Spain Euro 12: Why Cesc Fabregas Deserves Starting Role over Fernando Torres

Cesc Fabregas has been dominating on the soccer field ever since he stepped foot onto it at the age of 18 for Arsenal. He has provided a scoring punch for the Spanish national team in the Euro 2012 championships but hasn't been handed the keys to the driver's seat in the starting rotation.

At only 25 years old, Fabregas has been on multiple Spanish championship teams while giving his older teammates a run for their money as he has shown time and again that he is ready for the starting position in the middle field.

One glaring problem for Fabregas can before he can be given the starting nod is that he just so happens to be playing behind one of the best players in the world in Fernando Torres, who put his own stamp on the tournament with two timely goals in the win against Ireland after coming off the bench against Croatia.

Because of Torres' pedigree to score and help lead Spain to victories, Fabregas is often overlooked when it comes to getting the starting nod. Except, he should not be considered just a secondary option.

In Spain's opening game against Italy, Cesc scored the equalizing goals after Italy had taken a 1-0 lead. With that goal, Spain managed to end in a draw with Italy, avoiding a huge letdown in potentially losing their Euro opener after winning the 2008 Euro Championship. This proves that not only does Cesc know how to put the ball in the net but also that he has the ability to come up big in the clutch when it is absolutely needed.

Torres has started the past three matches for Spain, two of which have been decisive victories and then the 1-0 victory over Croatia yesterday. However, those results should not be the deciding factor when it comes to giving Cesc the job of starting midfielder.

Over the years, Cesc has sat back and done what has been asked of him for the team, never causing any problems or stating any sort of unhappiness while awaiting his call to start. While still relatively young, Cesc may be given the opportunity to start in any other tournament, but his time is now to show he belongs in the starting spot ahead of Torres, as hard as that may be to believe.

Although he has yet to cause a stir with his potential frustrations in coming off the bench, Cesc's powerful goal against Ireland may have stemmed from taking his aggressions out on the ball rather than on his coaches and teammates.

Patrick Surlis stated it best in this article on GiveMeFootball.com on the subject:

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Fabregas can do nothing more to underline his case to start. If Spain lack a recognised centre-forward, Fabregas has indicated his willingness to play this role, having successfully auditioned against Italy. Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets' place remains untouchable - each is a crucial cog to the Spain machine.

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Coming away with a starting nod over the multi-talented Fernando Torres may be a difficult task to do, but Cesc Fabregas is the man for the job. Cesc deserves to be given the starting spot against Croatia. Now it's just a matter of if his coach feels the same way. If not, we could be dealing with a bitter Fabregas in the near future.