Manchester United fans will doubtless be pleased by Wayne Rooney’s latest comments pouring cold, or at least lukewarm water on the idea that he might move to Barcelona, or anywhere else for that matter.

Good news for United it may be, but I’m not so sure it’s in England’s interests for so few of the country’s leading players to try their luck abroad.

Whenever this subject comes up, I can’t help but look to the great strides made by Spain at international level, progress that must have been aided by the far more adventurous attitude taken by some of their players in recent times.

Spain used to have a similar reputation to England in this regard, with virtually everyone happy to stay at home and enjoy the riches available from clubs swimming in cash from huge TV rights deals. Heading into the 1998 World Cup, every member of the Spain squad played for a Spanish club, while four years later Gaizka Mendieta was the only export (and he was about to come home, after confirming a lot of prejudices in a nightmare season with Lazio).

Fast forward to Euro 2008, where a Spanish squad featuring Pepe Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres (all Liverpool) and Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) swept all before them.

Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but I suspect not. In the past, tensions always seemed to rise in the Spanish camp as long tournaments wore on (I covered them at Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup and at Euro 2004) but last year there was a new confidence about them.

Wouldn’t it be beneficial for England if their better players spent some time abroad, learning new languages, experiencing different cultures and absorbing new ideas?

I’m not specifically talking about Rooney, who I’m sure will go on and achieve even more at United. But would it really be so bad if players like him followed the example of Steve McManaman and David Beckham and tried something different.

PHOTO: Steve McManaman lifts up the European Cup at Madrid’s landmark Cibeles fountain May 25. Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 in the Champions League final at the Stade de France in Paris May 24 to secure their eighth European title.

Pau Gasol's triumph with the LA Lakers has prompted more articles in the Spanish media celebrating the country's incredible run of sporting success.

Gasol was a vital cog in the Lakers machine this season and joins a long list of Spanish champions in individual and team sports.

Spain's soccer team, after winning Euro 2008, has cemented its hold on the number one ranking by extending its unbeaten run to 33 matches, Barcelona strolled to the Champions League title last month with a humbling of holders Manchester United, Rafael Nadal is the top-ranked men's tennis player and Spain Davis Cup champions, Jorge Lorenzo is joint leader in the MotoGP world championships and Carlos Sastre won the 2008 Tour de France, the third Spanish victory in a row.

"Another success for Spanish sport," Nadal wrote of Gasol on his website on Tuesday. "It's hard to take in everything that we are achieving," he added. "We should be very proud."

"Gasol has passed a new milestone for Spanish sport, even if there are not that many goals left to achieve," said sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky.

Writing in Marca newspaper on Tuesday, columnist Santiago Segurola said the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 were a turning point for the country, changing the way people outside Spain viewed the nation and laying the foundations for today's sporting achievements.

While Spain might not be the strongest sporting nation overall, it was among those that produced the widest variety of champions, almost all in sports with huge media impact, he added.

However, the recent success of athletes like Gasol and Nadal could be a mixed blessing for the team bidding to bring the Olympic Games to Madrid in 2016.

It helps raise the nation's global profile but also serves to underline the relative weakness of Spain in the key Olympic sports of athletics and swimming.

"We are enjoying the luxury but lacking in the basics," Segurola wrote.

Spain's performance at the last Olympics in Beijing, where they came 14th in the medals table behind the likes of Jamaica, Netherlands and Ukraine, underscored their athletes' deficiencies, Juan Bautista Martinez wrote in Tuesday's La Vanguardia.

But at a time of economic crisis, with unemployment soaring and firms closing down, sport had become a kind of motor of society that had helped lift damp spirits, he said. "When everything is going down the tubes, sport comes to the rescue."

Whether or not Madrid pips Chicago, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro to win the right to host the 2016 summer Games, the elusive dream for many Spaniards remains winning the soccer World Cup for the first time.

If Fernando Torres, David Villa, Xavi and Andres Iniesta maintain anything like their current form, South Africa next year could well be the icing on the cake for this over-achieving nation of 40 million people.

PAU: Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol reaches for a rebound in the 3rd quarter during Game 4 of their NBA Finals series against the Orlando Magic in Orlando, Florida June 11, 2009. REUTERS/Kevin Kolczynski

INIESTA: Barcelona's Andres Iniesta holds the trophy after their Champions League final victory against Manchester United at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, May 27, 2009. REUTERS/Darren Staples

Spain overcame 44 years of underachievement on the international stage when they were crowned European champions at Euro 2008. Not only did they win the tournament, but their players, their style and their attacking ambition were hailed around the world.

However, that success appears to have had a detrimental effect on their domestic teams, who have traditionally been some of the strongest performers in Europe’s club competitions.

Last week’s Champions League and UEFA Cup results are some of the worst in recent seasons.

Nine-times European Cup winners Real Madrid were beaten 1-0 at home by Liverpool in their last 16 first leg, while both Villarreal and Atletico Madrid were held to score draws at home by Panathinaikos and Porto respectively.

Only Barcelona achieved what could be considered a positive result, coming from behind to draw 1-1 away to Olympique Lyon and it was hardly an impressive performance.

