Madrid - Traditionally, Spanish football has always revolved around the country's big clubs rather than the national team. Mighty clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Deportivo lA Coruna, Athletic Bilbao and Zaragoza have, with their strong regional identifications and European achievements, monopolized the football sentiments of Spaniards - as well as the newspaper headlines.
The national team, by contrast, has always been a poor relative, forever raising expectations because of its talented players, but usually flopping on the big stage.
Until now, that is.
After so many letdowns and false dawns, "La Seleccion", as it is known, is finally living up to expectations and punching at its true weight.
The present side is the best "Seleccion" ever, as hapless Chile found out to their cost in Villarreal on Wednesday.
The impressive 3-0 thrashing of the Chileans means that Spain have now gone two whole years unbeaten, with 25 victories and three draws since November 2006.
Luis Aragones led "La Seleccion" to Euro 2008 glory in impressive style before leaving for Turkish club Fenerbahce.
Vicente del Bosque has carried on from where Aragones left off, starting his promising reign with six straight wins.
Hardly surprising, then, that Spain remain number one in the FIFA world rankings.
However, the numbers only tell part of the story.
The other part is the slick, sophisticated football that the team has been playing.
The most talented midfield on Planet Football with the likes of Cesc Fabregaz, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Marcos Senna is giving good service to star strikers David Villa and Fernando Torres.
Spain have a slight vulnerability down the flanks and in central defence, but few teams manage to have enough ball possession against them to put these weaknesses to the test.
"This is clearly the best national team in the world at the moment," commented radio station Cadena SER after the thrashing of Chile.
Sports daily Marca, for its part, on Thursday spoke of "A Happy Ending for an Unforgettable Year."
According to rival daily AS, the next objective is to emulate the Brazilian team which enjoyed a run of 29 wins and seven draws between 1993 and 1996 - winning the 1994 World Cup in the process.
Television channel Antena 3 said on Thursday that "the future is really bright," with youngsters like Diego Capel (Sevilla), Fernando Llorente (Bilbao) and Juan Mata (Valencia) knocking on the door of "La Seleccion".
Spain will be participating, for the first time, in the Confederations Cup in June 2009. Then comes the small matter of the 2010 World Cup.
