Newsletter

“We are not going to change our idea at any time”

Luis Enrique concedes “a remarkable high or an outstanding low” to Spain in the group stage despite the fact that they were eliminated for 180 seconds in their match against Japan when Costa Rica took the lead against Germany. The coach’s note arises from the conviction that there has only been one disconnection in ten of the nearly three hundred minutes played in the World Cup, in which the demand is maximum. That collapse, however, is not going to change one iota the way of understanding Red football. He does not have “the philosopher’s stone”, because the rest of the teams also wield their weapons, but to lose faith in the formula that has brought him here would be to shoot himself in the foot ». “We are not going to change our idea at any time,” he proclaimed at the Doha Convention Center in his appearance before the media on the occasion of the round of 16 against Morocco.

Unlike his three previous appearances before the press on the eve of the matches, the Asturian coach was seen to be somewhat more tense at the beginning when he was asked some questions that he considered “topical”, such as that the team had not had a job to overcome to the goals of the Teutons and the Asians. Nor did he seem to like it too much when they asked him, in relation to the clash against the Japanese, if his footballers are prohibited from resorting to hitting the ball when they face compromising situations. “Any action is allowed, but it is the player who must make the decision on the field.” This reasoning, he qualified, does not contradict the fact that the national team must always be faithful to its principles. «Beyond the result – he added – what obsesses me is that the team carry out my idea. It is non-negotiable, for the good and also for the bad.».

The coach from Gijón did admit that, after the setback against Japan, the coaching staff and the squad have shared “a deeper reflection” at the University of Qatar, Spain’s headquarters, on their virtues and, especially, on the aspects in those that need to be improved. A panic similar to the one experienced against the Asians would bring forward the return trip. Luis Enrique does not hide the fact that errors will occur during the competition because they are inherent to the game, but he tries to minimize them so that their effects are reversible. In the Educational City Stadium the Spanish fans – some 4,000 – will be in a clear minority with the Moroccan, which will also have “the entire Arab world supporting” behind it, as Walid Regragui had previously stressed. «Our fans are very noisy and also the more atmosphere there is in the field, the better. Let it be a football party and may the best man win,” he stressed in a more relaxed tone.

Almost everything can be trained, the physical, the tactical, the mental, the emotional. But these facets must be supported by the same doctrine to be effective. Leaving the philosophy is almost always synonymous with failure, according to the criteria of the selector. Even penalty shootouts, which are usually recurring in tournaments, “have also ceased to be a lottery, it depends less and less on luck.” He recalled in this sense that in one of the concentrations of Las Rozas he already warned his players that they should exercise in this task, cast “at least a thousand” maximum penalties at their club facilities before landing in Doha. The only thing that cannot be managed is “the stress of the moment.” But he was convinced that La Roja will beat Morocco, “despite the fact that at the moment it will be the best team from the point of view of motivation.”

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending