Adios España: An Ode to One of the Greatest Teams Ever and the Death of Tiki-Taka?

RIP Spain; The End of an Era: “June 29^th 2008 – June 18^th 2014”

The month of June 2014 will be remembered in Spain as a month of “abdications”. On June 2^nd 2014 King Juan Carlos I of Spain abdicated the throne of the Spanish monarchy in favour of his son Felipe VI, and today the Spanish National Football team abdicated their throne atop the footballing world. From June 29^th 2008 to June 18^th 2014 the Spanish national football team had ruled the sport. With two European Championship trophies in 2008 and 2012, along with a World Cup trophy in 2010, they had cemented themselves into the conversation of the best team of all-time (it’s Spain vs. Brazil 1970 for those who are wondering) and shed the tagline of perennial underachievers that seemed to cling to previous Spanish national teams. Not only had they topped the “podium” in three successive major tournaments, but they also mesmerized the world with their playing style. Using a core of Barcelona-based players, Spain introduced Pep Guardiola’s “tiki-taka” style of quick, short passing and emphasis on possession to the national stage. They were all conquering, all dominant and at times seemed invincible.

Yet despite these achievements, and a squad full of world class players such as Xavi, Iniesta, David Silva, Iker Casillas, Pique and Sergio Ramos (seriously though – if I started listing their bench it would have more famous names than the cast of Ocean’s Thirteen) it all came crashing down with a whimper. The signs were there – their dismantling at the hands of Brazil during the 2013 Confederations Cup Final chief amongst them – but no one in their wildest dreams could have imagined it would end like this. This was an unmitigated disaster – a deserved destruction at the highest level with the entire world watching. A 5-1 loss to the Netherlands, the most goals they’ve conceded in an international match since 1963, coupled with today’s listless 2-0 defeat to Chile eliminated Spain from this World Cup.

Ultimately their undoing was their reliance on the style of play that had made them so famous. Their reluctance, and at times outright refusal, to deviate from tiki-taka proved fatal as teams began to counter the system through a combination of high pressing and superb counter-attacking play. Chile’s first goal was a textbook demonstration of how to beat Spain – pressure on Xabi Alonso caused a turnover in midfield that was expertly countered by Chile. Spain’s failure to “have a Plan B” still puzzles many of its critics. They refused to attempt to score from distance, preferring instead to try and score a “perfect goal” and walk the ball into the back of the net. Like a painter with their canvas the Spanish national team tried to paint the image of perfection on to the pitch.

And it worked – for close to six years. They thrilled us with their skill, their passion and their humility. They won, and won, and won again – at one point going undefeated for nearly three straight years between November 2006 and June 2009 for a record equaling 35 consecutive matches before a loss to the United States in the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup – but never once gloated about their success. Even in the 2010 World Cup Final, when they had their detractors and people wanting them to fail (I count myself amongst that group), you couldn’t help but shed a tear when Iniesta struck to win the cup and lifted his shirt to reveal a message honouring former teammate Daniel Jarque who had passed away from a heart attack in 2009. Iniesta’s shirt read “Dani Jarque siempre con nosotros” (“Dani Jarque always with us”) showing that even in the moment of their wildest success they never forgot the people that helped bring them there.

I could wax on and on about this Spanish team’s place in the hallmarks of history. I could describe exactly where I was when they won each major tournament. Yet that would take pages and pages still. So to conclude it is time to say thank-you.

Thank you, to Fernando Torres for starting the era with his winning goal in 2008, back in a time when he was still feared as one of the best strikers in the world (before he said “Show me the money!” and went to hide in Roman’s gulag in London).

Thank you, to Andrés Iniesta for scoring in South Africa and showing the world that beautiful football should always trump brutality and reminding those watching that we all started from somewhere.

Thank you, to the late Luis Aragonés for believing in tiki-taka in 2008 and helping to implement, along with Pep Guardiola, the greatest tactical revolution since the Dutch’s totaalvoetbal of the 1970s.

And a final thank you to the 2012 Euro Championship winning side for embarrassing Italy in the final (Sorry I’m an England fan – I had to. Pirlo and the panenka still haunt me in my dreams).

Yet overall – thank you for thrilling us. Thank you for revolutionizing the game. Thank you for making possession one of the most important statistics in world football (and then showing us that no matter how much possession you may have you still need to score to make it mean anything). Thank you for reminding us that football is a sport of artistry and you were the true artists.

There will be a new world champion crowned on July 13^th 2014. Some say it may be the home nation of Brazil. Others are saying Germany, Argentina or now even the Netherlands. A hipster might believe in Belgium. But no matter who becomes the new champion one thing is certain – they will have their hands full trying to live up to the magnificent legacy left by their predecessor.

RIP one of the greatest teams to ever play on the world stage. RIP the Era of Spain.