No one, not even the teams that collect a trail of world champion stars on the shield of their shirt, can consider that success in a few World football It is measured by what happens in a final, or in its anteroom. The threshold that marks the border between disappointment and a job well done may be located in the quarterfinals, be among the eight best teams in the championship. The barrier where the Spanish team had stayed so many times. But this time it hasn’t gotten there. The elimination in the round of 16 of the team led by Luis Enrique against a team located in 22nd place in the FIFA ranking is a failure, both for the frustrated expectations as well as for the image of more than less that it has offered during the competition, with the precedent of a setback against Japan despite the deceptive display against the weak Costa Rica, which should have served as a serious warning.
It does not seem that the coach took it as such, faithful to his ideas, his likes and phobias, impervious to pressure. Something that has allowed him to weather without being influenced by those who denied a team with too much of a Barcelona component but that has led him to leave most of the nines with accredited goalscoring effectiveness off their listwhom he may have finally missed, and which has also been reflected in a lack of flexibility when it comes to adapting their scheme to the contrary and adjusting their starting eleven to the state of form and the performance of their first-choice players.
Luis Enrique’s strong personality has allowed him to overcome the rarefied institutional environment of Spanish football. But his willingness to act as leader of the group, for better or for worse, has also had another consequence that has been noted on the field. The absence of leadership (beyond the silence of veterans like Busquets) on the pitch at key moments, like those of this Tuesday’s game.
After the first victory in a World Cup in its history, that of South Africa 2010It seemed that Spain was definitely going up one step in the competitions, up to the level of the few teams that could win a world championship. But the setbacks in the last two appointments, and the even clearer one from Qatar, make it clear that he must still look up to face teams like those of Brazil, Argentina, Francewith reference players that Spain lacks, or a renewed England. Something very different from the position of the teams in the Spanish league in continental club competitions, thanks to the importation of talent, something that, however, the economic weaknesses of some leading clubs can also put (or are already putting) into question.
Some failures mark the end of a cycle, and some successes mark the beginning of a new one. The Qatar World Cupto evaluate the positive of the experience, has seen the first international appearance of a new generation, an extremely young team full of great player projects that can continue to grow in the coming years. Also the farewell of some venerable veterans. It remains to be seen if it also marks the end of the cycle of a coach who, after his elimination, left his future very open.