Spain's all time greatest XI

Spain is one of the most successful footballing nations in the world. They are home to Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the two biggest clubs in the world. They have also won 1 World Cup and 3 European Championships.

Spain were the underachievers of football till the mid-2000s, who always disappointed in major football tournaments. They always had great footballers, but those players could not convert their talent into success in World cups and European Championships.

However, the Spain finally managed to turn the tide in Euro 2008, as they won the tournament by beating Germany 1-0 in the final. Their golden generation of footballers then went on to win the World Cup in 2010 and again the European Championship in 2012. Spain dazzled the world with their brilliant passing and possession-oriented football.

Spain have managed to remove their tag of underachievers by winning successive major tournaments. Moreover, their footballing history is resplendent with a lot of great footballers. Therefore, it is not a very easy job to select their all time greatest eleven. We now take a look at their greatest XI ever.

#1 Goalkeeper - Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas remains one of the finest goalkeepers of all time. He was always destined for greatness and did not have to look back since he debuted for the senior team in 1999. He came through the junior ranks and had played for Real Madrid’s junior teams before making his senior debut.

Casillas was a brilliant shot-stopper and could organize his defense wonderfully. His performance under pressure in the 2001-02 UEFA Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen was commendable. Casillas also went on to win the Best European Goalkeeper Award in 2010. He won 3 UEFA Champions League titles and 5 La Liga titles for Real Madrid in his 16 seasons with them. Casillas still continues to play for FC Porto at the age of 37.

He won the World Cup and the European Championship as the Spanish captain. Casillas was known as “Saint Iker” among the Spanish supporters because of his soothing presence in the goal and uncontroversial career. He also remains one of the most successful footballers in the history of the game.

#2 Right Back - Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos is a legend for both Spain and Real Madrid. It is difficult to come across a more fierce competitor and intense footballer than Ramos. He also remains one of the most successful defenders of all time.

Ramos has scored 85 goals from 667 matches in his club career so far. He has also won 4 UEFA Champions League and 4 La Liga titles with Real Madrid.

Ramos started his career as a right-back, but gradually became a centre-back and remains one of the best in the world in his position. He made his club debut for Sevilla in 2004 and moved to Real Madrid in 2005.

Ramos has one of the greatest headers of all time, is a very good passer, a strong tackler and a true leader on the pitch. He has also won 1 World Cup and 2 European Championships for them. He scored 17 goals in 161 matches for the Spanish national side.

#3 Centre Back - Fernando Hierro

Fernando Hierro, the legendary Spanish centre-back, played for Real Madrid in 610 matches and scored 127 goals for them. He captained Real in more than 200 matches and won 3 UEFA Champions Leagues and 6 La Ligas with them. He had also played for Valladolid for a couple of seasons before moving to Real in 1989.

Hierro was known for his leadership on the pitch and inspirational performances. He won the UEFA best club defender in the 1997-98 season for his brilliant performances. Hierro was a good tackler, had good ball-skills and was very strong in the air too. He was also very reliable with his penalty kicks and free-kicks. He also played for English club Bolton Wanderers for a solitary season. He scored 134 goals in 716 matches in his club career.

Hierro also captained the Spanish national team for a considerable period of time. He scored 29 goals in 89 international matches for Spain. He also played in 3 World Cups for them.

#4 Centre Back - Carles Puyol

Puyol was a Barcelona great who played for the club from 1999 to 2014. He began his career as a right-back, but started playing as a centre-back soon. He was an excellent man-marker and had great tackling skills. He was also very strong in the air and scored quite a few goals with his headers.

Puyol was also a genuine big-match player and performed brilliantly in each of the 3 Champions League finals he played in. He played 593 matches for Barca and scored 18 goals. His importance can be underlined by the simple fact that Barca have won only 1 Champions League title since his retirement in 2014.

Puyol was a great player for his national side too. He won 1 World Cup and 2 European Championships for them. He also played for them in 100 matches and scored 3 goals. He was also the Spanish captain for a while.

#5 Left Back - Jose Antonio Camacho

Jose Antonio Camacho was a legendary left-back who played successfully for more than a decade for Real Madrid and Spain. He was a very strong tackler and also quite adept at going forward. Camacho was signed by Real in 1974 and played for them till 1989. He also played for Spain from 1975 to 1988.

Camacho won 9 La Liga titles and 2 UEFA Cups with Real. However, he could not win any major silverware for his national side as Spain underperformed repeatedly in major tournaments. However, he played in a few World Cups for them and featured in some European championships also. He appeared in 81 matches in his club career, but could not score any goal.

Camacho finished runner-up in the Euro 1984 with the Spanish national team. He played 414 matches in his club career and scored 9 goals. He remains a legend for both his club and country and should definitely be a part of this team.

