REAL FEDERACION ESPANOLA DE FUTBOL

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) was founded in 1909, twenty years after football had first been introduced to the country by English miners and sailors.

Spain was slow to affiliate to FIFA (1914) and though the Copa del Rey was set up in 1903, it took the Spanish until 1929 to create a truly national league competition.

The Spanish team's fortunes have famously been characterised by an almost complete lack of success. La seleccion has suffered through most of it's history as a result of club tensions being more important than any national cause.

Spain won the 1964 European Nations Cup, which it hosted, but the side has never reached beyond the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Founded

 14.10.1909

Pro players

 1,264

Amt players

 116,624

Yth players

 396,428

FIFA ranking

 03 (Oct 04)

Coach

 Luis Aragones


Luis Aragones

Spain's record v England

Date

Opponents

Venue

Comp

Result

15 May 29

Spain

Metropolitano, Madrid

F

3-4

09 Dec 31

Spain

Highbury, London

F

7-1

02 Jul 50

Spain

Rio de Janeiro

WCF

0-1

18 May 55

Spain

Chamartin, Madrid

F

1-1

30 Nov 55

Spain

Wembley

F

4-1

15 May 60

Spain

Bernabéu, Madrid

F

0-3

26 Oct 60

Spain

Wembley

F

4-2

08 Dec 65

Spain

Bernabéu, Madrid

F

2-0

24 May 67

Spain

Wembley

F

2-0

03 Apr 68

Spain

Wembley

ECQ

1-0

08 May 68

Spain

Bernabéu, Madrid

ECQ

2-1

26 Mar 80

Spain

Nou Camp, Barcelona

F

2-0

18 Jun 80

Spain

San Paolo, Naples

ECF

2-1

25 Mar 81

Spain

Wembley

F

1-2

05 Jul 82

Spain

Bernabéu, Madrid

WCF

0-0

18 Feb 87

Spain

Bernabéu, Madrid

F

4-2

09 Sept 92

Spain

El Sardinero, Santander

F

0-1

22 Jun 96

Spain

Wembley

ECF

0-0*

28 Feb 01

Spain

Villa Park, Birmingham

F

3-0


WCF - World Cup Finals
ECF - European Championship Finals
ECQ - European Championship Qualifier
F - Friendly

Star Players

Raul Gonzalez, 27, is Spain's leading goalscorer. England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson described him as such: "He is an artist, he is quick, he can dribble well and is very very clever in the box. He is always there and always seems to score. He smells the danger."

Carles Puyol, 26, is probably Spain's most accomplished defender currently playing. The Barcelona man has been at the Nou Camp for the duration of his career and has made over 100 league appearances for the Catalan giants.

Juan Carlos Valeron, 29, is a player with superb vision and technical ability. Valeron is able to transfer his domestic form, from club side Deportivo La Coruna, to the international set-up with minimal effort.

Legends

Alfredo di Stefano - Though he had already played for Argentina and, unofficially, Colombia, Di Stefano played 31 times for Spain, scoring 23 goals, a record for the Spanish national team until broken by Emilio Butragueño in 1990.

Ricardo Zamora - The legendary goalkeeper, who many say was the best of all-time, won 46 caps for Spain between 1920 and 1936. Zamora, who played for Real Madrid and Barcelona, was in the Spanish goal for the first ever international between his country and England.

Insider's view

Luis Aragones (Spain Head Coach): "The press have a tendency to make out that we are the best team in the world and we are not. Historically, Spain have not done anything," he has said. "We have spent the last twelve years getting to the finals of the European Championship or the World Cup - usually with difficulty and that has been the story. We have a lot to improve."

The Colour
SPAIN

Area

 504,782 km2

Population

 40,280,780

Capital

 Madrid

Languages

 Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque
Famous people - Pablo Picasso (artist), Francisco Goya (artist), Antoni Gaudi (artictect/artist), Federico Garcia Lorca (poet), Miguel Indurain (cyclist), Seve Ballesteros (golfer), Salvador Dali (artist), Pedro Almodovar (film director), Miguel de Cervantes (writer), Diego Velazquez (artist).


What they've given the world - Flamenco, tapas bars, rioja wine, sherry.

Spanish Trivia

Category  Stat
Length of coastline 4,964 km
Internet users 9.789 million (2003)
GDP per capita $22,000 (2004)