Luis Enrique left the Spanish national team – the team lost the momentum of progress

Strange relationship. The German national team, who could not get out of the group at the 2022 World Cup, did not remove Hansi Flick from the squad. The Spanish national team made it to the play-offs, but coach Luis Enrique left his post.

All countries have different approaches, but Fury Rohi’s performance in Qatar fits the definition of “failure”. Therefore, Luis Enrique’s resignation seems logical.

Spain loses face at World Cup in Qatar

On its own, Costa Rica’s first-round election defeat was impressive. However, this match will remain the only bright spot in the tournament for the Spaniards. The match against Germany can still be perceived as a grandmaster draw between the two great teams, but then the Lucho-team was simply disappointed.

Japan’s defeat dealt a serious blow to Rohi Fury’s reputation. After all, many thought the Spaniards deliberately failed in the second half to avoid facing Brazil in the quarterfinals. After watching the match against Morocco, we can conclude that there were no leaks – “Anger” was not “anger” in the literal sense, it looked too academic and vulnerable. However, let’s assume that the Spaniards still hold calculators in the game against Japan.

First, it was the only game where Luis Enrique used rotation. In the Japanese-only duel, Pau Torres, Alvaro Morata, Nico Williams, Alex Balde came out on top.

Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine

Secondly, Spain pretended to only want to win back with a score of 1:2 – a draw if they managed to beat him to first place in the group, Croatia in the 1/8 final and Brazil in the quarterfinals. Selection didn’t even have time to be scared when the Croatians took the lead in the match against Germany and the Germans jumped back three minutes later.

The Moroccan match turned into a nightmare even more. Only after the first half did Spain upshift at least slightly above first gear, or even idle. But he was also no sharper than his opponent and created his most dangerous moments in the penalty shootout. And none of it happened.

Luis Enrique completely believed in his project and moved away from football.

In general, from the summer of 2018, that is, from the moment of appointment and until the 2022 World Cup, Luis Enrique has been consistently praised.

At Euro 2020, we seemed to be witnessing the birth of a strong new Spanish team. The future champions of Italy lost in the semi-finals only in penalty shootouts. Moreover, even though “Fury” eventually came back, it was “Scuadra Azzurra” who literally survived that match. The xG figure showed that the Spaniards should have won by two goals difference.

The fact that Spain won only two out of six matches (in regular time – one) even at Euro 2020 has been written down as growing pains. Seleccion had major problems with the execution of moments and arranged incredible deliveries at their doorstep. However, it was Spain that became the best in the continental forum in many advanced statistical indicators: expected goals, success of pressure actions, intensity of pressure, actions in the penalty area, passing into the penalty area.

We add that Fury Roja gave a successful performance in the League of Nations. He reached the final in the second draw, where he lost to France with a scandal (the question is in the interpretation of the offside rule in the division, with Mbappe’s decisive goal). And before that, he stylishly beat Italy in the semifinals, setting a uniform defeat (6:0!) for the Germans in the group. In 2023, Spain will again play in the Nations League Final Four.

Questions should have arisen about the 2022 World Cup selection, which featured a home draw with the Greeks and a loss to the Swedes. But in the end, Spain came first, and this hid many problems. In a word, the selection wasn’t just seen as the shadow favorite of the Qatar World Cup and a team that could go far while putting on quality play.

This seems to have calmed Luis Enrique. He believed that the command mechanism worked perfectly and that only luck could hinder success. Lucho didn’t act like a coach focused on a big tournament.

First, he began to pay too much attention to publicity. Even during the selection, Luis Enrique showed great creativity as he announced the roster for the next training camp. And during the World Cup, it feels like he’s living on the feed of his social networks.

Second, he didn’t seem to follow the current form of the players, who for him were divided into “us” and “not theirs”. Ok, ignoring de Gea and Kepa on the basis of trust in Simon – not because of Unai, Spain got out of the 2022 World Cup so early.

But everyone knew that there would be no opportunity to physically prepare the team for the World Cup. This was a problem solved by the team’s youth (they recover faster) and the large roster – yes, without Spain-wide stars in 2008-2012, but pretty much every player had an alternative.

What did we see at the 2022 World Cup? Luis Enrique’s Rodri (in the middle of the defence), Busquets, Gavi, Pedri and Olmo were tops in all games. Ferran Torres, Asensio, Alba and Laporte – in the third. Morata’s performance was overlooked (sorry, few could play successfully without a clean “nine”) and the rotation was only about the right flank of the defense played by Azpilicueta, Carvajal and even Marcos Llorente.

Luis Enrique doesn’t seem to have taken into account that Laporte and Asensio are substitutes on their team. Busquets and Alba, the last “senators” of the current Spanish national team, are having a tough time in Barcelona, ​​where they spent their final seasons. Ferrand had more or less decent playing time at Barça in the last month before the World Cup. No, Luis Enrique made clear bets on players he trusted and did not deviate from a plan that should have worked.

The final straw was Sarabia coming out clearly under penalty kicks in the match against Morocco – it was Pablo who hit the post, then Soler and Busquets’ shots already seemed more successful, at least because they hit the target. Luis Enrique honestly admitted that he chose these three actors for the series. If a coach is so wrong, it means he doesn’t know the skills of his players well.

The 2006 World Cup was the first major tournament for David Villa, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Ramos and Andres Iniesta. Second – for Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres. At the Golden Euro 2008 Spain was still young but already an experienced team. And then it continued to dominate the continent and the planet.

What happened now? A promising and talented team held a major tournament (second in their careers for many players on this roster) far worse than the previous one. And that means no progress. The team marks the time – it means that the coach is guilty.

What will happen next?

The Spanish national team was headed by Luis de la Fuente, a former youth coach. Normal practice for many, including Spaniards themselves. This is the third case for Roja’s Furies in the 21st century, after Iñaki Saez and Julen Lopetegui. We will write the second one here because, on the one hand, he came to the Spanish national team from Porto, on the other hand, he has extensive experience working with youth and youth Spanish teams.

It is difficult for fans of the election to count on the return of golden times in the near future. The Spanish national team seemed to have turned into a team of only good players – but not outstanding players. They are seldom strong enough to lose. In their last 14 games in the World Cup and European Championship, Spain have only suffered one loss in game time – the same from Japan. But there are only four wins in this segment.

Louis Enrique? Don’t be surprised if he takes over Barcelona for the second time in the summer. Xavi has already failed in the Champions League and it is uncertain whether he will win the title race in La Liga.