When Spain limped off the field four years ago in Germany following its Round of 16 loss to France in the World Cup, not many people were all that surprised.
After all, a nation that had always flattered to deceive at the world's biggest sporting event was far too used to the disappointment to allow shock to set in. La Furia Roja, a national team that has boasted some of the great names in football history -- Luis Suarez, Emilio Butragueno, Alfredo di Stefano, Raul, Francisco Gento, Fernando Hierro -- could never escape its own shadow on the biggest stage.
Best World Cup finish? Fourth place sixty years ago in Brazil.
So it was in 2006, when, despite boasting world class talent, Spain once again fell on its face when the lights shone brightest.
That's when everything changed.
Since their elimination in Hannover four years ago, a perfect storm has enveloped the Iberians with their best players all coming into their prime in perfect synchronization. The result? Spain's first major title since 1964 - the Euro 2008 trophy.
Spain then marched into World Cup qualifying and the 2009 Confederations Cup going unbeaten, compiling a record 15-match win streak and a record-tying 35-match unbeaten streak until the U.S. finally crashed the party by beating them in the Confederations Cup semifinals.
At the end of the day, though, the loss to the Americans was a mere speed bump. Since that day in Rustenburg, Spain has rattled off another nine-match win streak heading into South Africa and is the odds-on favorite to win the tournament.
So can anything stop the Red Fury at the World Cup? You bet. And, in a bit of irony, Spain's biggest problem is borne out of the demands of the club teams that have helped hone the Spanish players' skills over the past four years.
With today's congested fixture list, combined with the fact that most of Spain's top players belong to clubs that go deep into European tournaments, there is a sense that coach Vicente del Bosque is chasing the country's first World Cup title with a fragile, and perhaps uncertain squad.
Four of Spain's top players -- Fernando Torres, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas -- are all racing against time to return from injury and play a major part in South Africa. If you're not familiar with these players and their integral roles as Spain's "engine," just imagine a Ferrari with a lawnmower powering it.
Xavi pulls the strings brilliantly in his central midfield position, while Torres latches on to his perfectly weighted passes with clinical accuracy in front of net. And if Xavi is being marked out of the game, Iniesta is more than capable of picking up the slack.
And talk about depth ... Fabregas, one of the Premier League's best players, is still Xavi's understudy for the most part, but will figure to play a much more prominent role in the years to come. In the present though, Fabregas provides a fantastic spark off the bench and gives the team yet another dimension in attack.
With these four players in top form and completely healthy, there's no better team on the planet. Without them, the odds in Vegas would shift dramatically.
Xavi's injury is the most disconcerting for Spain, but that's because it could be prevented. The Barcelona maestro has a calf muscle tear, but is playing through the pain for his club as the Catalans try to fight off Real Madrid for the Spanish league title.
The gamble is huge -- if he rests from here on out he will most likely be fine come Spain's opener on June 16, but if his condition worsens with another difficult league match still to play, there's no doubt Barca coach Pep Guardiola will bear the brunt of the criticism.
Torres, meanwhile, underwent knee surgery and simply needs time to recover. It has already been suggested by the medical personnel at Liverpool -- Torres' club -- that he will not be ready early in the tournament. Fortunately for Spain, they were lucky to draw a very manageable group with Honduras, Chile and Switzerland.
Iniesta is facing a few more weeks off with a muscle tear in his quadriceps, while Fabregas suffered a fibula fracture in the Champions League, but insists he'll be ready to answer the call in South Africa.
Still, even with all the question marks surrounding some of the team's best players, Spain remains -- for now -- the favorite to lift the World Cup trophy on July 11. If the past is anything to go by, grit and determination will have the team's injured stars on the field in South Africa.
But will the rust, recovery and subsequent wear and tear be too much for La Furia? That's certainly not the question Spain wanted to be dealing with on the eve of the World Cup.
Robert Burns is the senior editor of FoxSoccer.com.
