BARCELONA, June 3: “Tiki-taka” is over, and Spain coach Luis Enrique is ready to move on. Since winning back-to-back European Championships with the 2010 World Cup title in between, Spain has been a flop at major soccer tournaments as the team’s aging veterans lost their luster.
Luis Enrique, who first took over the national team following the debacle at the 2018 World Cup, has not shied away from rejuvenating the squad with little-known players in their early 20s. He even left veteran Sergio Ramos off his squad after the injury problems the Real Madrid defender had this season. “There have been some young players who have surprised us,” Luis Enrique said.
Enrique has experimented in practically every position all year, so new faces will be expected when Spain plays Sweden, Poland and Slovakia in Group E — all in Seville.
The coach’s new pool of attacking players includes Manchester City’s Ferran Torres (21), Leipzig’s Dani Olmo (23), Barcelona’s Pedri González (18), and Wolverhampton’s Adama Traoré (25). Questions, however, remain about who will carry the scoring load for a team that has been without a top striker since the international retirements of David Villa and Fernando Torres.
Álvaro Morata has 19 goals in 39 appearances for Spain, but the Juventus striker has never excelled at a major tournament. Gerard Moreno scored 30 goals for Villarreal and helped the team win the Europa League this season, but even at the age of 29 he is still untested in a major competition. The same doubt goes for Mikel Oyarzabal, who helped Real Sociedad win the postponed 2020 Copa del Rey title in April. Barcelona phenomenon Ansu Fati is injured.
Even though veteran holdover Sergio Busquets can again anchor the midfield, he will be accompanied by more dynamic players who look more for a quick strike than the suffocating ball possession practiced by the great Spain teams of the past.
The major concern in Spain’s defense. Ramos, one of the main holdovers from the title-winning days, took the team’s penalty kicks and provided on-field leadership. Luis Enrique had already been worrying about who would fill the center of his four-man defense, and Ramos’ absence makes that even harder.
So the national team got a big boost when center back Aymeric Laporte switched allegiance from France to Spain. Unai Simón, Athletic’s 23-year-old goalkeeper, has relegated David de Gea to a backup role.
But Luis Enrique could be tempted to try something new in Spain’s friendly matches before the event starts. (AP)
