Spain as a sports power?

Don’t look now, but after Spain won the World Cup two weeks ago, the sports world is now turning its eyes towards Europe, asking if all this is for real. Two years ago, Spain also won the Euro Cup of football. As we speak, Alberto Contador is just about certain to win his third Tour de France. In the world of basketball, Spain has also won the World Basketball Championship in 2006, and placed second to the United States in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. They also won the European Cup of 2009. Rafael Nadal won the Wimbledon and French Open in tennis. Formula 1 has Fernando Alonso winning the Formula 1 not too long ago. And the list goes on and on. I’m sure they’ve done well at a world level in other sports that don’t get as much media space as those listed above.

Spain’s sports scene is so rich that they’re now being likened to the rigid sports powers of the old Communist bloc of USSR, East Germany and Asia’s China. But the comparison is true only as far as achievements are concerned. How they got there is a totally different story. Spain is unlike the old USSR and East Germany where the government dictated and ran a super strict and rigid sports program for all to follow. This included the development of potential talents as young as little kids who were “taken away” from their families and made to train as if they were professionals. Reports out of China indicate that this is still being done today. China identifies its future talents while they’re still young, then herd them over to the managers of the national sports program. Gone are their family lives as they’re reason for existence is to serve the country as a sports blue chip prospect.

Although not an expert in the sports program of Spain, what we read about this is a bit different. While the state is involved in its Spain’s sports programs, a lot of the credit for Spain’s reaching its current stage today goes to the participation of the private sector and a more free market type of sports approach for all. Sports academies are present, but unlike in the Eastern Bloc countries, this is run by private individuals and not by the state. The government also has a hand in some of these, but not in a rigid and strict manner where they restrict and regulate the activities of all its national athletes. Spain has laid the groundwork for its people to engage in sports in their own little way and pace. Things aren’t dictated for athletes who are free to delve into their favorite sports on their own. When talents are identified, these young prospects are given more exposure, training and competition to sharpen their skills and become future world-beaters. But all this is isn’t forced on them. A big part of this is the wide variety and volume of sports competitions being held in Spain. This includes the hosting of the biggest events such as the World Cup and the Olympics. Internally, football is easily the biggest sport, but basketball and others are also popular among the populace.

When Pau Gasol and company won the World Basketball Championship, Spain created an indelible mark in the basketball world and within Spain itself, and sent out a message that Spain wasn’t all about football. Basketball was among the last sports in which Spain excelled after having had successful campaigns in tennis, gold, and cycling. And now that Spain has finally won a World Cup in the country’s most popular sport, what else have yet to achieve? It only seemed proper that Spain had won world championships in other events before its football program would strike gold.

And this brings us back to the Philippines. While we’re a century behind Spain in sports, it will surely help if we learn from the country that sent Ferdinand Magellan to our shores. But will we ever learn? Will P-Noy, PSC Head Ritchie Garcia, POC Chairman Peping Cojuangco finally get us headed in the right direction?

While our Philippine history teachers never really talked positively about Spain, this is the time I wish they took care of us in sports.

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Time-out: Happy birthday to Ricky Ballesteros! >>> You can reach me at [email protected].