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Mundaka to Get Its Wave Back
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"Podemos" (we can) was the Obama-inspired slogan for Spain during the Euro 2008 tournament, which concluded last night with a Germany-0 Spain-1 victory in the final. And only a slight tense change, from "podemos" to "pudimos" turns it into the triumphal cry, "We could!" It would be hard to overestimate the importance of this win for the national psyche, already uplifted on the sporting plane by the successes of Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso and Wimbledon favourite Rafael Nadal. Last night, Spain was euphoric, almost ecstatic, and hundreds of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets to celebrate throughout the country.
I am not football-savvy enough to give a match report here, nor to comment on the relative merits of Spain's various team members, Casillas, Torres, Villa et al, and I don't think the Switzerland-Austria tournament as a whole is on-topic enough for Spain and Portugal for Visitors. From a human-interest point of view, though, it is all very satisfying. I am particularly pleased to see coach Luis Aragonés, an old-schooler who has had frequent run-ins with the press, vindicated in his last competition in the job, which he is leaving because of clashes with the Spanish Football Federation. This victory must taste of glory to him, glory and revenge.
