Deja vu for Spain as they make early exit again

HANOVER, June 28 (Reuters) It was a case of deja vu for Spain as they exited a major championship once again after failing to live up to their billing as one of the pre-tournament favourites following their 3-1 defeat to France.

The tag of perennial underachievers will dog Spain for at least another two years after a side that showed so much youthful enthusiasm and promise was ousted by a team of experienced old stagers led by retirement-bound Zinedine Zidane.

This year's premature exit was made all the more disappointing by the fact that Spain finally showed signs of potential greatness.

There was a sparkling 4-0 destruction of Ukraine, who ironically remain in the tournament, in their opening match, a gutsy 3-1 comeback win against Tunisia and a clinically efficient 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia by the second stringers.

Strikers Fernando Torres and David Villa looked ready to provide the goals, Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas the quality and touch in midfield, and Carles Puyol and Sergio Ramos the steel in defence.

But once again Spain, who have only once progressed beyond the quarter-final stage at a World Cup, came up short in the knockout stages through a combination of innocence, tactical naivety and lack of killer instinct, and not just on the part of the players.

ASTUE MANOUEVRES At 67 years old, Luis Aragones may be one of the oldest and most experienced coaches in the tournament, but yesterday he was outwitted by the more astute manoeuvres of opposite number Raymond Domenech.

With the match delicately poised at 1-1 at halftime, Aragones played his trump cards too early in the game, throwing on Luis Garcia and Joaquin just nine minutes after the break.

The poker-faced Domenech continued to keep his cards close to his chest and did not make his first move until the 74th minute.

As Spain ran out of ideas, France upped the pressure and led by the imperious Patrick Vieira and the Claude Makelele, who only a few months earlier had been written off as washed-up has-beens, they began to boss the midfield.

Vieira dealt the crucial blow with his 83rd-minute header, while like an experienced matador Zinedine Zidane put Spain out of their misery when he delivered the coup de grace with his cool injury-time finish.

It was Spain's first defeat in 26 matches, but what they continue to lack is the ability to compete in the big tournaments.

They are level-pegging in their head-to-head record against France, but on the six occasions in which the two sides have met in competitive games Spain's best result remains a 1-1 draw.

The Spanish media may point to the controversial nature of the free kick that helped give France the lead, but the truth is Spain will not succeed until they learn to add streetwise competitiveness to their natural flair.

REUTERS PDS VC1500