Farewell Spain golden generation , it was great while it lasted... and as one pundit wrote in AS " Don't apologize to us , we owe you too much " ... No words can be more true than that
Who out the starting eleven today are nailed on starters for a rebuilt Spain side?
I would go for Ramos, Busquets, Iniesta and thats it - even then all three need to up their game.
GK - De Gea should be given no.1 jersey
RB - Carvajal, Juanfran offer more than Aczipuleta has.
CB - Pique should still be Ramos partner. Not a great lot of depth after that though
LB - Will be unpopular on here but dont rate Alba highly and think Alberto Moreno and Bernat could easily take his place
Pretty much agree with that except i actually think Alba did well & fought well to make a change last night.. he is an excellent FB ..
Not really sure about Paco since he's a born poacher, he'd be as isolated in Spain's setup as Costa was.
Today was just depressing as hell but I think the atmosphere is pretty clear even among the players, this generation is over. Torres spoke about the next generation and Casillas made a mention of how many key players are over 30. Most were reminiscent of past success as well, signalling that they've accepted it's over.
For the next generation, I think it's key to keep an eye on the recovery/return of Jese and the development of Deulofeu. Spain have been horrible in attack and those two are players who know how to turn dominant buildup into attacking threat. If they can come good, they'll be unbelievably crucial in giving Spain some edge. I'd love to see Jese in a free left/central role roaming around as a predatory and skilled goalscorer while Deulofeu rampages down the right flank. The two have great chemistry as well.
As for midfield, I think it's pretty clear the direction to take. Koke, Thiago, Iniesta, Busi, and Javi Martinez should be the core for the near future. The likes of Isco (if he improves) and Oliver are more long term. Others like Iturraspe should be looked at as well.
Defense and GK is a bit worrying. It's scary that Spain's best CB's by far (Ramos and Pique) were such shit and so clueless. Bartra's next in line for me but he needs to use some more aggression and polish up a bit. As for fullbacks I have no issues with Azpi/Alba as they didn't particularly cause the crumble. Moreno and Carvajal are great for competition as well. As for GK, De Gea is great but I want it to be clear that he is the heir and for him to become more commanding and sturdy in tandem with his back-line.
Agree on midfield & attack & keeper but not the defense
What i think has happened is that Spain didn't see it coming in terms of attacking threat
throughout the success era they were barely under threat due to the midfield holding the ball forever , so how can you attack if you don't have the ball ? this WC saw them getting attacked more often than they anticipated you can even say taken by surprise completely
Add to it the long season , off form , weak mentality after a depressing season
Pique & Ramos are still the best they can offer (even Martinez can deputize for now in exchange for any of them as Albiol always was a liability ) ..
Puyol was great & he kept Pique lapse of concentration in check but even after he was out they still won the Euro but by controlling the ball.. which they didn't do the last two games
It was telling when Barca players who had an awful season mentally & physically were having 7 of there players vs Holland ..
You look at the Spaniards abroad & mostly had half a decent season not a full one .. Cazorla , Mata , Silva, Negredo... with the except of out of favor Llorente the rest were off colors completely
Overall after the reactions are gone , i wouldn't read too much into this..they still have a good generation on the way..
---------------------------De Gea
Carvajal ------Pique-------------------Ramos--------Alba
----------------Martinez/Busquets-----------------------
---------------------Koke-------Thiago/Isco----------------
--Jese----------------------Costa--------------Defel/Mata etc
Subs : Kiko Casilla , Inigo , Illarra (if he gets back on form ) Thiago/Isco , Azpilcueta , Moreno ,Oliver Torres , Busquets or Martinez...Morata if he proves himself elsewhere , Adrian Lopez (if he take charge this season ) ...
plus you have the late 20 /25 + guys like Mata , Silva , Pedro etc
not the same old one but enough to keep them among the top sides similar to Germany etc however i think the problem will mainly be who can replace Del Bosque ?
You need a Spaniard who doesn't take regional sides conflict with good enough CV to lead them... I don't see anyone available for the job
That will be Spain weak point with the new boys
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