Despite some tingly moments in Monday nightâÂÂs 2-0 win over Honduras, the fountains of Spain remained unmolested and its car horns went untooted when the final whistle blew.
ItâÂÂs the surest of sign that suffering Spain is full of some very unhappy campers, indeed.
This maudlin malaise is reflected in TuesdayâÂÂs sporting press which is in full brooding mode. âÂÂThey werenâÂÂt that bad, but they werenâÂÂt that goodâ sniffed Barcelona-based Sport, a paper that enjoyed the smug knowledge that their new toy, David Villa, was one of the few positives from the World Cup encounter.
AS sum up the general sensation in Spain that La Selección is still lacking a certain footballing finesse and missing far too many chances to make FridayeâÂÂs match against Chile a comfortable one.
âÂÂWe won (but it doesnâÂÂt look like Spain)â says TuesdayâÂÂs headline with editor, Alfredo Relaño, mixing metaphors while complaining that he âÂÂdidnâÂÂt like anything about the game...the line-up was like a dog with a thousand leashes that mixed differing tactics.âÂÂ
âÂÂConfusion and bipolarityâ was the less-than-impressed assessment in the paperâÂÂs match report.
There has been strong criticism of Jesús Navas and his iffy delivery - a little harsh in LLLâÂÂs humble opinion - but that is nothing compared to the battering received by poor old, not-even-bought-a-copy-of-Sporting-Life-nevermind-at-the-races Fernando Torres who is forehead branded with a rare zero in the AS match ratings due to his Honduran game from hell.
Villa and Torres together are like âÂÂice cream and a sickly cake,â was the response from the normally insanely enthusiastic Tomás Roncero who argues that the pair simply cannot play together - something that Barcelona seem to disagree with, for starters, considering there are rumours of a bid for the Liverpool man.
Torres does get some sympathy from former Madrid manager, Bernd Schuster, who writes in Marca that the forward is still recovering from his spell on the sidelines and âÂÂis lacking those small details that return after an injury after 10 to 12 matches.â Not great news in a tournament which has just five potential games left for La Furia Roja.
MarcaâÂÂs mood is a similar one to the rest of Spain. Vicente Del BosqueâÂÂs men âÂÂmixed brilliant moments with worrying aspects,â opined Santiago Segurola. His colleague, Roberto Palomar, was less kind and grumbled that Spain were âÂÂthe world champions in missing chances.âÂÂ
âÂÂIt was like watching a heavyweight boxer chasing a featherweight all around the ring trying to whack him with a knockout punch,â complains Palomar who mocks the âÂÂ500 bad centresâ from Navas and âÂÂthe 200 shotsâ from Torres.
The paperâÂÂs increasingly entertaining referee, Rafa Guerrero, is much more optimistic, though. And itâÂÂs not surprising considering Spain would be sitting at the top of their group with six points and a goal difference of plus five if the Marca man ruled the footballing world.
Rafa already feels that La Selección would have beaten the Swiss 1-0 had the game been officiated to his famously high standards. And that would have been topped off by a 4-0 victory over Honduras with two more penalties if it werenâÂÂt for the pesky ref who the retired Rafa said wasnâÂÂt up to the job even before the match had begun, on the general grounds that he came from Japan.
âÂÂThe performance of Nishimura proves that in this World Cup, Spain is clearly being prejudiced,â rants Rafa.
The mood from Madrid to Marbella is likely to fluctuate between optimism and misery over the next four days. If Chile play at their best and Spain continue on their path of profligacy, then La Selección could be in some trouble, with Switzerland expected to beat Honduras.
But if just one or two more of those 47 chances being created per game go in - and FIFA give the side a referee that Rafa approves of - then Del BosqueâÂÂs boys should squeeze through to the infamous âÂÂoctavosâÂÂ, the round still feared by all supporters in Spain.
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