During the period of autumn 2006 to late summer 2009, the spain national team played thirty five matches without suffering a single defeat. Furthermore, this incredible feat also included a run of fifteen consecutive wins rather than a combination of wins and draws. Brazil is the only other football nation to have achieved a thirty five match unbeaten run. However, Brazil did not improve on the thirty five match marker so Spain shares the record. The record, thus far, has not been bettered by any other team. Five years have passed since autumn 2006 yet the spain national team is as formidable now as it was then.

Today, also, is a period known in the international football world as the golden era of the spain national team. This era was said to have begun in 2006 after the failure of the spain national team during the world cup tournament of that same year. After elimination from the competition, the team manager had a radical rethink about the best game strategy and tactics to employ in future. It was decided that team members and the team as unit just were not physically robust enough to match opponents in terms of strength. Consequently it was decided to focus on a way of playing that resulted in keeping possession of the ball for long periods of the game via clever, intricate, skillful short passes and deceptive man movement. This style of play became devastatingly successful and is known as tiki taka. Many commentators compare it favorably to the famous Dutch “ total football” system of play.

The next big test facing the spain national team takes place during the coming 2012 Euro Cup, formally known as UEFA Euro 2012. The two nations Poland and the Ukraine will jointly host the event. Unsurprisingly, give its recent success, Spain is the bookmakers favorite to win the tournament. Most leading bookmakers offer odds of 5-2 against. The closest rivals, in terms of odds, are Germany, followed by Holland. The tournament begins with four group leagues with four teams in each group. After that, it proceeds to the instant knock out stage. The spain national team will compete against Italy, Republic of Ireland and Croatia in the initial group stage.

The first competition was won under the management of Luis Aragonés, the man responsible for first introducing the now famous and formidable Spanish style of play to the team. The second competition was won under the equally capable hands of the present manager, Vincente Del Bosque. He has continued in the successfully established tradition of the now retired Aragonés. Both managers have each played a crucial role in ensuring that the Spain national team is the top team in the world today.

Although in 2008 the spain national team was only seeded twelfth for the competition, it went on to beat Russia, Sweden and Greece in the group stage of the event. Then it beat Italy, at the time holders of the world cup, in the quarter final. In the semi final it faced Russia again and, again, was victorious. Finally it defeated Germany in the final and thus became European champions. It was essential preparation for the world cup competition in 2010.

In the group stage of the event Spain was drawn to face Switzerland, Honduras, and Chile. Disappointingly, the spain national team lost the first game against Switzerland but went on to secure wins against Honduras and Chile. Despite the initial defeat, the team went through to the knock out stages where, at first, it defeated Portugal thus ensuring a quarterfinal match against Paraguay. Beating Paraguay by one goal to nil meant that the spain national team had managed to reach the final four stage for the first time in exactly sixty years.

In the semi final the team had to meet Germany, one of the most experienced and successful teams in world cup history. Spain won, again by a margin of one goal to nil. The final match against the Netherlands was not resolved during normal time and extra time had to be played. With only four minutes to go in extra time Spain scored the only goal of the game and thus became world cup winners. At last the Spanish national team had achieved what it had never achieved previously, world cup victory.