Spain's good run continues, and that’s great news for the competition and for football as a whole. They two wins here — one easy, yesterday’s after initial hiccups — should not come as a surprise given the talent at their disposal but it is remarkable in that the Spanish national team ranks relatively low in everyone’s order of priorities.Spain is a country with deep and bitter regional divisions, and football, the fabric of life, is closely caught up in that. The most famous rivalry is between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Castille against Catalonia. The most recent news is that the Catalonians have voted heavily in favour of more autonomy from the centre — a move backed, ironically, by Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero.The really bitter history, however, is between Real and Bilbao. The latter is the Basque capital and the Basques have long been persecuted by the Castillians (whose capital is Madrid). Especially during the dictatorship of General Franco, when Real Madrid was the “national team” and it was forbidden to speak Basque. There are no players from Bilbao in this Spain squad but it is easy to picture the inherent tensions, however deep beneath the surface, between Carles Puyol, hardcore Barcelona, and Raul, Real personified. And then there’s Atletico Madrid, whose hatred of their more illustrious neighbours comes out in graphic form — David Beckham getting special treatment — every time they play. So when Atletico’s Fernando Torres takes the place of Raul, the skipper, in the starting line-up, you can imagine the ripples of tension. For the fans back home, then, Spain beating Tunisia is less important than their club beating the enemy.Given that, two good wins out of two is an achievement. What was especially pleasing in yesterday’s match, apart from Fernando Torres having another blinder, was the performance of Cesc Fabregas. His maturity in Arsenal colours was evident through most of last season, which he spent filling Patrick Vieira’s considerable shoes.On Monday, he played a similar role after coming on as a sub in the second half, with some sublime passing. One pass, late on, to Fernando Torres did not result in a goal but was breathtaking in its accuracy — especially from someone who is only 19.Spain still have a lot of work to do and, if they meet France in the next round, they may face revitalised neighbours. Yet if they can keep this spirit going, and if they continue with the brave decision to start without Raul, they could go a long way here. Maybe then all of Spain will celebrate.
