The final's over, and Spain won a no-doubter. I'm not a big fan of Spain's brand of soccer, but you have to recognize a special performance. By a historic team. In fact, I'll use this moment to make another list - you might have noticed I like them a lot. This time I'll treat you to a list of the ten greatest national teams of all time.
Some of these teams I've defined over an extended period of time. Like this Spain team. Even though they've changed some players - though not a lot - and their coach, it's still basically the same team as the one that won the Euro four years ago. Other teams I might just take from one single tournament. Here goes:
10: The Carré Magique. France 1982-1986
Maybe the most entertaining team on the list right here. The French were energetic and sparkling in '82 when they fell short, just perfect when they won the '84 Euro, and might actually have been even better in Mexico '86. They got beaten by the cynical 'In the End...' team of West Germany and their set pieces and counter attacks, but captured the hearts of everybody with their Euro-Brazilianism and magic square midfield of Tigana, Giresse, Fernandez and - the team's master mind - Michel Platini. This was arguably the logical team to battle Maradona and his Argentinian ball movers for World Cup honors in Mexico, but they couldn't make it that far. And France's national team flamed out for the next ten years when the young ones from the '86 team couldn't pick up where Platini had left.
9: Bomber and Beckenbauer. West Germany 1966-1974
One of the two teams that made soccer's modern breakthrough in 1974, and the only one of those two that won anything. The Gerd Müller-Franz Beckenbauer alliance took its baby steps in the ultimately lost final of the 1966 World Cup, but got to win a European Championship and a World Championship later on. Unfortunately, they did so by killing off Total Football as a winning concept for more than a decade, and Beckenbauer got vilified for it. That wasn't fair. Beckenbauer was a great player, and Müller was a great striker. Still might be the greatest defense-offense combo ever.
8: Brazil's Double Champions. 1958-1962
Whenever a team wins consecutive World Championships, it's a big deal, and Brazil dominated the competitions in '58 and '62. Led, of course, by a young Pelé, it was the prototypical all-out attacking team with Garrincha, Vavá, and a whole lot of other charismatic and quirky stars. Back then, success at the World Cup did not equal million-dollar contracts with European clubs, but the happy Brazilians came to the tournaments once every four years back then and showed the whole world who was boss. This was when the Legend of Samba Soccer was created, and this period explains why every European club is so eager to sign Brazilians to this day.
7: Oranje Kampioen. Netherlands 1988-1992
A short run, but an impressive lineup. Eight or nine of the starters from the succesful '88 campaign were still starters during Euro '92, but the results would elude this star-studded team, and Euro '88 wound up being the only thing this (or any) Dutch team would win. This team is not on my list for what it achieved, but rather for the amount of talent it had. It was certainly unrivaled in Europe at the time. A great goalkeeper (Van Breukelen), a defense that counted Van Tiggelen, Van Aerle and freekick sniper Ronald Koeman. The midfield had Frank Rijkaard on the defensive end and Ruud Gullit on offense, plus guys like Aron Winter and Rob Witschge on the wings. Up in front, Marco van Basten produced some of the best offensive game ever, and the Euro '92 team featured a very young Dennis Bergkamp.
So many stars, so many opportunities. But in the end, Holland flamed out at the '90 World Cup, and only came close in '92.
6: In the End, the Germans Win. (West)Germany, 1986-1996
Consider this: The West German team, which took second at the 1982 World Cup, had one practice round at Euro '84 with a bunch of young players (Völler, Brehme, Matthäus, etc.). And two years later, that bunch of players took the team to the World Cup final. After a narrow defeat in the Euro '88 semifinal to the Dutch team of destiny, that same group of players took West Germany all the way in the 1990 World Cup. And for good measure, they were in another final, this time at Euro '92, before getting eliminated in the quarter-finals of the '94 World Cup. Some changes were made to the group, an experienced team led by Jürgen Klinsmann then took the victory at Euro '96. It was as impressive a ten-year run as modern soccer had seen at the time. Only two titles, but so many semifinals and finals that one had the impression that the Germans would always win when it counted.