In the UEFA Cup they fared even worse.

The 2004 winners Valencia drew at home to Dynamo Kiev to go out on the away goals rule 3-3 on aggregate, while Deportivo Coruna were humbled 6-1 on aggregate by AaB Aalborg. The 2006 and 2007 winners Sevilla failed to make it out of the group stages along with Racing Santander.

It is the first time in 18 years (since the 1990/91 season) there is no Spanish representative left in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup.

This competition is often touted as an indicator of the strength in depth of particular leagues and this year’s Primera Liga does not appear to be a vintage one.

Leaders Barcelona are doing their best to make it exciting at the top, with their 12-point lead over Real Madrid down to four, but look beyond the top two and you’ll find third-placed Sevilla are a long, long way back, while fourth-placed Villarreal are closer to the relegation places (17 points) than they are to Barca (18).

Unless Barca, Real, Atletico and Villarreal buck up their ideas before the Champions League second legs, Spain could be bemoaning an even more calamitous scenario.

PHOTO: Dynamo Kiev’s Betao (R), Carlos Correa (2nd R) and Eremenko celebrate a goal near Valencia’s Vicente Rodriguez (L) during their UEFA Cup soccer match at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia February 26, 2009. REUTERS/Heino Kalis

This week we had the nominations for FIFA world player of the year, discovered the winner of the FIFPro world player of the year and mulled the contenders for the Ballon d’Or.

Exactly how many gongs do we need? In the recent past the situation was a bit clearer.

The Ballon d’Or was originally just for Europeans (hence the foreign language-challenged English calling it the European player of the year). In 1995 magazine France Football, which runs the award, decided any player playing in Europe could win it and since 2007 any footballer in the world is eligible (although it will surely be rare for a player not playing with a European side to win). (more…)

The shortlist for the Ballon d’Or got shorter this year, but there was still room for seven members of the Spain squad that restored a bit of faith in football at Euro 2008.

A lot of news reports focused on the big-named absentees, including Thierry Henry, Fabio Cannavaro and Ronaldinho, but I don’t suppose too many people would argue for their inclusion after disappointing seasons.

No, the real surprise, and shame, is the absence of Andres Iniesta, to my mind the most skilful of Spain’s little men in midfield. If he wasn’t quite at his best at Euro 2008 he was still better than most and he deserves a place in the top 30.

One thing to consider about the award is the weight given to performances over a season against form shown over a few weeks in the summer.

For many Premier League watchers, it will be hard to see past Cristiano Ronaldo but when Portugal needed him he was outshone by Bastian Schweinsteiger. Again. Where does that leave us?

Xavi won the player of the tournament award at Euro 2008 for pulling the strings in that beguiling Spanish midfield and despite the fact that Barcelona won nothing last season, he would be my choice. It would at least recognise that brilliance can be understated as well as flash.

PHOTO: Xavi joins his team mates to celebrate the matchwinning goal from Fernando Torres in the Euro 2008 final, June 29, 2008. REUTERS/Christian Charisius

The great and the good of German soccer have been quick to condemn Kevin Kuranyi after the Schalke 04 striker walked away from the national team at the weekend.

Former Germany coach Franz Beckenbauer said Kuranyi’s behaviour was “ridiculous” and had overshadowed the good impression Germany made in their 2-1 win over Russia.

“He not only let the coach down but also his teammates,” the Kaiser wrote in his column for Bild newspaper on Monday.

“I can’t imagine he’ll ever play again for Germany,” he added. “He’d have to go down on his knees to (coach) Jogi Loew.”

But not all reactions were negative. (more…)

Franz Beckenbauer’s announcement that the European Championship finals will feature 24 teams instead of 16 from 2016 must have been welcomed by fans of countries that have found it difficult to qualify for recent major tournaments.

But as my colleague Mike Collett argued during Euro 2008, UEFA is running a big risk by trying to fix something that is not broken.

Mike wrote:

As we all know, the competition format (as it stands) is simple and logical and because just the top two advance (from each group) teams have to come and attack.

Add another four or eight teams and we get into the complicated nonsense we had to endure in the 24-team World Cups from 1982 to 1994 because it’s not easy to reduce 24 teams to a 16-team knockout stage.

Defensive, cagey football, from teams who shouldn’t be in the finals in the first place will damage the event.

Euro 2008 was a great tournament and you have to wonder if this expansion is just going to dilute the experience. It’s hard to imagine it actually improving things.

More underdogs might produce more surprises and make it that much more difficult for the likes of Spain and Germany to reach the final as they did rather predictably in Euro 2008. On the other hand, very few people, if any, want to see an additional eight teams just make up the numbers.

What do you think? Is UEFA about to ruin the world’s best football tournament? Give us your thoughts in the comments.

Watching a rudderless Italy at Euro 2008 was like having my teeth pulled out.

Wednesday’s 2-2 friendly draw against Austria in Marcello Lippi’s first game back in charge since winning the World Cup was less painful, but serious problems persist.

Gone are the days of a rock solid Italian defence. Sure Fabio Cannavaro is still injured having missed the stuttering run to the Euro quarter-finals, but even he is not the player he was.