#6 Defensive Midfield - Sergio Busquets

Sergio Busquets has already won every possible trophy in world football and is still only 30 years old. He has won 1 World Cup, 2 European Championships for the Spanish national team and 3 UEFA Champions League and 7 La Liga titles for Barcelona.

He also remains one of the best defensive midfielders in modern football. He is a very intelligent player who also has great distribution skills and positional awareness.

He started his career in 2008 for the Barca senior team and soon cemented his place in their starting eleven. He has played 506 matches for Barcelona till date and scored 13 goals. He also has appeared in 111 internationals for Spain and scored 2 goals.

Busquets is still quite young and would retire as one of the most successful midfielders of all time. He should continue to play for Barcelona and Spain for a few more years.

#7 Central Midfield - Xavi

Xavi was a very successful player for Barcelona and Spain and played for them for more than a decade. He was a brilliant central midfielder and remains one of the best footballers ever to have played in that position. He specialized in controlling the pace of the game with his intelligent touches and astute passing. Very few footballers have had his understanding of time and space.

Xavi was the engine of Barcelona and Spain for more than a decade. He is also one of the successful footballers of all time, having won 1 World Cup and 2 European Championships for them. He also won 4 Champions League and 8 La Liga titles with Barca.

He played 133 matches for the national team and scored 13 goals. He also remains one of the best passers of all time and would go down as one of the best players to have played for Barcelona and Spain. Therefore, he should be a certainty in this team.

#8 Central Midfield - Andres Iniesta

Andres Iniesta is certainly among the greatest attacking midfielders the game has ever seen. He played a major role in Barcelona and Spain’s success in the 2000s and 2010s. He was a player of great grace and passing range and awesome ball skills. His positional play was also brilliant and he created a lot of opportunities for the Barcelona forwards with his astute passing and dribbling.

Iniesta could play great one-twos, incisive through balls and quick back-heels to build up moves one after the other. Iniesta scored 57 goals in 674 matches for Barca in his 16 seasons with them and also won 4 UEFA Champions League and 9 La Liga titles for them. Iniesta also finished 3rd in the Ballon d’Or ranking in 2012.

He played for the Spanish national team in 131 matches and scored 13 goals. He also won 1 World Cup and 2 European championships with them.

#9 Right Wing - Raul

Raul Gonzalez Blanco or Raul, as he was popularly known, was one of the main reasons behind Real’s success in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Spanish striker spent 15 very successful seasons at Real, played 733 matches and scored 307 goals. He also won 3 UEFA Champions Leagues and 6 La Ligas with Real. Raul was twice the leading goal-scorer in Europe and also finished runner up in Ballon D’or 2001.

Raul was a player for the big occasions and the first player to score 50 goals in the UEFA Champions’ League. One of those goals came in the 1999-2000 final win against Valencia. Raul was more comfortable playing as the main striker, but he could play as a second striker or a winger too. He formed a great striking partnership with fellow Spaniard Fernando Morientes at Real.

Raul was very successful for the Spanish national team too and scored 44 goals in 102 matches for them. However, he could not win any major silverware for the national team. He also scored 404 goals in 940 matches in his entire club career.

#10 Left Wing - Francisco Gento

Francisco Gento was one of the most successful footballers in club football and played for a dominant Real Madrid team in the 1950s. He won 6 UEFA Champions League titles and 12 La Liga titles for Real. Gento played as a left winger and scored a lot of goals apart from creating them. He had great ball skills and a good shot on him.

Gento played alongside great players like Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas for Real and made them the strongest club in the world. He played for Real Madrid from 1953 to 1971 and scored 180 goals in 620 matches in his entire club career.

He scored 5 goals in 43 matches for the Spanish national team and was selected among the top 100 footballers of all time by FIFA. He retired from football in 1971 and remains one of the most successful and decorated Spanish footballers of all time.

#11 Centre-forward - David Villa

David Villa was a great forward who could play both as the main striker and the support striker. He could also play as a winger and played a major role in Spain’s success in the late 2000s and early 2010s. He was also one of the best strikers in the world in his prime.

Villa rose to prominence while playing for Valencia and played for them from 2005 to 2010. He was then signed by Barcelona and spent 3 seasons with them. He scored 364 goals in 731 matches in his club career and won 2 UEFA Champions League and 2 LaLiga titles.

Villa also won 1 World Cup and 2 European Championships with Spain. He was good dribbler and could score with powerful shots from the edge of the penalty box. He scored 59 goals in 98 matches for them. He primarily played as a lone striker for the Spanish national team and remains one of their finest footballers ever.

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