Huge rifts emerge in the Spain squad

According to reports today, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa stand alone in the Spain squad, frozen out by the other players.

By Adrian Collins

As current World Cup and Euros champions, all should be well inside Spain’s camp, but it seems that the opposite is true.

Lately results have been poor, including a disappointing 1-1 draw with Finland last week, and it would seem that there are rifts in the squad again, after recent troubles between the Barcelona and Real Madrid players hit the headlines a while back.

This time however, the problem is between Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa and the rest of the squad, who have isolated the two Real Madrid men.

According to a report in El Confidencial, Pepe Reina has become one of the only players who still communicates with the two of them, and in particular, the Barcelona players want nothing to do with them. Sergio Ramos has avoided trouble by making good mates with Sergio Busquets, and seems to be content not to rattle any other cages to helphis team mates.

With Casillas out of the squad through injury, they don’t have a captain to turn for to help, although reports that he’s travelling with the squad anyway to their next game may help to ease the tensions within the team.

It seems the incident dates back to a recent Clasico, when the Barcelona players felt that both Alonso and Arbeloa deliberately targeted Messi, so much so that the Argentine confronted the Madrid defender and his wife in the parking lot afterwards.

Since then things have been frosty, and tensions may be at an all-time high this week as they take on France in a huge game away from home tomorrow which they can't afford to lose.