KIDWCKED
07-12-2010, 09:01 PM
c/p from espn by the a/p
Associated Press
MADRID -- Spain's football team returned home to a jubilant nation and a huge fiesta Monday after winning the World Cup, finally giving Spaniards a break from months of economic gloom, political squabbling and nationalist regions fighting for greater autonomy from the central government.
The team was received by King Juan Carlos and was heading later to meet Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero before embarking on an open-air bus ride through Madrid's historic center, the epicenter of the celebration party for the second day in a row.
Airport workers celebrate as the plane carrying the Spanish team arrives Monday in Madrid.
But there were striking examples of cheering for Spain from unlikely places: The well-off Catalonia region that has long sought greater autonomy, and the separatist Basque region where anything pro-Spain is often shunned.
At least several hundred thousand fans were expected to line Madrid's streets to celebrate Spain's first World Cup title, after the team beat the Netherlands 1-0 on Sunday in extra time.
Dozens of airport workers cheered from the runway as the plane, flying Spanish flags from cockpit windows, taxied to a stop as cars driving by on nearby highways blared their horns to welcome the squad. A special slogan printed along the fuselage of the Iberia plane read, "Proud of our National Team. Champions."
A roar of delight rose from the airport as team captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas stepped from the plane and raised the golden World Cup into the air. The crowd chanted "Campeones! Campeones!" (Champions! Champions! in English). Then the players, wearing their team jerseys, walked from the plane to a waiting Spanish football federation bus without commenting to journalists.
"It's very important, it helps us forget a lot of things, like the economic crisis, for example, or people's domestic issues," said Javier Sanchez, a 42-year-old photographer from Madrid.
But will the ecstasy last? Could this be Spain's moment to unite under a single flag, or is it a fleeting instance of patriotism?
The country has been depressed by a debt crisis, 20 percent unemployment and nationalist regions fighting to separate from Spain or at least win the right for much greater autonomy and near-nation status.
While the spotlight will be on Madrid when the team is cheered, the win led to a rare sight in Catalonia's regional capital of Barcelona: Spanish flags waving side-by-side with Catalonia's very own red and yellow flag.
Associated Press
MADRID -- Spain's football team returned home to a jubilant nation and a huge fiesta Monday after winning the World Cup, finally giving Spaniards a break from months of economic gloom, political squabbling and nationalist regions fighting for greater autonomy from the central government.
The team was received by King Juan Carlos and was heading later to meet Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero before embarking on an open-air bus ride through Madrid's historic center, the epicenter of the celebration party for the second day in a row.
Airport workers celebrate as the plane carrying the Spanish team arrives Monday in Madrid.
But there were striking examples of cheering for Spain from unlikely places: The well-off Catalonia region that has long sought greater autonomy, and the separatist Basque region where anything pro-Spain is often shunned.
At least several hundred thousand fans were expected to line Madrid's streets to celebrate Spain's first World Cup title, after the team beat the Netherlands 1-0 on Sunday in extra time.
Dozens of airport workers cheered from the runway as the plane, flying Spanish flags from cockpit windows, taxied to a stop as cars driving by on nearby highways blared their horns to welcome the squad. A special slogan printed along the fuselage of the Iberia plane read, "Proud of our National Team. Champions."
A roar of delight rose from the airport as team captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas stepped from the plane and raised the golden World Cup into the air. The crowd chanted "Campeones! Campeones!" (Champions! Champions! in English). Then the players, wearing their team jerseys, walked from the plane to a waiting Spanish football federation bus without commenting to journalists.
"It's very important, it helps us forget a lot of things, like the economic crisis, for example, or people's domestic issues," said Javier Sanchez, a 42-year-old photographer from Madrid.
But will the ecstasy last? Could this be Spain's moment to unite under a single flag, or is it a fleeting instance of patriotism?
The country has been depressed by a debt crisis, 20 percent unemployment and nationalist regions fighting to separate from Spain or at least win the right for much greater autonomy and near-nation status.
While the spotlight will be on Madrid when the team is cheered, the win led to a rare sight in Catalonia's regional capital of Barcelona: Spanish flags waving side-by-side with Catalonia's very own red and yellow flag.