<div id="attachment_3387" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/05/Spain-FIFA-Confederations-Cup.jpg"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div></a>Will Spain&apos;s fortunes in the World Cup be similar to Euro 2008 or the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup?</div>
On Tuesday, <a href="http:\/\/www.laligatalk.com/vicente-del-bosque-announces-spains-provisional-30-man-squad-for-fifa-world-cup-2010-part-one/3348">the goalkeepers and defenders were discussed</a>, and Wednesday, <a href="http:\/\/www.laligatalk.com/vicente-del-bosque-announces-spains-provisional-30-man-squad-for-fifa-world-cup-2010-part-two/3357">the midfielders were discussed</a>.&nbsp; With all of the creative talent in the midfield, that will bring the pressure on the forwards to convert the multitudes of chances that Xavi, Xabi Alonso, etc. will create for them.&nbsp; Obviously, the two starting men up front would be David Villa and Fernando Torres, but Torres currently faces an uphill battle to be fit enough for their first World Cup game on June 16 against Switzerland because he is still recovering from knee surgery in April that cost him the rest of the Premier League season.
Thus, the reserve forwards will have a significant role to play, and while those two spots are not secure, Fernando Llorente of Athletic Bilbao has the third-choice forward in his hands.&nbsp; Included in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squad, he epitomizes the target-man center forward with his height and strength.&nbsp; His technical skill should not be overlooked either, and with fourteen goals in La Liga and eight goals in the Europa League this season, only injury or a disastrous training camp will prevent him from making the squad.

Álvaro Negredo endured an inconsistent season with Sevilla, failing to impress enough to dislodge either Luís Fabiano or Frédéric Kanouté up front.&nbsp; Because both could not continually stay fit, Manolo Jiménez and Antonio Álvarez gave Negredo numerous chances to prove himself.&nbsp; His occasional run-ins with the Sevilla technical staff did nothing to paint himself in a more positive light, but when he played for the national team in his four appearances, he belonged.
His two goals against Bosnia and Herzegovina certainly showed his potential, but if Vicente del Bosque will finalize the last few spots based on current form, Negredo will have plenty of work to do in the last week of the La Liga season, the Copa del Rey final against Atlético Madrid, and the training camp to convince del Bosque that he deserves a seat on the plane to South Africa.
Dani Güiza has been the third forward since late 2007 for the Spanish national team, and his two goals in Euro 2008, including the match-winner against previous European champions Greece, showed that he could shine in the limelight of international football.&nbsp; He made a newsworthy transfer in the summer of 2008 when he moved to Fenerbahçe for €17.4 million after winning the Pichichi with Mallorca in the previous season, and while he has had moderate success with the Istanbul club, he has not lived up to that transfer fee.
This season, he scored eleven goals in the Turkish Süper Lig but did not score in any of Fenerbahçe’s Europa League matches once they qualified for the group stage.&nbsp; Llorente, Negredo, and Güiza are similar strikers in style, so Vicente del Bosque will have to decide among the proven international Güiza, the in-form Llorente, and the mercurial but talented Negredo.
That leaves the wild card in this discussion, Pedro Rodríguez.&nbsp; A talented player from the La Masia youth academy of FC Barcelona, his original role on this year’s Barcelona squad was to be a backup to Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry, but as Henry slogged through a dip in form, Pedro unexpectedly rose in prominence, and he became the first player to score in six different competitions in one calendar.
Firmly entrenched in the three-pronged attack for Barcelona, he does not just score the meaningless goals when Barcelona is up two or three goals.&nbsp; In the Champions League, Copa del Rey, and important La Liga matches, he scored numerous times that either tied the match, gave Barça the lead, or provided that two-goal cushion to ease the nerves.&nbsp; Uncapped at the international level, that might be a knock to most players, but with his revelation of a season combined with a skill set that is completely different from the other strikers contending for the reserve forward spots, Pedro has a better than a fifty percent chance to join some of his Barcelona teammates in South Africa.
Whatever decisions Vicente del Bosque makes for his final 23-man squad, the wealth of talent from which he has an honor to choose is unparalleled in international football.&nbsp; As detailed in Spanish national team history, they have always had supreme skill yet folded in the biggest moments.&nbsp; With their Euro 2008 success, this team might have exorcised those demons, but now they are co-favorites with Brazil to win World Cup 2010, and anything less than a finals appearance will be a bitter disappointment.
Vicente del Bosque’s Provisional 30-Man Squad
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Víctor Valdés, Diego López, and David de Gea
Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Arbeloa, Raúl Albiol, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, and César Azpilicueta
Midfielders: Xavi Hernández, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Juan Mata, David Silva, Marcos Senna, Santi Cazorla, Jesús Navas, Javi Martínez, and Cesc Fàbregas
Forwards: David Villa, Fernando Torres, Fernando Llorente, Pedro Rodríguez, Dani Güiza, Álvaro Negredo

