In the World Cup Finals in Spain in 1982 the Spanish, after scraping through the first group stage by goal difference over the former Yugoslavia, limped out at the second group stage. The format was different then but the results for the boys from Iberia were the same. All too often Spain have gone through into the World Cup finals full of promise, just to get there and go out with a whimper.

In the heat of Madrid in June ‘82 Spain boasted players such as Jose Antonio Camacho, Juanito and Lopez Ufarte, they along with the rest of the squad flattered to deceive, delivering the far from princley return of 4 goals from 5 games. Yes they were beaten 2-1 by the eventual champions Germany, but they also were beaten by a 10 man Northern Ireland boasting Arsenal and Manchester United legends, Pat Jennings and Sammy McIlroy respectively, and then they couldn’t even beat Honduras, the first group’s whipping lambs.

The fact is, if you look at the statistics since Spain ‘82 'La Furia roja' have reached the quarter finals 3 times, but the fact remains that any time they come up against half decent opponents, they lose.

Some World Cup watchers will say that they were unlucky against South Korea in the last World Cup, and a partizan referee played his part in helping the home nation through to the semi finals. However the writing was on the wall when they struggled to beat an Ireland side, minus the errant Roy Keane.

The question of course, is why? Why are Spain perennial underachievers?

Well let’s look at the possible reasons... The first place to look is La Primera Liga, the top flight in Spain is at the moment being dominated by the Catalan giants Barcelona. They have the current World Player of the year and he’s odds on to reclaim the title; Ronaldinho.

Next they have Samuel E’to, Lionel Messi and ex Arsenal player Silvinho. With the exception of E’to the Cameroon star, all those players will be playing for other countries next summer.

If you look around the Spanish top flight, you see Beckham, Zidane and Roberto Carlos at Madrid, the Argentine Riquelme at Villa Real and the more you look, the more you’ll see key positions in La Liga held by, Brazilians, Argentinian's, French and Dutch.

Another place to look for Spain’s disappearing form is in their own heads. Could it be a psychological problem is there for some reason an inferiority complex when it comes to the big games?

It’s possible, but unlikely, these are players who play against top class opposition week in, week out. I believe the problem lies with their lack of a tigerish midfielder, what has become to be known as the Viera role. Brazil went 24 years, that’s 5 World Cups, before they finally adjusted to the demands of modern football.

It took Dunga stepping up and playing that holding role, that allowed the genius of Bebeto and Romario to flourish. The samba skills of Ronaldinho and co are allowed to shine today because of the tenacity in midfield of Arsenal’s Gilberto Silva. France have Makelele, Germany have Bayern Munich’s Michael Ballak. England, depending on what day it is, have Steven Gerrard, or Tottenham’s Ledley King.

Spain have an abundance of skillful players, players who, at a drop of the shoulder or a swerve of the hips, can beat a couple of players and play an incisive ball or score a goal. But without someone in their who can do the 'ugly' work, 'carry the water' and give it to those players, then, as Brazil learnt, ultimately you’ll end up trophy-less.

Out of all the European countries, Spanish football is the type most similar to South American, it is not just the language that they share with the lion share of the continent. But they also share styles, in Spain as is the case in Brazil, it’s simply not fashionable to be a Viera like player.

Children all over the world, as they grow up playing football in the streets, parks and playgrounds, imagine that they become their heroes on the pitch, they imagine themselves as Ronaldinho, Henry, or Zidane.

The youth of Spain just haven’t had that kind of player to look up to, just as when you look at the top South American sides, the icons of World Cups past have been the flair players.

Compare that with England, where players like Bryan Robson, Bobby Moore and Nobby Stiles have been revered just as much as Paul Gascoigne or Wayne Rooney.

My guess is that when Spain do get their very own Gilberto, it will be a case of watch out the rest of the World, until then, I fear they may just carry on under achieving in major tournaments.

Next June they travel to Germany with mixed feelings, they have some great players, a few of them plying their trade in the premiership.

Arsenal’s Jose Antonio Reyes, Chelsea’s Del Horno, Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso, Luis Garcia and Morientes are all players that have played an important part in Spain’s qualification. However even though undefeated they still managed to only finish second to those giants of European football, Serbia & Montenegro!

They went on to beat Slovakia in emphatic form but I don’t think anybody in Spain is under any illusions about their country’s chances in next summer’s finals. They must realise that if they are in the top eight, it’s only just.

Perhaps now that they are finally free of the shackles of ambition and hope they can go to Germany and play with freedom, perhaps this is their time they find their form, but then again, where have we heard that before?