Spain should be congratulated not only for winning consecutive UEFA European Football Championships, but also for their 2010 FIFA World Cup triumph sandwiched in between. But, please, let’s not get carried away.
There is an echo chamber of voices who want to anoint the 2008-2012 Spanish national team as the greatest squad ever assembled. This only goes to show there is too much emphasis on the here and now and not enough respect given to the teams of the past.
Almost throughout the 2012 European Football Championships, Spain was called a successful but boring team. Although they did look impressive against Italy in their victorious 4-0 finale, Spain did not look so convincing in the previous rounds. In the semi-final against Portugal, for example, Spain could not manage to score a goal in regulation or in the 30-minute extra session. They were just fortunate to prevail in the crapshoot also known as the penalty kick shoot-out. They also had several lackluster performances in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, including a 1-0 loss to Switzerland in their first game. After that, Spain squeaked out wins in the remaining games by scores of 2-0, 2-1, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, and 1-0. In the championship match it took them until the 116th minute to finally notch a goal. This hardly recommends them as the greatest team ever.
Contrast this with the great West German sides of the 1970s. The West Germans won the World Cup in 1974, won European Championships in 1972 and 1980 and were runners-up in 1976. Were it not for losing a penalty shoot-out to the Czechs in 1976, W. Germany would have won three consecutive Euro Championships. Not only this, but the West Germans won with style. They had elegant players like Franz Beckenbauer and Paul Breitner who elevated soccer to an art form. Beckenbauer completely redefined the role of the sweeper or libero. Sepp Maier, the W. German keeper, was an acrobat and one of the best goalies in history. Gerd Mueller, known as “Der Bomber,” was the most deadly striker of them all. Today’s Spanish team has no one comparable to Mueller. The West Germans of the 1970s dominated every phase of soccer with both their power and their finesse.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, a two-time European Player of the Year, was one of the players who overlapped the West German teams of the 1970s and 1980s. From 1982 thru 1990 the West Germans made it to the World Cup championship game in 1982, 1986 and 1990, winning the cup in ’90. They featured players like Klaus Allofs, Pierre Littbarski, Lothar Matthaeus, Juergen Koehler, Andreas Brehme, Guido Buchwald and Juergen Klinsmann.
The West German teams of 1972-1980 and 1982-1990 were better than the recent Spanish teams. However, there was an even greater side than all of those. The Brazilian national teams from 1958-1970, featuring Pele’, were the purest expressions of Pele’s term “the beautiful game.” Brazil won World Cups in 1958, 1962 and 1970. In addition to Pele’ they featured the brilliant play of Didi, Garrincha, Zagalo, and the two Santos on defense. It took teams intentionally and brutally hacking Pele’ in 1966 to deny the Brazilians a chance to win the cup that year as well. The Brazilians didn’t just dispatch their opponents, they also produced artistic displays of brilliance that we rarely see from today’s often robotic Spanish team. Of all those teams, the 1970 edition of Brazil is, correctly, regarded as the greatest team to ever step onto a soccer pitch. The front line of Pele’, Rivelino, Tostao and Jairzinho was unstoppable. Others members of this immaculate squad included Carlos Alberto, Clodoaldo, Everaldo and Gerson. Brazil 1970 won all six of its games in the World Cup finals, and they won all six of their qualifying games. The scores in the finals were 4-1, 1-0, 3-2, 4-2, 3-1 and 4-1. Contrast those scores with the meager 1-0 squeakers Spain managed in 2010. Spain was a plus six in goal differential in the 2010 World Cup finals, while Brazil was a plus 12 in one fewer game in the 1970 World Cup finals. Spain won the World Cup in 2010 while rarely looking like the best team. Brazil won the World Cup in 1970 while looking like the only team. That is the difference.
