Catalonia v Holland

by Nicholas John Mead
If Spain lift the World Cup for the first time in their history tomorrow against Holland, it will be seen one of two ways around the country. For those that want Spain to remain one nation, it will be seen as a victory for what the country can achieve when it comes together. For those who want to see an independent Catalonia however, the fact that so much of the Spanish team consists of Catalan players mean a Spanish victory will be greeted less than enthusiastically.

Sid Lowe highlights how important the Catalan contribution was to Spain's semi-final victory over Germany:

Spain's starting XI last night included one Madrileño (Casillas), one Sevillano (Ramos), one Asturiano (Villa), one Albaceteño (from La Mancha, Iniesta), one Canary Islander (Pedro), one Basque (Alonso) and five Catalans (Piqué, Puyol, Capdevila, Busquets, and Xavi). Meanwhile, there were six Barcelona players (Piqué, Puyol, Pedro, Busquets, Iniesta, Xavi). Seven if you include David Villa, who recently signed for them but hasn't yet played for them.

The winning goal perhaps summed it up – a corner taken by Xavi, scored by Puyol.

As Lowe points out however, there is no sign of disharmony within the team – the players seem to respect and accept each other in a way England players can only dream of. It is only within Spain that the problems start.

So would a Catalan team do well in the World Cup? With the extraordinary talent they have available, you'd have to say yes. You'd certainly put them ahead of nations such as Australia, South Korea and Algeria for example.

Of course, the contribution of Villa and Casillas in particular has been crucial to Spain's success in this World Cup but if you were to replace either with Catalans such as Bojan and Valdés, they would still be a very hot proposition.

I was in Plaça Catalunya when Spain won Euro 2008 and the lack of Catalan participation in celebrations was obvious. It was mainly foreigners and immigrants from other parts of Spain that partied long into the night giving the whole victory a rather hollow feeling.

So I suspect even a Spanish victory in the World Cup final tomorrow won't be celebrated across Spain in quite the same way as a Dutch victory would in Holland. It may only add more fuel to those who finally want to see Catalonia compete in sporting events in its own right.

At least if many Catalan's don't feel proud of a Spanish victory, they should at least feel proud of the fantastic football their players have played.