What's your opinion on German based Bayern/Dortmund/Wolfsburg fans who found winning the WC in 2014, better than winning the league? Or the Spanish Atletico/Real/Barca fans who found Spain winning the WC better?
Fair enough. I've no problem with anyone getting more joy out of their national side. As they say, whatever floats you're boat.
Surprised about the Spanish to some extent. More specifically with Barcelona fans. The separatist issue has come to a head in recent months but it's certainly nothing new. Spain doesn't have a national stadium and play matches in Madrid, Seville, Valencia and some of the smaller cities around the country. However, Camp Nou hasn't hosted an international game since 1987. I'm not sure Bilbao's San Mames stadium (old or new) or Real Sociedad's Anoeta (or their old Atocha) stadium ever have. There's obviously a reason for that.
On one hand, the 3 clubs you mention are the best supported clubs in Spain. I live in Alicante and most people I meet are Madrid, Barcelona or Atlético fans. They possibly don't feel the same as a Barça fan living in Catalonia.
On the other hand possibly having such a strong core of Barcelona players is a big factor in how they identify with the national team.
I get the feeling Italian and French supporters have a similar passion for their national teams as the German and Spanish.
Funnily enough, all of those countries seem to have more obvious regional differences and separatist sentiments than England.
Maybe, paradoxically, that makes them feel more unified by their national team.