Fellow centre back Giorgio Chiellini, Italy’s sole success story from June, is crocked for their opening World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus and Georgia next month. That leaves Andrea Barzagli, who now plays in Germany with Wolfsburg, as an almost certain starter despite being at fault for both Austria’s goals.

At the other end things are still not right either. Former coach Roberto Donadoni was obsessed with a three-pronged attack in the run-up to the Euros but as soon as the Azzurri lost to Netherlands in the opening match he ditched it.

Lippi reinstated the trident on Wednesday but Alessandro Del Piero is still not suited to the left hand side. Both Italy strikes were own goals, even if the first was charitably credited to hit-and-miss forward Alberto Gilardino.

The midfield was average to say the least.  

Lippi has a lot to ponder if he really believes he can lift the World Cup again in two years time. He may also wonder why a game between Italy and Austria was played in Nice in France? (No one has properly explained.)

He probably hasn’t got as much thinking to do as compatriot Fabio Capello, though. England were totally outclassed in a 2-2 draw with the Czechs by all accounts.

Mark Meadows, Reuters Italy Sports Correspondent 

PHOTO: Italy coach Marcello Lippi watches his players during their friendly match against Austria in Nice, Aug 20 REUTERS/Pascal Deschamps

As the dust settles on Euro 2008 and attention turns to transfer market, it will be interesting to see how many of the top performers from the tournament will be on the move in the coming weeks.

If Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Manchester United generated endless speculation at the start of the Euros, the finals ended with other names enjoying newly-acquired prominence. 

Andrei Arshavin’s form for Russia has already prompted a paper mountain of speculation about his future, with Barcelona the dream destination of the Zenit St Petersburg forward. Euro 2008 top scorer David Villa is also expected to be leaving Valencia - even if his four goals for champions Spain will have inflated the Mestalla club’s asking price considerably.  

Another name to consider from UEFA’s 23-man team of the tournament is Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavyluchenko - scorer of three goals for Russia - who according to one British newspaper on Tuesday is now on the radar of Manchester United. 

England may not have been present in Austria and Switzerland but the Premier League boasted six players in the team of the tournament and more may be headed to Europe’s most lucrative league before the start of the season.

At almost 32, Spain’s fine holding midfielder Marcos Senna may be tempted away from Villarreal for a potential last big pay day, while it would have been negligent of scouts to ignore the players that took Turkey to the last four - Galatasaray wide man Arda Turan, in particular.    

In some cases, players already had their transfers tied up before stepping into the Euro shop window. The 16.6m pound deal Tottenham sealed for Dinamo Zagreb’s playmaker Luka Modric certainly made sense when seeing him perform so impressively for Croatia.  

Of course, a player’s ability to shine in the international spotlight is no guarantee he will turn it on week in, week out for his club side as Tottenham fans with memories of another eastern European recruit will know only too well.  

Romanian Ilie Dumitrescu arrived at the White Hart Lane club after scoring twice in a 3-2 win over Argentina at the 1994 World Cup but did not last a full season before being shipped out on loan to Sevilla.

Spain made winning Euro 2008 look decidedly easy, but a major tournament triumph does not come by accident. Here’s how Spain’s first big title in 44 years came about.

1. Game plan: Spain concentrated on doing what they do best, namely keeping the ball and letting their rivals exhaust themselves trying to win it back. It meant tough decisions for coach Luis Aragones, who left good, but less technically gifted footballers at home. Aragones based his team on the creative talents who came through the Barca youth teams — Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas – and stuck with them to the end.

2. Team spirit: This Spain team doesn’t believe in galacticos — stars who are bigger than the team itself. This wasn’t Ballack’s Germany, Beckham’s England or Ronaldo’s Portugal. This was Spain’s Spain. When asked why Villa was left out for the game against Greece, when the Valencia striker might have made all but certain of finishing as top scorer, Aragones said he wasn’t after individual awards, it was a collective trophy that he sought.

It’s the main reason why he left Raul at home.

3. Generosity: Players like Senna ran their hearts out to let the more creative midfielders shine. Villa was the team’s first defender, and captain Iker Casillas invited everybody to his room to play cards at night. The collective was above the individuals.

4. Concentration: Spain made sure they were never distracted at this tournament. I didn’t seen a photo of any WAG and after reading British and Spanish newspapers every day of the tournament, the only reference to family and friends I have is the news of Casillas’s mother fainting in the penalty shoot-out against Italy. There was no circus surrounding the Spanish camp.

5. Bravery: Aragones didn’t hesitate to remove the likes of Torres, Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas when the team needed it. Torres complained in the first match and he was silenced.

6. International experience: Players such as Torres and Fabregas were decisive in the wins against Italy and Germany. The success they and other players have had in England helped the team shrug off Spain’s old inferiority complex.

7. Equilibrium: The team has been strong in all areas. Casillas and the defence were the heroes against Italy. The creative midfield beat Russia, with Xavi and Silva, two midfielders, scoring in the semi-final. And it was the strikers Torres and Villa who sealed victory in the first and last matches.

All lines contributed. It was a triumph of the team, and team spirit.