The reigning champions of world soccer has succumbed to World Cup underdog Chile on Thursday in a 2-0 defeat. The Iberian national team's wins, which include its dominance in the 2010 World Cup and a string of European championship titles, were initially overshadowed by another humiliating 5-1 loss to Holland. Because of the team's performance in the global tournament in Brazil, Bloomberg said the players drew ire for reasons that even they have no control or influence on.
Angel de Castro, who owns a newspaper kiosk, is worried about his World Cup merchandise, which consist of flags and scarves of the country's national colors. He told Bloomberg that he will surely incur a loss of income now that Spain has been ousted out of the World Cup.
"The economic blow is great because what am I going to do with all this merchandise -- I won't be selling a single banner or shirt today. It's disappointing because these players earn more in a year than a Spanish worker earns in 40 and they didn't really do well enough or look hungry enough," de Castro said.
The mood in Montecarmelo, which is home to the barrios of apartment blocks that had sprouted during the housing boom in the country, was undeniably somber with a tinge of anger, said Bloomberg.
El Pescador bartender David Colas said, "The impression that they gave was that they wanted to go on holiday while the rest of Spain is trying hard to work. I don't think ordinary Spanish people can really relate to the players at all -- that's my opinion."
Spanish team coach Vicente del Bosque had also gotten flak for hanging on to ageing players like goalkeeper Iker Casillas. According to de Castro, Spain would be able to recover from its disappointing finish in this year's World Cup if de Bosque would allow younger players to play.
