When the Spanish football team touched down at Barajas airport with the World Cup trophy on July 12, there was a curious sight amid the jubilant reception. As the players descended the steps onto the runway, Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernández, two of the team’s key members, did so carrying their belongings wrapped in a Catalan flag. While Iker Casillas held the trophy aloft as he led his team past cheering airport staff and the press and onto a waiting bus, Puyol and Xavi looked ever so slightly timid as they together lugged their gear –and the senyera flag– across the tarmac. It could not detract from what was a highly moving scene for any Spanish fan, but it was a reminder that while the … [Read more...] about A nation united by World Cup glory?