I got curious the other day about Spain’s 2010 World Cup winning squad – you know, that legendary team with Xavi, Iniesta, Casillas and all those superstars. Wondered where life took them after that epic tournament. Grabbed my laptop, poured some coffee, and started digging.
Where I began
First thing, I googled simple stuff like “Spain 2010 players today”. Got flooded with news articles from like 2018-2020 – totally outdated. Realized I needed to check each player individually since their paths split wildly. Opened like twenty browser tabs – felt chaotic but necessary.
The research grind
Started with the big names. Poked around football forums, checked reliable sports sites, even scanned Spanish newspapers using translate. For active players like Ramos, just checked current club websites. For retired guys, dug deeper – looked at their Twitter profiles, business registrations, and coaching licenses. Some were tricky: Silva keeps changing jobs, while Villa’s got businesses everywhere.
Found crazy career shifts:
- Casillas went into football administration after that heart attack scare
- Puyol became player agent after his hair transplant clinic phase
- Busquets actually followed Xavi to Saudi Arabia – crazy money move
Big surprises
Couldn’t believe Mata. Dude got Harvard degree after retiring! Pedro shocked me too – coaching kids in Qatar instead of Spain. Hardest to track was Marchena – guy disappeared into youth coaching in UAE with zero social media. Took me three hours just to confirm his academy job through federation records.
Final discoveries
Most ended up in football still – coaching, agencies, TV pundits. Only a few like Torres and Villa went full entrepreneur with multiple businesses. Weirdest pivot? Capdevila became politician! Spent extra hour verifying his election campaign photos cause I thought it was fake.
Finished with crazy respect for how their lives diverged. That trophy was peak moment, but damn – fourteen years later they’re living completely different realities. Might do Argentina’s 1986 squad next weekend if I recover from this research headache.