Spain vs. Spain

With so many Spanish footballers now plying their trade in other countries as La Liga clubs are forced to sell off their crown jewels, it seems fair to ask which is the better side - an all La Liga selección  or one composed of Spanish expatriate players?

With no further ado, here are my team sheets. I choose to play a 4-4-3 in both cases.

Spanish players currently outside La Liga

---------Juan Mata-------------------Fernando Torres------------------David Silva-----

---------Santi Cazorla-------------Javi Garcia--------------Mikel Arteta-----------------

Nacho Monreal------Javi Martinez--------Carlos Cuellar-------Cesar Azpilicueta--------

-------------------------------------Pepe Reina------------------------------------------

Substitutes:  David De Gea, Alvaro Dominguez, Michu, Chico Flores


Spanish players currently in La Liga


---------Iniesta--------------------David Villa------------------------Fabregas-----------

--------------Isco-------------------Xavi-------------------Xabi Alonso-----------------

Jordi Alba----------Carles Puyol-----------Gerard Pique---------Sergio Ramos----------

-------------------------------------Iker Casillas------------------------------------------

Substitutes: Victor Valdes, Jesus Navas, Benat, Pedro, Alvaro Arbeloa


The "outside" squad obviously has less consistent quality, since it is forced to use the dinosaur-like Carlos Cuellar and what's left of Fernando Torres. Its depth is not fantastic either, as I could bring myself to name four substitutes (though they at least cover four different positions). Pablo Hernandez and Esteban Granero are next up should they recover form and sharpness. There is no lack of Spanish expatriate footballers, even if the rest seem to be misfits and squad players (Jordi Gomez, Angel Rangel, David Fuster, Marc Crosas, Bojan Krcic, to name a few).

But the "outside" squad is not bad! Many of its members can and do start for the (combined) national team. Some might even say the squad could be stronger with Mata and Silva flip-flopped (both like to cut in from the right on their left foot, but Mata is more lethal of late) and the in-form Michu in place of Torres. These are valid arguments.

For the "inside" squad, there is no real drop in quality compared to the regular combined side. Certainly Isco is not yet a regular national team starter but the squad could always be rebalanced to accomodate the more experienced Jesus Navas or Pedro instead.

This exercise illustrates the depth of Spanish football at the moment. Both teams would be competitive on the world stage and I have a feeling the "inside" squad could still win a major tournament even without the "outside" talent. I don't think this exercise would generate two teams of such caliber for any other country. Brazil and Argentina  probably come closest, but their "inside" teams are noticeably weaker than the "outside" ones.