Luis Enrique talks with President Rubiales and sports director José Francisco Molina in Solna /
Analysis
Despite the optimism generated after the good performance in the Eurocup, La Roja showed in Sweden that it is a crystal selection, without fang up or defensive force
Beyond the terrible result that complicates qualification for the World Cup and Spain’s feeling of vulnerability in Sweden, the tension shown by Luis Enrique at the end of the game and his contradictory press conference show that La Roja is not doing well. After the optimism, perhaps excessive, generated by the selection in the Eurocup, where they fell in the semifinals against Italy on penalties in their best match, a classic in the history of Spain, the national team suffered a reality check in Solna: the majority of its players belong to the middle class and make up a colorful and daring team that does not make a difference because it has no upper fang and suffers the unspeakable in defense.
Barely three months have passed since he fell at Wembley against the ‘azzurri’, but the downturn has been tremendous. From dreaming of a young team to seeing Qatar even further afield. Spain settles back on a roller coaster, with brilliant moments, as in the beginning against the Swedes, with phases of confusion in which the team becomes very long, horrible in the retreats.
The numbers are cold, but they are not deceiving. As much as Luis Enrique rewards the meritocracy, the states of form, without looking at the DNI and the media profiles of his calls, the fact that he has never repeated the team shows certain doubts. After the premiere with a goal by Carlos Soler on the outskirts of Stockholm, there are already 24 debutants with the Asturian coach on the bench. The figure rises to 29 since the World Cup in Russia, as Robert Moreno enlisted five new ones.
Spain has won just over half of the 29 games led by Luis Enrique: 16, by nine draws and four defeats. He already has the same matches as Luis Aragonés, but the Wise Man from Hortaleza led 54 games. And in their last nine away games since defeating Romania in September 2019, Spain have only won in Georgia.
Being an exaggerated country, hyperbolic in good and bad, distorts reality. If you look at it in perspective, the Euro was a breath of fresh air, but Spain only beat Slovakia in regulation time. Poor draws against Swedes and Poles, victory in overtime against Croatia (3-5) in a fierce duel, draw against Switzerland (1-1) in the quarterfinals and also draw against Italy (1-1).
It would be unfair to ask Luis Enrique to turn middling players into stars, but we must demand that Spain be more compact, with a certain tactical balance. Lacking punch, even the back and forth game that he invites with that high pressure does not suit him. Sweden, with the speed and power of Isak and Kulusevski, disarmed the Spanish defensive framework. As it happened in the Eurocup.
Blanditos
“It was not a bad game in many respects, but we lost countless individual duels and allowed many transitions,” Luis Enrique analyzed after the defeat. Implicit criticism of the players, but what about a system that will have to be given a turn without renouncing its principles of dominance and defense through possession of the ball. Any rival that joins in order, is intense and runs to the counterattack, can wreck Spain.
It does not make much sense to say that it was a good match in terms of positioning and applaud their players for making only six fouls, since they carried out their orders, and at the same time complain about the lack of forcefulness to stop the opponent’s exits. To win duels and run backwards, a midfield with Koke, Busquets and Soler is not the most suitable. And if the withdrawal and physique fail in the duels, why didn’t he line up a prodigy like Marcos Llorente?
From the advantage that any a posteriori analysis supposes, the defeat calls into question the choice of the players. If César Azpilicueta is the European champion with Chelsea as center back and Raúl Albiol is hardened in a thousand battles and is a prodigy in placement and in the air, why insist on Eric García and Aymeric Laporte? Nobody doubts the quality of the Catalan central defender, but for a defender it is disturbing not to win individual duels, or head balls, or races into space.
It was also surprising that when Sweden took the lead and Spain hit the bar, with an explosive end like Adama Traoré on the field to strike and put centers and Pablo Sarabia also on the pitch, Luis Enrique took Álvaro Morata off to play with a nine liar like Ferran Torres. A decision as guardiolesque as it is debatable.
The Asturian’s comb to a spectator
After the clash, Luis Enrique was more nervous than ever with the national team. First, the images captured him arguing heatedly with Pablo García Cuervo, his press officer. Apparently, he did not like that the local technician, Jan Andersson, spoke before.
Later, the Swedish press accused him of making a comb to a Spanish fan who yelled “go home.” They even consider that UEFA could act ex officio and punish the Spanish coach for that gesture. At the press conference, Luis Enrique didn’t have his best day either.
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