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Innsbruck, Austria: Two games, two victories, including an injury time winner. This Spanish soccer team look nothing like the big tournament chokers of the past.
One of the game's all-time underachievers, Spain have never matched their talent with results, and their lone title, a European Championship, happened all of 44 years ago. They have never made it to the final of a World Cup.
Maybe this is the time the nation that gave the game two of its greatest clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, will show it has the resilience to go all the way instead of making its usual early departure.
Saturday's 2-1 victory over a Sweden team who also had won their opening game put the Spaniards atop Group D.
Talent
David Villa, who scored three goals in the 4-1 victory over Russia, scored in the second minute of injury time to underline that this team don't settle for a point. Next comes a game against Greece, the Euro 2004 winners they drew with four years ago in Portugal.
The thing is, Spain have been deceiving their fans for decades, arriving at championships full of talent, flair and colour, but without any depth of character to back it up. From World Cup to European Championship, their fans have only needed to pack their cases half-full because they knew all along they would be getting an early flight home.
At Euro 2004, Spain also opened with a victory over Russia and were held to a 1-1 draw by the Greeks. But a loss to neighbours Portugal meant Spain were eliminated on goal difference.
At the World Cup two years later, they made it to the first knockout round, winning three times with an 8-1 scoring edge, but then were beaten 3-1 by France.
It shouldn't be an early flight home this time.
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