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Spain’s embarrassment of footballing riches was highlighted by their latest squad announcement for the friendly match with Italy, as several massive names were omitted from Vicente Del Bosque’s selection.
While the likes of Diego Costa receive a call-up to the squad, a number of regular members for La Roja will be kicking their heels and watching from home in this rematch of the Euro 2012 final, with a number of Premier League stars left out.
Meanwhile, England selected Tom Cleverley. All hope is gone.
Here is an eleven of Spain players, who despite being fit, didn’t make the squad.
GK – David De Gea (Manchester United)
It won’t be long before De Gea does get his chance in the full squad, but for now he has to wait, as Spain still have an embarrassment of riches to fill the void between the posts.
Iker Casillas, Victor Valdes and Pepe Reina have all been called up to face Mario Balotelli and coand it seems ridiculous that Spain can simply afford to not select the likes of De Gea and Sergio Asenjo.
Casillas has not made a single league appearance for Real Madrid this season, but De Gea has made more saves per goal than Reina, making 2.13 saves per concession compared to the Napoli man’s 1.74. Valdes has made 3.33 saves per goal conceded this season.
RB – Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid)
Some feel it could be a case of keeping Diego Costa happy, after their altercation in the recent Madrid cup games, with it seeming odd that no specialist right-back has been drafted in to cover Arbeloa.
Whatever the reason, Arbeloa has not made the squad this time round and with just three months separating us from the World Cup, he will worry about his seat on the plane to Brazil, despite having made himself quite the cult hero at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Arbeloa may boast a passing accuracy of 92%, but he has won just 29 tackles all season with a win rate of only 41%.
CB – Inigo Martinez (Real Sociedad)
Inigo Martinez is one of the most highly-rated young centre-backs in Spain and has developed a knack for the sensational, scoring twice from the halfway line in one season for La Real.
Coupled with his long-range shooting is a solid defender, with these attributes often overlooked in Spain in the era of the trequartista, with small, fancy attacking players capturing the imagination more vividly.
Martinez has made an impressive 133 clearances for Sociedad this season and won 54% of his aerial duels, so his time in the senior squad is not long off now one would think.
CB – Marc Bartra (Barcelona)
Yet another product of the La Masia academy at Barcelona, Bartra’s talent is often underestimated due to him not being a midfielder in the mould of Xavi or Andres Iniesta.
However he has started to make an impression on the first-team at the perfect time as Carles Puyol’s body starts to let him down, giving Bartra more starts than he might of expected and convincing him to sign a new deal.
Bartra has won an impressive 68% of his headed duels this season and made 37 appearances in his 13 matches for Barca.
LB - Alberto Moreno (Sevilla)
A slightly left-field choice, but Moreno edges out Nacho Monreal due to the progress he has made this year for Sevilla.
Moreno has belied his youthful 21 years of age to make a big noise at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium and given Sevilla’s notoriously unstable financial situation, there are already teams casting their eye over him.
Moreno has made 56 interceptions in just 20 appearances this season and created 14 chances from his left-back role.
CM – Ander Herrera (Athletic Bilbao)
Herrera made the headlines in the summer after being the subject of a big money bid from Manchester United and his decision to stay has been vindicated with Athletic flying high in La Primera.
The Basque midfielder is the complete player as he mixes attacking prowess and vision with hard graft in the centre of the pitch and it’s no wonder he has attracted admirers from around Europe.
Herrera has created 32 chances this season – more than any Manchester United midfielder – and has suffered a massive 57 fouls as opposition players have struggled to deal with his fleetness of foot.
CM – Asier Illarramendi (Real Madrid)
It shows how many midfield options Spain currently have that they can afford to leave out a player like Illarramendi without a second thought.
Illarramendi is the natural heir to Xabi Alonso in the centre of the pitch having made the transition from Sociedad to Real Madrid, though he skipped over the spell in Liverpool, making the game seem so effortless.
Illarramendi has completed 88% of his passes and made 27 tackles despite being used primarily as a substitute this season for Real.
ACM – Isco (Real Madrid)
Isco has the potential to become on of the best players in world football, so it is perhaps surprising that he has been underused by Real this season and underlines the talent that both Real and Spain have to not find room for him.
He is one of the most composed players on the ball in Europe and his centre of gravity practically defies the laws of science, allowing him to skip away from challenges.
Despite a limited role for Real, Isco has still scored seven times and created a further 42 chances for Los Blancos.
RF – David Villa (Atletico Madrid)
Proof that nobody is safe from the cull in the Spain squad, it is Villa that has had to make way for club teammate Diego Costa to come into the squad, despite being the record goalscorer for his country.
Spurs fans are still kicking themselves that they spent £20million more on Roberto Soldado than Atletico paid to land David Villa, with the striker having proved he is nowhere near past it for Atleti.
Villa has netted on 11 occasions for Atleti this season, converting 28.2% of his shots, while he has claimed three assists on top of that.
LF – Juan Mata (Manchester United)
Yup, that’s correct, Juan Mata has still not made the Spain squad despite having left Chelsea in order to ensure he was playing enough to get back into the squad in time for the World Cup.
There’s now a real fear that one of the best players currently in the Premier League may not even go to Brazil this summer, unless he plans a holiday there.
Mata has already created 16 chances for United in his five games at Old Trafford – more than Robin Van Persie has – and claimed three assists, while he created a further 30 during his limited playing time at Chelsea.
CF – Fernando Llorente (Juventus)
Spain have even shored up their striking options now after playing the ‘false nine’ at the European Championships, with the likes of Costa and Alvaro Negredo lighting up their respective leagues enough to leave Llorente to rest back in Turin for a while.
The towering striker is enjoying his football once again after a difficult final season in Bilbao and has become a key element of the Juventus side that sits top of the pile once again in Italy.
Llorente has scored ten times of Juve in his 22 appearances, converting 25% of his shots and hitting the target with 63% of them.
