Spain are a team in top form.

The short rein of Head Coach Andrea Anastasi was much to do with this. His goal when he arrived was the 2007 European Championship and he delivered when Spain won the gold medal in Moscow.

It was won in perfect fashion. Eight matches, eight victories, won by a compact team well directed by Anastasi off-court and setter Miguel Angel Falasca on-court.

Veterans such as Rafael Pascual, Guillermo Falasca, Jose Luis Molto, Jose Luis Lobato alongside youngsters such as Israel Rodriguez, Manuel Sevillano, Javier Subiela, Julian García-Torres, Iban Perez and Guillermo Hernan proved the perfect blend.

As Continental Champion, Spain qualified for the 2007 FIVB World Cup held in Japan, where the first three tickets for the Olympics Games were to be handed out.

Spain played at a good level throughout the tournament and overcame a tough start in which they lost to Bulgaria and Brazil. Coached by Argentine Marcelo Mendez, who had replaced Anastasi, Spain secured two important wins against USA and Egypt. But a surprising defeat against Puerto Rico put Spaniards out of contention for an Olympic place from the tournament.

Despite the disappointment, Spain picked up the pieces and, after losing against Russia, claimed five consecutive victories that secured fifth position, their best-ever performance.

This meant Spain made a huge jump in the FIVB world ranking – from 24th position to sixth position.

Spain have not always been so consistent. The 1990s were helped by the emergence of the charismatic Pascual as one of the world's best players. A notable result was the sixth-place finish at the 1999 FIVB World Cup.

Spain then finished ninth in their first appearance in the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000.

In 2002, Spain paid the price for their brilliant fifth-place finish in the World League during the World Championship in Argentina. After a fair first round, the Spaniard seemed to run out of fuel in the second stage and couldn't win a match.

Spain organised the World League Finals for the first time in 2003 and Madrid hosted the best Volleyball event in Spanish history. However, this success couldn't be replicated on court, with Spain losing a key match against the Czech Republic and not qualifying for the semi-finals for the first time.

Things got worse in 2004. Despite organizing an excellent Olympic Qualification Tournament in Madrid, Spain couldn't achieve the main goal of the year: to earn a ticket to Athens 2004.