MADRID: Spain mourned the national soccer team’s stunning loss to Netherlands in their World Cup opener on Friday with words such as ‘humiliation’ and ‘night-mare’ splashed across the front pages of newspapers on Saturday.

Spain, one of the favourites to win the World Cup and defend their 2010 title, succumbed to a rampant Netherlands team in their heaviest World Cup defeat in over 60 years with a 5-1 demolition.

“Worse than the worst possible nightmare for a team that had never conceded more than one goal in a European or World championship since 2008,” Spain’s leading newspaper El Pais said. “A complete cataclysm.”

Madrid, which normally greets victories with blasting car horns and singing along the streets, had gone silent.

“Ladies and gentleman, we’ve lost the magic touch” sports newspaper AS said.

Meanwhile, Dutch media hailed their team’s mauling of Spain as ‘heroic’ and ‘historic’ with headline writers going into overdrive in search of superlatives.

“They are heroes”, “A dream start for the Oranje”, “Incredible Netherlands crush Spain”, and “Historic” screamed out from newspapers across the country.

“What incomparable revenge against Spain: 5-1,” said popular daily, Telegraaf.

“In one of the most memorable matches ever in the history of the Dutch team at the World Cup, even one of the most memorable matches in the history of the World Cup itself, Netherlands crushed the defending champions,” wrote Volkskrant.

The newspaper saluted the tactics of coach Louis van Gaal, describing the ‘magisterial plan’ of using five defenders to thwart the Spanish, and praised as well Robin van Persie’s spectacular diving header which brought his side level. “He flew to score a world class goal.”

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2014