Return of the Conquistadors

The conquistadors are back. No, I am not talking about the 15th century Spanish world conquering explorers. The ones i am referring to are Spanish alright but they are conquering the various sports around the world. Since last year Spain has had a remarkable success in the sporting arena which has forced the world to sit up and take notice. The Spanish resurgence can be seen every time Rafael Nadal rips a forehand cross-court across his hapless opponent, it can be seen when a Spanish mid-fielder makes a pin-point through ball to his forward, its evident when Fernando Alonso zooms past the chequered flag.

For a country whose national sport is Bull fighting, the Spaniards have a remarkable sporting culture. They have been active in most sports, but the last year saw unprecedented Spanish success. Rafael Nadal won the French and Wimbledon titles, Spain also won the Davis cup, Carlos Sastre won the Tour de France, the football team won the the Euros, the hockey team won a silver at the Olympics and Sergio Garcia and Fernando Alonso were constant threats in Golf and Motor sport respectively. Though the performance of individuals can be attributed to individual talent and its nurturing what surprises me is the performance of its teams. This can be analysed by taking a look at the Spanish national football team as football is Spain's favourite sport and will provide the deepest insight.

Spain is probably the only western European country which is beset by separatist movements and this is reflected in their disunited national football teams. The most visible movement is that of the Catalan people followed by the Basque separatist movement. These internal problems have historically weakened Spanish nationalism and this is reflected in their football teams also. On the flip-side owing to the internal strife the domestic football scene is one of the best and fiercely fought and followed. Hence the Spaniards were more interested in settling internal scores, say when Barcelona - a catalan club - beats Real Madrid rather than on the international performance of the national team. At its worst a Spanish player would not pass the ball to another player because he was a Catalan! Hence in spite of having arguably the best domestic league in the world and very good players the Spaniards were perennial underachievers in international competitions.

However all this seems to have changed or changing and Spain is more and more at peace with itself, with the various dissident regions bartering peace for autonomy. This is reflecting in its football and other teams which have forgotten old factions and started to perform and win international competitions. Moreover they are winning by playing an entertaining game which is a hallmark of Spanish sport.

Hence the Spanish sport resurgence is another proof that national cohesion and unity are pre-requisites for international success in arenas ranging from diplomacy to sports. A nation at peace with itself usually succeeds.