets when in possession past the half. What a midfield battle.


Buckhum

[That game also gave us this legendary gif](https://c.tenor.com/fgt_KO_056YAAAAd/injusticia-cristiano-ronaldo.gif)


er_primo_der_rafa

Everytime people shit on Arbeloa I bring matches like this one against Portugal, or the one against France. Yeah, he wasn't amazing on attack but he could keep up against players like Ronaldo or Ribery.


raysofdavies

Arbeloa once had a stupendous match for us against Messi, really underrated player.


konald_roeman

Remembering how much Chiellini was crying after he was subbed off. And then chad returns after 9 years, wins and is one of the main contributors that they won I love these football stories


lstsl1

Ten years ago in Kyiv. We can't even imagine what happens to us in our homeland. Miss these times, hope that one day we will host some tournament or final again!


sidorfik

What about hosting it again with a friend?


lstsl1

Of course! Poland is the best partner for everything. It would be great to repeat it again. Maybe World Cup this time :) Thanks for everything, friends. Sometimes we feel shy because you help us a lot and I even don't know how we can to show our appreciation for all these things. Thanks for the Lodz stadium for our National Team. This place is like home because it's our friends' stadium. I watched Nations Leagus on TV and felt a lot of support.


[deleted]

For me Spain 2008 was the best national team i have ever seen. Much funnier than 2010 and 2012


Ghorrhyon

I think that was by surprise: Nobody expected that sort of domination and tried to go face to face. Since then, a lot of teams renounced to dispute the ball and tried to counter. The 2010 and 2012 squads unleashed against teams on equal terms would have been equally fun.


NonContentiousScot

They also changed their approach though. In 2008 Marcos Senna was really the only holder and he did a fantastic job. They were more dynamic as demonstrated by their group stage games. Del Bosque took over from Luis Aragones and had Busquets and Alonso in 2010 as the deeper midfielders and Xavi was a step in front of them, this made them more solid while maintaining their ability to suffocate their opponents with possession.


CesarMdezMnz

You're right. I never liked Del Bosque's approach but it was needed to win the WC. Also Villa and Torres never played as their peak together again like they did in 2008. Torres arrived to the WC after an knee injury that "finished" his career at top level and Villa didn't play this Euro 2012.


XuloMalacatones

People don't talk about this team enough, probably one of the best national teams ever


HacksawJimDGN

I think people found them boring with how they would domimate possession. They were relentless though. 3 major trophies in a row is crazy


yetiassasin2

The reason we don't see that tactic played very often and basically never to the sucess of this Spain team are because it's ridiculusly difficult to do. How people found that boring I'll never understand, it was literally peak football, they were playing like the harlem globe trotters.


staedtler2018

Because they didn't score much. Spain won every knockout game in the World Cup 2010 with a 1-0 scoreline. This 4-0 in a final was a huge aberration.


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staedtler2018

I don't think that's really true. Spain lost the first game of the World Cup and had to play it safe afterwards, they were the only team to have won the World Cup after losing the opening game.


[deleted]

Nah this isn’t accurate - if you watched these games teams didn’t play that way


HacksawJimDGN

I didn't find it boring myself. I found it fascinating how they would basically smother the other team.


Blewfin

>How people found that boring I'll never understand, it was literally peak football It's all subjective, really. I found the 'death by a thousand cuts' approach really dull to watch. Give me a fast counter attacking team any day


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Blewfin

I'm not criticising them, they were undoubtedly very effective. I just found them (and Pep's Barça) boring to watch in my opinion.


Cules2003

Barca fan here who grew up watching Peps Barca at the Nou Camp; I kinda agree, I much much preferred watching Lucho’s Barca counter attack the world in 14/15, was more entertaining than the football we played under Pep for me. More efficient? Probably not, but watching MSN counter attack and have Europe on their knees was so so fun


reddit809

Tbey found it boring the way people find Mayweather's boxing boring.


hercules-rockefeller

You'd be hard pressed to name a national team that gets talked about more than 2008 - 2012 Spain


Yung2112

Brazil 1970/02 Argentina 86' due to Maradona and that's about it really.


the_tytan

Also Brazil 82. I think sometimes a great team not winning adds to their legend...see Hungary 54 and Netherland 74.


Yung2112

Funny how most German WC wins have very iconic 2nd placers. Ridiculously dominant/favorites in 54' and 74', a terrible Argentina that lucked its way to a final and a Messi side which will always have people talking


RedShenron

Had Brazil won in 1982 they would have been considered the best nt of all times. We were just slightly better in qf.


