Spain, the World Cup, and the complexes

Today I propose a game, but you have to reach the end of the article and for some it will be difficult. "Spain comes out of the closet". This is the title of an opinion piece in Abc this Monday, which states that "young Spaniards have thrown overboard the complexes that stifled their elders to show their faith or cheer on their country without caring what others say about them". The gears of banal nationalism begin to turn and La Gran Turra attacks those of us who already like to see half of Barça on the field playing good football, but we cannot forget that Scotland has a national team and Catalonia, no. Some articles along these lines: "When the World Cup is involved, patriotic sentiment seems to transform and Spaniards show their national flag without complexes" (El Confidencial), "Colours displayed without complexes and with pride, as a citizen of Wisconsin might do with those of the United States" (El Mundo), "It has banished for a few weeks the usual shyness of people in displaying the national flag" (Abc), "The day Spain shed its complexes in front of the world" (El Español), "I am Spanish, not a fascist" (Granada Hoy), "A generation of Spaniards without complexes" (Periodista Digital).

Just one detail, the game I was talking about. The first article is indeed from today. But all the rest are from sixteen years ago, from when Iniesta gave the Spanish team their first World Cup. The question is inevitable: how much longer is it going to take to complete this de-complexing operation once and for all? How many years does it take to finish coming out of the closet? They stir up Spanish victimhood, making them believe they are looked down upon even though for years – since the Catalan independence movement, mind you – Spanish flags have been adorning balconies everywhere. (PS. Where everyone shows the players with the trophy, La Razón opts for a photo of King Felipe holding the cup. Now that's premium de-complexing.)