Spain's 2012 Olympic Football Team: Predicting the Starting XI vs. Japan

We are now days away from the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 London Olympics and that means fans will no longer have to go without great football.

Going into the tournament, a lot is expected from Spain. After all, they have won the 2010 World Cup, 2011 U-21 European Championship, 2012 European Championship and now the U-19 Football Championship.

Anything less than gold for Spain would be seen as a disappointment. Many future superstars will be donning La Roja in London next week.

Luis Milla has a chance to manage a side that could be the first in history to hold the World, European and Olympic trophies all at the same time.

This article will analyze the starting XI that is best suited to face Japan in the Group D opening match.

After reading, feel free to discuss any different opinions or observations you may have.

Note: A few excerpts of this article were taken from the author's blog, Counter-Attacking Football.

Keeper: David De Gea (Manchester United)

No real question about who the starter is here.  Despite Sir Alex Ferguson's best efforts, his keeper will play in the London Olympics.

He had shown tremendous potential at Atletico Madrid, being labeled as the heir to Iker Casillas. Atletico sold their youth star to alleviate their tax burden and the move has paid off for him.

His move to the Premier League caused concern for many fans in the first half of the season, but De Gea improved nearly every match he played from around mid-season.

The Spaniard's positioning on aerial balls is questionable and he has yet to become a leader, but his reflexes and judgement are excellent.

In Spain’s recent victory over Mexico, De Gea showed that they should be confident in having one of the tournament’s best keepers as he was the main reason Spain came out on top.

Right Back: Martin Montoya (Barcelona)

Spain's Olympic squad is one of the few international sides with two great options at right back.

La Liga fans are very familiar with both youngsters as we saw them come through the youth ranks at Osasuna and Barcelona.

Martin Montoya has started every friendly so far and has been impressive, but will face stiff competition from Cesar Azpilicueta.

The Marseille (for now?) man has looked threatening in front of goal and perhaps the better attacking threat, but Montoya has looked more consistent on defense.

Look for Montoya to get the nod over Azpilicueta.

Center Back: Alvaro Dominguez (Borussia Mochengladbach)

Yet another Atletico Madrid youth product that fans will wish never got away.

Dominguez has potential to one day start for the first team and a big performance in London could solidify his permanent promotion.

After a summer full of high expectations, Dominguez disappointed with his inconsistent play last season and has continued to be unreliable in the buildup to London.

If Spain is going to make history this summer, the defense needs to improve and Alvaro Dominguez will be expected to lead the back line.

Center Back: Alberto Botia (Sporting Gijon)

Against both Senegal and Mexico, Spain looked vulnerable to pace and were spread apart far too easily.

Communication has been poor and a few good crosses could be enough to beat the Spaniards.

Alvaro Dominguez is the best of the lot, but continues to show inconsistency and a lack of discipline.

Mikel San Jose was the man most likely to partner Dominguez, but chickenpox will keep him out of the Olympics.

Alberto Botia and Iñigo Martinez will battle it out for selection from Luis Milla and an early slip -up from either one could be the only chance they get to fail.

Left Back: Jordi Alba (Barcelona)

Spain's flanks are set with another Barcelona youngsters playing opposite Montoya.

Alba is perhaps the most complete left back in the Olympics and will start until he needs rest. He is coming off a fantastic Euro tournament that was his coming out party for most of the world.

The former Valencia star was Spain's best and most consistent defender in the Euros and will now look to carry that form into London.

Midfield: Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao)

The anchor of Spain's midfield and most important player in London, Martinez is one of the hottest names in Europe at the moment.

Many big clubs are hoping to sign the Basque star, but Bilbao has done a fine job of securing their best and youngest players.

Luis Milla wants to keep Martinez in midfield and he has been phenomenal so far. He bossed the midfield against Mexico while also providing cover for his center backs. 

If the central defense continues to be a liability, Milla may opt for using Martinez in the back just like Marcelo Bielsa did last season at Athletic Club.

Midfield: Koke (Atletico Madrid)

Partnering Martinez will be another Atletico Madrid youth product, Koke.

Koke primarily operates as a central midfielder,but has been forced to play out of position over the last couple of seasons.

He has great vision, fantastic ball control and magical passing abilities that have also drawn him comparisons to fellow La Liga compatriot, Xavi Hernandez.

If he can have a breakout tournament in London, he could follow Dominguez, Torres, and De Gea out of Madrid.

Midfield: Isco (Malaga)

This is the man to keep an eye on this summer.He could be the breakout star of the tournament.

After drawing comparisons to Iniesta as a teenager at Valencia, Isco grabbed the attention of fans and analysts alike in his first season at Malaga.

I rated him as a top-three youth player in La Liga in a previous article and Allan Jiang rated him as the second-best Under 20 player in the 2012 London Olympics.

For regular readers of both myself and Mr. Jiang, you know that such high praise does not come easily.

Forward: Juan Mata (Chelsea)

Juan Mata will be Spain's number 10 and will look to cap off a historic individual season.

After winning the Champions League with Chelsea, Mata and Spain went on to repeat as European champions under Vicente del Bosque, even scoring a goal in the Euro 2012 final against Italy.

The superstar made the transition from La Liga to the Premier League look easy and immediately became one of the best midfielders in England last season.

Depending on the formation, Mata will either play on the wings in attack or out wide as part of a three-man attacking midfield set.

Forward: Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao)

Yet another part of Athletic Bilbao's new Golden Generation starts for Spain.

Of all the young, exciting players on this squad, Iker Muniain may be the best. The Basque star is another holdover from last summer's U-21 title run and will look to win gold once again.

Muniain will partner Mata and form one of the best attacking lines in the tournament.

Even more than Mata, Muniain is capable of getting forward and creating space for teammates even as an attacking midfielder.

He will be given more freedom to roam and will wreak havoc on fullbacks all tournament.

Striker: Adrian Lopez (Atletico Madrid)

Along with Juan Mata and Javi Martinez, the 24-year-old Lopez is one of three over-age selections for Spain.

The Atletico Madrid striker will look to repeat his U-21 European Championship performance by winning the Golden Boot in London.

After a fantastic season where he scored 19 goals in all competitions for Atletico, Lopez out-shined Fernando Torres in the build-up to the 2012 Euros.

Unfortunately for Lopez, David Villa’s absence from the tournament forced Vicente del Bosque to go with the veteran leadership of Torres.

Now London will be Lopez’s chance to prove his worth at the international level once again.