Quotes of the Day

Fleet of Foot
Spain's national football team has a reputation for choking in the big tournaments, but the country boasts some of the world's biggest clubs — Real Madrid, F.C. Barcelona, Deportivo La Coruña. The Primera Liga, as the top-tier professional league is known, is a net importer of soccer superstars, but there's no dearth of homegrown talent. One of the brightest of the new generation is Fernando Torres, 19, striker for Atlético de Madrid. El Niño was named by TV soccer program Estudio Estadio as scorer of the most spectacular goal of the first half of the 2003-04 season: a midair volley that outdid anything by Zinédine Zidane, David Beckham, Luis Figo or Ronaldo. Among Spain's finest exports is Antonio Reyes, 20; in January, England's Arsenal shelled out some €25 million to buy him from Sevilla. Reyes scored an own goal in his first outing, but made up for it two weeks later, with two crucial goals against mighty Chelsea. The new chant in the terraces of Arsenal's Highbury stadium: Olé!

New Kid on the f-1 Grid
Finishing the season in sixth place is not the recommended way to become an instant sports hero. But Fernando Alonso, 22, was nonetheless voted numero uno in a year-end survey of the top sportspeople by El País newspaper. He's the first Spaniard to win a Formula One Grand Prix, and the youngest driver ever to win a GP race. Neither Michael Schumacher nor Ayrton Senna had such success at the same age — and Alonso did it in a Renault with much less juice than Schumacher's Ferrari. This year Alonso is driving a new Renault R24 with slightly more caballos, and sponsors can't get enough of his paintwork. His popularity also comes from being fast with his mouth. Before one Grand Prix a journalist asked him: "How do you think your tires will go today?" Alonso grinned: "They tell me two at the front, two at the back."

A New King In Memphis
Basketball is relatively new to Spain, but recently fans took a special interest in a NBA game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz. Why? Because Pau Gasol plays for the Grizzlies, Raúl López for Utah. Gasol is the bigger star of the two. When Memphis picked the Catalan in the 2001 draft, many said he was too light to stand the rigors of the big league; more than 200 games later, he averages better than 17 points a game and hasn't missed one yet.

Best on Two Wheels
The top woman in the El País poll of the best sportspeople was cyclist Joane Somarriba. She has now pedaled to three Tour de France victories, two Giros d'Italia and a World Championship gold. Look out for another Spanish pedaling star in this year's men's Tour. American Lance Armstrong aims to make history by winning his sixth race, but one man who deserves some credit for his five so far, his U.S. Postal teammate Roberto Heras, will be riding for a new team, Liberty Seguros. Don't be surprised if Heras or one of two others, Joseba Beloki and Alejandro Valverde, prove to be the Spaniards in Armstrong's works. Also on two wheels, Dani Pedrosa, 18, became world 125-cc motorbike champion despite breaking both ankles in one race, and in January fellow Catalan Joan Roma won the bike section of the Dakar Rally.

The Aces Just Keep Coming
When heavies juan carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moyà were unavailable due to injury for last month's Davis Cup tie against the Czechs, Spain's youngsters showed that the country has plenty of tennis talent in reserve. Tommy Robredo, Feliciano López and Rafael Nadal won 3-2 in Brno. All three are in the top 50 world rankings, and should keep climbing in 2004.

• ROD USHER
• From water polo to triathlon, synchronized swimming to sailing, Spanish athletes are taking on the world — and winning