From
Solna to Zilina, for eight long years Spain went unbeaten in
qualifiers. Defeated 3-2 by Northern Ireland in September 2006, they
then lost 2-0 to Sweden in their following game. It proved a turning
point and the run began. Between October 2006 and October 2014 they
played 35 matches, winning 32, drawing two and losing none. Last night,
that run came to an end with a 2-1 defeat against Slovakia that the
Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque described as “absolutely unexpected”.
Others
handed down far more damning verdicts. The reality is that when it
comes to qualification for Euro 2016 this result matters little – in all
probability, Spain will still make it and comfortably so – but this
reverse mattered a lot. If anyone doubted that Spain’s era was over,
here was further proof. After a unique run of three tournament successes
in a row, the world and double European champions were the first team
knocked out of Brazil 2014. And now this.
“Spain get
used to losing,” ran one headline this morning. If that sounded absurd,
eight years on, it was not so far off. They have now been beaten four
times in six games. Holland, Chile, France and Slovakia have defeated
them; only Australia and Macedonia have been beaten. One columnist
signed off cartoon style: “That’s All Folks”.
Del Bosque
insisted that his team had deserved much more and some of his players
agreed. Spain racked up 20 shots to Slovakia’s five and they had the
home side cornered. The goal that made their task such a difficult one
was a mistake from goalkeeper Iker Casillas and from then they were
confronted by an ultra-defensive opponent. They risked everything to get
the equaliser, a succession of defenders departing, and finally got it
trough Paco Alcácer. But then they were caught on the break. “The second
goal arrived because Piqué” was the only one [back] there,” Kozac said.
Yet this failure was deeper, not solely attributable to misfortune or
poor finishing. Some recalled Cyprus, the game that cost Javier Clemente
his job: the implicit suggestion was that this could prove Del Bosque’s
Waterloo. It was not that bad, but nor was it that good. There was a
lack of incision about Spain, the ball circulated without the speed that
once characterised them and there was little mobility. There appeared
to be few ideas too, a failing that is more alarming still for a team
that if it had anything it had a clear identity.
This isn’t the
Spain they’d come to know; it was more like the Spain they used to know
and didn’t much like. “It brought back memories of the bad times,” wrote
the AS. The descriptions that filled the pages of the morning papers
were unequivocal. “Total write-off”. “A pale shadow”. “Ridiculous”.
“Fiasco”. “Shipwreck”. El País’s match report opened by declaring that
Spain had “lost its charm”, adding: “that brilliance feels very remote
now ... there’s no sign of that podium in Kiev”.
For the
goalkeeper who lifted the trophy there, and in South Africa and in
Austria, these are difficult days. Iker Casillas’s mistake only
increases the pressure on the captain at a time when he appeared to be
recovering. He admitted that he “did not like” the way he had played at
the World Cup and many went for him, knives sharpened.
Del
Bosque stood by him, despite having David de Gea waiting to be included.
Standing by him will be harder now. “What a song!” ran the front of
Marca. “Iker sings!” shouted the front of Sport. And the last thing you
want is a goalkeeper who sings. In Spanish football parlance to sing is
to mess it up and there have been too many songs of late. De Gea was
likely to start on Sunday anyway; he may soon become a permanent
preference.
At the other end, Diego Costa played his sixth game
for Spain, 18 months after he played his second and last game for
Brazil. He has seven in nine games for Chelsea but none in six for
Spain. “No goalkeeper, no striker” sniped one headline and even if this
was perhaps his best performance for the national team, he is still to
find his feet fully. Del Bosque has talked about Spain adapting their
style to suit Costa. Others have talked about Costa adapting his style
to suit Spain. Neither has really happened as yet; they have not yet
met. The sense of confusion nags.
Del Bosque chose not to see
it. Or, at least, not to say it. “I don’t think we’re on a bad run,” he
said. “That’s football. I can have no complaints about the players.”
Credit: GuardianSport
They need a new coach
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