Vicente del Bosque Announces Spain’s Provisional 30-Man Squad For FIFA World Cup 2010 Part Three - World Soccer Talk

Vicente del Bosque Announces Spain’s Provisional 30-Man Squad For FIFA World Cup 2010 Part Three

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>UEFA Cup debutants Portsmouth FC have made a move for England international striker Peter Crouch. The deal, reported to be for an initial £8million with a further £3million payable in add-ons over the course of Crouch’s contract at Fratton Park, will see Crouch join his England national teammate Jermain Defoe at Pompey and they should feature as a regular partnership this coming season.
Portsmouth are looking to build upon the club’s eighth place finish in the Premier League and their FA Cup triumph, which qualified them for the UEFA Cup. This is the first time in Pompey’s history that they will compete in a European club competition. Portsmouth has one of the more electric home atmospheres in the Premier League and it will be a delight to hear their fans ring out the famous Pompey Chimes on European nights.
Crouch was unhappy at the lack of first-team opportunities at Liverpool, which was compounded by the signing of Fernando Torres, though he still managed 11 goals in limited playing time last season. Liverpool are also trying to finalize a deal for Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry but things appear to be locked in a stalemate as Villa boss Martin O’Neill is unwilling to lower his £18m valuation. Liverpool recently had a £15m bid rejected though rumours suggest that right-back Steve Finnan could be thrown in as a makeweight.
Another departure from Anfield this summer is Harry Kewell. The 29-year-old Australian has signed a two-year deal with the Turkish champions. Kewell had been linked with Portsmouth, Celtic and Roma, but Kewell admitted Galatasaray quickly won him over. Kewell suffered through a tough spell at the end of his Liverpool stay, missing many games through injury and loss of form. The left-sided midfielder will look to get his career back on track and can look forward to Champions League football once again.
Staying in Turkey, one of the players I tipped earlier for a summer move, striker Dani Guiza has left Mallorca to join Turkish Fenerbahce. On the surface this would appear a bit shocking, as I thought another Spanish club would move from him after he scored 27 goals last season to finish as the leading scorer in the Primera Liga. However, Fenerbahce’s new manager is they key to this deal. Guiza was capped for Spain by Luis Aragones and the two will now reunite in Istanbul after a successful Euro 2008 campaign. Leaving from Fenerbahce is Brazilian-born Turkish midfielder Mehmet Aurelio, who was out of contract. He will be joining Real Betis on a three-year deal.
<div><figure class="image"><img src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20080710_WST_73971_sinama.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=310" alt="sinama.jpg" align="right" hspace="10" vspace="10"></figure></div>The big movers in Spain in the past couple of weeks have been Atletico Madrid. In addition to deals for Czech Republic defender Tomas Ujfalusi, French striker Florent Sinama Pongolle (pictured to the right), France goalkeeper Gregory Coupet and Brazilian midfielder Paulo Assuncao, Los Rojiblancos have signed Netherlands defender John Heitinga from Ajax on a five-year contract. Atletico are in the third qualifying round of the Champions League with an obvious eye on the group stage. I think these moves improve their backline as well as add to their overall depth and I look for them to be one of the dark-horse teams in this season’s Champions League.
Atletico have an exciting core of attacking players that include Portugese winger Simão Sabrosa, young Argentine star Sergio “Kun” Agüero, former Arsenal man José Antonio Reyes, ex-Liverpool winger Luis García and 2004-05 European Golden Boot winner Diego Forlán. Now they have added some quality at the back and should reduce their goals against from last season. Heitinga can play at right back and centre back as can Ujfalusi while Paulo Assuncao is a hard-tackling defensive midfielder.
One footnote to the deal is that news sources from Portugal claim FC Porto will deliver a formal complaint to FIFA against Atletico Madrid over the transfer of Paulo Assuncao. Assuncao terminated his deal with Porto using Article 171 of FIFA’s transfer regulations, which states that any player who signs a contract when aged under 28 is able to break that contract after a period of three years. Porto apparently had offers in the region of 8 million Euro range for the 28-year-old prior to his departure and will be seeking compensation.
 1) This ruling is sometimes referred to as the ‘Andy Webster’ rule. Webster was the ground-breaking first player to test the rule when he left Scottish club Heart of Midlothian to join Wigan Athletic.

Transfer Update: Surprise moves for Kewell and Guiza, Crouch off to Pompey - World Soccer Talk

Transfer Update: Surprise moves for Kewell and Guiza, Crouch off to Pompey

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Vicente del Bosque Announces Spain’s Provisional 30-Man Squad For FIFA World Cup 2010 Part Three

Leagues: Champions League

Transfer Update: Surprise moves for Kewell and Guiza, Crouch off to Pompey