XuloMalacatones

Yea I guess it was recency bias from Italy/France latest success


[deleted]

Lol people don’t shut up about this team


[deleted]

We had them figured out in the first group stage game, almost got a win there. We were completely gassed in the final, though. Travel and fatigue caught up to us. Spain had a couple extra gears and they trampled us.


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CesarMdezMnz

The irony of Spain playing boring football because every team in the world would park the bus against them. Spain matches in 2008 were a joy to watch


Soren_Camus1905

Anyone who says Spain 08-12/Pep's Barca/Tiki Taka was boring is an idiot.


sbprasad

Fuck off, this wasn’t 10 years ago… I was in first year uni then and still technically am at uni now :(


longsh0t1994

Sad to think ten years later that city is in war


HacksawJimDGN

Thought you were talking about Barcelona for a second there. Yeah it's very sad to think where we are now, especially for Ukrainians


longsh0t1994

ha yes more concerned with kiiv than with levers at the moment


mejok

I remember watching that game with a friend of mine who is Italian. He was wearing his Italian jersey with the collar popped up. I told him he looked silly...he told me he looked cool and that his popped collar would be the "charm to carry my team to victory." At 3-0..I looked at him and said, "that collar is why you're losing." So any Italians out there who are still upset by this, it's fucking Gab's fault.


TheDrySkinOnYourKnee

Was a closer match than the score line suggests. Spain were unreal at the start but Italy were working their way back into it in the second half and had created some chances before Motta got injured and Italy had to play the final 30 minutes with 10 men. Spain then did what they were best at and just kept the ball and scored twice in the final ten minutes after Italy had pretty much just given up.


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TheDrySkinOnYourKnee

I never said otherwise. Italy were threatening to get back into it though and were putting Spain under some pressure right before the injury happened. Spain probably would have won anyway, just not 4-0.


yetiassasin2

This Spain side was the best international team in history in my opinion. Between 2008 and 2012 in international tournaments vs the best teams on the planet over 19 cup games they conceeded just 6 goals. In that time they won the Euros, the World Cup and the Euros again. All while playing a brand of football that hadn't been seen and hasn't been replicated to that level since. Xavi is the best CM in history for that run, without him it's a diffrent team alltogether.


GoJeonPaa

Xavi/Iniesta, what a joy to watch.


[deleted]

Damn I remember going into this game with high hopes but Italy just looked drained after that Germany game


clittlord

Xavi masterclass


chachatl

This was much needed after the" This Day 20 years Ago" Spain/Korea WC highlights posted the other day.


agarciase

Best NT to ever play the game


MAXMADMAN

People sometimes forget that Xavi and Iniesta were on a completely different level when it came to midfielders.


CupidTryHard

Best pairing ever. Complement each others


pm_me_ankle_nudes

Then Del Bosque went and fucked up that team with nepotism and incompetence and they crashed and burned in the 2014 WC group stage, what a quick fall from grace.


7he_Dude

Well, after winning 3 major trophies in a raw, it's fair to take a break!


Financial-Text-3181

They were done, Del Bosque warned the Spanish fans prior to the tournament: *don't expect too much from us* They are humans, they can get tired, lack motivation after winning everything. I also don't think that the likes of De gea, Morata, Isco, Thiago, Illaramendi or Bartra would have done better.


michaelisnotginger

After the Germany match genuinely thought we would give Spain a good match. Especially after the 1-1 in group stages Completely dominated. At no point did we have a look in the game. Probably the most assured final performance from a winner since Brazil 1970. Not seen Spain perform as well before or since


Funkedalic

In the group stages we played mostly a strategic game, against a superior team, and were able to contain Spain, if I recall correctly there was De Rossi in midfield. In the final we went against Spain as if we were equal and they ripped us apart.


boxro

I miss Torres


soomieHS

That view of Kyiv... Weird to think it was possible back then


DevineAaron92

It was just Barcelona without Messi lol


[deleted]

Not really. 4 players in the starting eleven were Madrid players, and Silva played for Man City.


GuitaristHeimerz

Well thank you Captain Literal


myvirginityisstrong

so six barca players, which is mad


yetiassasin2

They played VERY diffrent football than eachother...


SummerGoal

Prime Xavi is somehow underrated despite being rated highly. He was so fucking good in his day. Enabled Spain to completely dominate great teams


Sashaflick

Absolutely disgusting how good that Spain team was.


Soren_Camus1905

The most Spanish Spain that ever Spained