Guillem Balague and Graham Hunter told Revista what makes Euro 2008 holders Spain tick.
Durability of Spain makes them team to beat
England cannot say they haven't been warned - Spain will put out their strongest available team against them in Seville on Wednesday.
That is the view of
Revista de la Liga's Guillem Balague, who believes there is no reason to tinker with the side which captured the imagination at Euro 2008, eventually winning the competition with a 1-0 victory over Germany.
There have been doubts about the part the matchwinner that night, Fernando Torres, will play against England, given his hamstring troubles this season, but Balague claimed that the Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque and the Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez are complicit in the striker's development.
"I've heard some people saying Spain won't play its strongest team," said Balague. "But actually they will, it's going to be the base that won the European Championships, because it won!
"Vicente Del Bosque and Rafael Benitez were also exchanging words about Torres.
"He understood that Torres is coming out of an injury, but because of it, he should be playing more. We'll see if he plays the whole game."
Developing
Balague also offered praise to Barcelona's young midfielder Sergio Busquets, whose performances when called upon by Josep Guardiola have contributed to his first international call-up.
Del Bosque is concerned with reinvigorating his team with young talent, and the emergence of Busquets is timely in that respect.
"A 20 year old, and 18 months ago he wasn't even playing in the third division," added Balague. "He was vital for Barcelona B under Guardiola and he knew what he was going to get.
"Vicente Del Bosque has realised that you have to start thinking about the future, and Sergio Busquets, who I think will play some part against England, is a big part of that."
Spain beat England 1-0 in a friendly in November 2004, but until last summer, they had remained perennial underachievers in major tournaments, and just five players remain from that game.
Winning mentality
In the space of five years, the team has located the belief it so sorely lacked, and Graham Hunter has suggested that the fact that a number of their players have played in England during the past few years, allied with their innate natural ability has forged an unlikely solidity within their ranks.
"I think they've emphasised ball-playing skills and have the emergence of Andres Iniesta, David Villa and David Silva, the quickness of feet and the ability to open up defences," said Hunter.
"But they have the English mentality of those who've spent years now, in Cesc's case, in the UK, they didn't quite have that before."