5: Boring Brazil. 1994-2002
It isn't a word you normally hear when speaking of the Brazilian soccer team, but this Brazil team was boring. Well, apart from a few sparkling moments from its stars, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo and Ronaldo. Only Rivaldo was a classic Brazilian créateur à là Zico, Sócrates or Pelé. A reason why this team was boring to watch was that it - unlike every other Brazilian team - had the opportunity of relying on good defense and a true deadly striker up front (Romario in 1994, Bebeto in '98 and Ronaldo in '02). Especially the '94 team under captain Dunga was dull to watch. To be fair, the '02 team might have had the potential to dazzle, but 2002 was just a boring tournament overall, apart from a few games. So not a Brazilian strategy anyone should miss - and we should all be happy Dunga's Brazil didn't win the World Cup in South Africa. That would have just been an endorsement to his hold-your-horses style of soccer.
Then why is this team on my list? Three World Cup finals in three World Cups - and two titles! Even if the '94 one shouldn't count, that is something. No denying that.
4: Giuseppe Meazza's Italy. 1934-1938
Not much to say about this team, except it won the second and third World Cups ever organized, and the first two Italy participated in. Its most legendary player was Meazza, and this was Italy's real heyday. The Italian victory of 1982 was probably more beautiful, and the 2006 one was probably harder. But winning consecutive World Cups is no mean feat, especially back then, when soccer was so relatively volatile.
3: The Zidane Crew. France, 1996-2006
Tremendous amount of talent in this team, all the way from the defense, with the likes of Laurent Blanc, Bixente Lizarazu and Lilian Thuram, to the strikers, Thierry Henry, Davide Trezeguet and - occasionally - Nicolas Anelka. The midfield, though, was what made this team great. Patrick Vierira, Didier Deschamps and Marcel Desailly controlled the defensive end of it, and on the wings this team had great players like Yuri Djorkaeff and Robert Pirès. Christophe Dugarry, Sylvain Wiltord and Christian Karembeu couldn't even start consistently with this team! And, of course, the genious behind the operations was also the guy who came to symbolize the end of its era: Zinedine Zidane. The tormented artist who sometimes did stupid things, but more often great things. This team won a World Championship (1998) and a European championship (2000) and took second at the '06 World Cup, and it will remain one of the all-time great teams built around an undisputed all-time great player.
Unfortunately, this team also had its dark spots. Like forgetting how to score at the '02 World Cup, or forgetting to concentrate at the '04 Euro. It should arguably have won at least one more title, but it was a great run while it lasted, and it brought together some difficult personalities to form a solid nucleus for almost ten years.
2: Brazil's 1970 team
As I said, soccer was pretty volatile before its modern breakthrough in 1974, and this Brazil team was probably the pinnacle of what soccer could be in its middle age. Lots of offensive firepower, the right attitude (attack-attack!), and a Pelé at the height of his powers. Plus, this team was much more televised than former Brazil teams, which made it even more legendary. And legendary it is. That's why its status might be more due to reputation than sustained performance, but by all accounts, this team's 1970 title run was dominance defined in the game of soccer.
1: Spain's Tiki-Taka team. 2006-present
As I said, I'm not fond of their brand of soccer, and I truly believe it would have been better for soccer's entertainment value if Germany had won the Euro. But facts are stubborn things, like Ronald Reagan said. And they all say Spain's current national team is the most successful ever. A World Championship against some historically tough competition in South Africa? Check. Unprecedented back-to-back European Championships? Check. Undefeated AND unscoredupon in knock-out games since 2006? Check. It is monotonous. It is the same every time they take the field. It IS boring if you - like me - want to watch great strikers like a Gomez, a Van Basten or an Henry turn trivial possessions into goals. And yeah, there is a historical antagonism between Spain and Denmark in international soccer. So I don't like it, but credit is due: This highly effective team is the best national team ever.
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