Chris Maduewesi
Member
The talent abounds in that Iberian nation,which made it a curious paradox when they didn't really maximize their potentials,and one was left wondering what could have been hampering them from hitting big heights.
When eventually they reached that height everybody knew they could,talks now shifted on how to stop them,the conversation topic was on,if they could ever be stopped by opponents?
Their brand of football was breathtaking,fascinating and appealing to the eyes,obsessed with ball possession and they were very cruel to the oppositions they faced.
And when eventually they were halted in Rio De Janeiro last week Wednesday by Chile,talks now shifted to what could have happened to Spain,are we seeing the end of an era? and so on with so many theories thrown up.
The thing is that when something becomes successful,everybody tries to emulate it and at best study ways to thwart it.
There was no how teams were going to allow Spain roll over them like they used to in the past,some methods would be studied just for the singular aim of stopping a threat.
Remember how Bayern Munich applied relentless intensity to best Barcelona over two legs to win in 2013? or even how this same Bayern Munich were halted in their tracks by Real Madrid.
Spain has dominated for six good years and were en-route to doing the unthinkable: "win a fourth major title" within this period.
Cracks were beginning to show that Spain were indeed not as impregnable as they seemed at the 2013 Confederations Cup,where they were comprehensibly beaten 3-0 in the finals by Brazil.
It was the death of Spain's tiki taka possession and the end of their six years of dominance in world football.
It felt like a blip,but everything was laid bare with the annihilation,Holland and Chile handed out to them at the World Cup tournament.
Spain's ouster is as shocking as it defies belief and also embarrassing,conceding seven goals and scoring just once,failing to register a point in their first two games of the competition.
The La Furia Rojas won their last group game against Australia,but then every other team in their group beat the Socceroos, so it would have been a failure of epic proportions if they didn't.
However,it is an elimination that will leave a sour taste in their mouths,because after acquiring Diego Costa(who switched allegiances from Brazil to play for them) instead of being stronger,they were weak.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho surely saw an opportunity to have a go at the Spanish army here and he properly utilised it. The Portuguese said described their outing as “predictable, slow and sad”.
"The surprise is Spain played two games in four days against two teams with the same style,” the former Real Madrid coach said. "They have not looked at the strategic side of the game, they have accumulated many players in the centre”.
“In the past six years Spain have been fantastic, but people learn how to play against the best teams,” he continued. “Congratulations to this fantastic and unforgettable team, but this time they have just been eliminated in the group stage.” Mourinho told Yahoo Sports
"We have to be fair, and instead of saying Spain didn't play well – which I agree with – we have to be fair and say Chile and Holland did an amazing job,” he said in reference to Louis van Gaal and Jorge Sampaoli, Del Bosque's Dutch and Chilean counterparts in the group stages of the competition.
Yes they had old players in their ranks who should call it quits,but their complete failure defied believe.
Did Barcelona's woeful season have an effect on the team? But two Spanish teams got to the finals of the UEFA Champions League and one even won the Europa League.
Having played in these top European competitions,it was never expected that fall in Brazil would be of huge epic proportions.
It was never in the scripts that the second round of the World Cup would commence without the Spain the defending champions,will no longer be in the running to win the competition.
Maybe the lesson in their elimination for everybody to learn from,is that "if you fail to plan,you plan to fail;" or like they say: "nothing good lasts forever".
Spain was as good as they got,this time around in Brazil they ran out of steam.