SPAIN 1 – 5 NETHERLANDS: SPAIN BLAME OPENING DEFEAT ON ‘GHOST OF WORLD CUP PAST’

Defending champions Spain suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat in their opening World Cup game against The Netherlands yesterday. Goals from Robin van Persie (2), Arjen Robben (2) and Stefan de Vrij cancelled out Xabi Alonso’s early penalty and saw the Dutch put the Spanish to the sword.

Whilst some have credited the Dutch, and coach Louis van Gaal, for their great performance and others have heaped blame on Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas and his poor one, head coach Vicente del Bosque revealed to TIF News Desk that the defeat was solely as a result of the Ghost of World Cup Past.

Spain have been the major force in world football for some time now however it was not so long ago that the furthest they had ever progressed in the tournament was the quarter-finals and del Bosque says that he was visited on the eve of yesterday’s game by a spirit from those days.

“I was sitting in my hotel room in my pajamas going over some last minute tactical plans when a strange quiet came over the room” said del Bosque, 63, from Salamanca. “And then just as I was about to shrug it off a pale, white-robed figure emerged from the ether and spoke to me. It spoke to me of the dark ages of Spanish football when we were the only side able to lose on penalties to England, when Paraguayan madman Jose Chilavert kept a clean sheet against us in France and we failed to get out of the group stages.”

It is believed these visions led del Bosque to scrap plans to play a 4-4-2 formation which was much expected after Spanish passing supremo Tiki Taka was ruled out of the tournament however, his fear of taking Spain back to the Dark Times caused a rethink and the formation, and performance, we saw from the Spanish against the Dutch.

Spain’s next game is a vitally important clash with Chile but Ghost of World Cup Present, believed to emanate from Brazil, will be strong and could another visit to del Bosque result in another sub-standard performance and elimination from the tournament for the defending champions?