Spain’s national team will begin training today for next month’s European Championship, which they seek to win for the first time in 44 years.Led in attack by Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, prompted by skillful Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and protected by Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the Luis Aragones-coached team is ranked as one of the favourites. However, Spain’s win at the 1964 European Championship is their only major international success, casting doubts on success in the June 7-29 tournament in Austria and Switzerland.“Here, we are just like in all the tournaments — it could happen. We have the players to create history for Spain,” Torres told sports daily Marca on Sunday. The 23 players selected by Aragones will undertake double training sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before travelling south to Huelva for a friendly against Peru on Saturday. Spain play another friendly against United States in the northern city of Santander on June 4. Aragones’s team then kicks off in Group D against Russia on June 10 in Innsbruck, Austria. Top-scorer missingSpain are without their all-time top scorer, Raul Gonzalez, for the first major tournament since the 1996 European Championship. Aragones withstood pressure to recall the Real Madrid captain, who has scored 44 goals in 102 international matches but hasn’t played for Spain since a 3-2 qualifying loss at Northern Ireland in September 2006.Instead of Raul, Aragones opted for Zaragoza rookie Sergio Garcia as his fourth striker. Villarreal midfielder Santi Cazorla is the squad’s other newcomer. Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa suffered a mishap as he reached the Spanish federation’s headquarters and training ground in Las Rozas, Madrid, on Monday. Arbeloa, the first of the squad to arrive, realised too late that he had left his suitcase in the taxi, news agency Efe reported.
