Disappointment ends a familiar journey for Spaniards

By Duncan Shaw Jun 28, 2006, 11:14 GMT

Madrid - The World Cup has a terrible ability to take whole nations from optimism to disappointment in a couple of hours. It's a familiar journey for Spaniards, after so many World Cup flops.

But the journey is even more painful this time, after three first round wins raised expectations.

'Rarely has the entire nation been so behind the national team,' commented Madrid paper El Pais on Wednesday. 'Rarely has there been so much optimism about its prospects.

'That's what makes this let-down even more difficult to take than the previous ones.'

Tuesday night's late defeat against France left Spain in a state of mourning, with public squares littered with dirty red flags and celebratory bottles of alcohol thrown away still half-full.

The party was over, before it had really begun.

'This is a real disappointment for all Spaniards,' said Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero after midnight.

'But we must accept it bravely and with dignity, and not lose our faith in our sports teams.'

'What fools we have been,' said a Tele 5 report late on Tuesday, 'to think that this time it would really all be different.'

'We were always travelling more in hope than in expectation,' said the Barcelona paper La Vanguardia.

The headline in Madrid paper El Mundo was 'national disappointment', with a picture of striker Fernando Torres laid out in despair on the Hanover pitch.

The Spanish press generally agreed that their young team was more innocent, less wise and less practical than the ageing France of Zinedine Zidane.

'This team still needs to mature,' said sports paper Marca. 'Maybe it will do so for Euro 2008.'

Rival daily As preferred to focus on specific mistakes in defence, blaming Pablo Ibanez and Carles Puyol for the first French goal, and Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos for the second.

La Razon spared most of its criticism for the attack. 'We created just one clear chance all night, despite dominating possession.'

ABC, for its part, was very critical of Torres, David Villa (despite his penalty goal), Raul Gonzalez and Luis Garcia.

El Mundo Deportivo directed its fire more at the midfield, claiming that Xabi Alonso and Xavi Hernandez were 'too weak physically and mentally', and were 'simply brushed aside' by Claude Makelele and Patrick Vieira.

El Periodico de Catalunya used a familiar French phrase to explain the defeat: 'Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose...It's the same old story, as soon as Spain face a hard, determined, experienced side, it's time to return home...'