Spanish football's premature exit from the London Games against Honduras, "resurrected the ghosts of a country perhaps poorly accustomed to glory," according to Miguel Herguedas of EL MUNDO. Lost between the protests and the bad luck and desperate about the mistakes of the judge, who left without punishment two penalties to Adrian and Rodrigo, The Rojita "wrote one of the most shameful pages of its recent history" (EL MUNDO, 7/30). AS' Oscar Garcia wrote the Spanish team "crashed out" of London 2012 after being unable to beat Honduras. Going into the Olympics, the debate was whether Spain or Brazil was the favorite for the Gold Medal. After two "hammer blows" from Japan and Honduras, the Spaniard have been put in their place, "that place being out of the competition." They "lacked the stylish touch" that has made Spanish football so dominant. The ball went from one side of the field to the other, with "all the excitement of someone filling out a form" (AS, 7/29). EL PAIS' Ramon Besa opined that "in addition to sportsmanship, Spain lacked competitiveness, leadership, and hunger for glory." Very good players had "very poor performance probably because they were not willing or prepared to deal with the Games" (EL PAIS, 7/30).
