When Spain won the World Cup in 2010, their starting XI was a mixture of Catalans and other Spaniards. In fact, five of the eleven starters of the squad were born in Catalonia. This team was considered to be one of the best international football squads of the 2000's and without the Catalans in the team, it's hard to see Spain winning the tournament. Some of the best players in the team including legends Xavi Hernandez and Carlos Puyol were born in Catalonia.
The success of the team can also be attributed to the fact that many of these players were teammates at FC Barcelona. Eight of the starting eleven were key players for FC Barcelona and their camaraderie formed at the club undoubtedly helped the national team. Today, regulars in Spain's national team such as Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba are all Catalan. The Spanish national team would most definitely suffer without these players but how far would the drop off really be?
Would Spain have won the 2010 World Cup without it's Catalan players?
Who would have the better team if Catalonia were to play the rest of Spain?
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2573060-spain-xi-vs-catalonia-xi-breaking-down-who-would-win
I think it is hard to say if Spain would have won the world cup without these top players. You can speculate that yes that might have, but in reality if these players were key contributors and performed the best, then most likely they would not have won. The second question I guess depends on the situation. It's hard to say who would have the better team but I feel that moving forward it is important for all leagues to consider the potential effects that could occur should Catalonia secede from Spain. Comment by Ali Cohen
ResponderEliminarI would agree, it would have been extremely difficult for the team to have done as well without their Catalan stars. As for who would have the better team, I think this would be in a constant state of change but for the current moment I'd give the edge to Spain.
EliminarNo way, Spain would have not been nearly as good, with one of the major reasons they won was because 7 players played directly with Barça. The interesting question becomes, who is the better team, Spain or Catalan? The answer would still be Spain as they have many other talented players from around Spain. The even more interesting question then would be if the Basque country separated too, how would Spain be, and the answer is pretty poor with the Castilla (Real Madrid's youth program) pretty poor in recent years, only promoting Morata.
ResponderEliminarIt's definitely an interesting thought to consider if the Basque country would secede, the effects on Spain's team. In general I'd have to agree that the state of Spain's national team would be significantly hurt and they would suffer in international competitions.
Eliminar