With the courage of Picasso, urgency of Goya, poise of Velazquez and intricacies of Miro, the Spanish soccer team played and won. Further, however, the team was quixotic, for it included Catalans and a Basque, and nevertheless united a nation.
Indeed, the team played with the determination of Sancho Panza, steadiness of Rosinante, the mysticism of Dulcinea and, finally, the elegance, selflessness and gentle spirit of Don Quijote de la Mancha.
Generations from now, children from all over the world will want to hear the story of the Spanish soccer champions. And one can always begin by saying, “En un lugar de Sudafrica, de cuyo nombre no quiero acordarme, no ha mucho tiempo que vivia …” — “In some place of South Africa, to which name I don’t want to remember, not a long time ago that lived …” (it’s the beginning line of Don Quijote).
Luis Jose Stephens
Santa Barbara