Monday 13 June 2016 12:49, UK
Can Celta Vigo's Nolito bring something fresh to Vicente del Bosque’s Spain squad? His role in the team could be crucial, writes Adam Bate…
Spain's last match at the European Championship finals was a rout. It was the 4-0 demolition of Italy in Kiev that represented the apex of the nation's domination of international football. But the swagger of that supreme display was atypical of Vicente del Bosque's ethos. Since taking charge in 2008, his default position has been to focus on control.
What's interesting is that Del Bosque is usually forced into changing his plans and acknowledging the need for a wide forward to add some thrust. At the 2010 World Cup, Spain began with David Silva and Andres Iniesta in the wide positions but a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland brought changes. Jesus Navas was drafted in and Spain finished with Pedro playing the wide role.
It's curious that Del Bosque repeated the error at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Indeed, he went with the exact same narrow midfield five that had slipped up against Switzerland four years earlier and duly ended up on the receiving end of a 5-1 defeat to the Dutch. It took David Villa's recall against Australia to bring a semblance of fluency.
Similarly, at Euro 2016, while Nolito might not start the tournament, it wouldn't be a huge surprise if he finishes it. Del Bosque might insist Nolito is a very different type of player to the now retired Villa - recently saying he is someone with "another function" as Villa just "lived for goals" - he could yet serve a similar purpose in the squad.
Nolito's scoring record is certainly impressive enough. Thirty-nine La Liga goals in 100 appearances have helped earn him the moniker of Celta Vigo's Lionel Messi and he was even linked with a move to Barcelona over the winter, in part due to his relationship with former coach Luis Enrique, one of his "sporting fathers".
With Celta, Nolito has flourished playing a high-tempo game that's unsettled the best. It's precisely this urgency that Del Bosque will need to incorporate into his team. And there can be no doubting the 29-year-old's temperament either. Since scoring for lowly Ecija in a draw with Real Madrid as a youngster, the knack of delivering on the big occasion has not left him.
Fans recall his back-heel flick to setup Joaquin Larrivey's winner against Barca in 2014 and he scored the winner against the same opposition again in 2015 before also netting against Real Madrid. There have been five further winning goals in the 2015/16 La Liga season - many of them coming late on - and he's now doing it for Spain too.
When Del Bosque travelled to Galicia in April he would speak only of Nolito's "potential" inclusion in the squad, but the man on the fringes has since come to the fore. There were the opening two goals in last month's win over Bosnia and within 72 hours came another brace in the thrashing of South Korea.
As a result, Nolito has already scored as many international goals as Spain's only two strikers in their Euro 2016 squad put together - illustrating the importance of goals from wide positions this summer. But as Del Bosque has hinted, there is far more to Nolito than goals. He has the dribbling ability to unlock opponents.
As well as ranking among the top 20 players in La Liga for both goals and assists in 2015/16, a deeper look at the stats reveals that he was also among the top dozen for chances created and successful dribbles. Significantly for Del Bosque, the player completed more dribbles than anyone else in his squad.
In a team full of passers, it's easy to see why AS described Nolito as a "breath of fresh air" despite there actually being 15 players in the squad who are younger than him. "He may not be the youngest player in the group," wrote Alfredo Relano, "but he has a youthful exuberance and bubbly personality that is somewhat infectious."
That's the plan. While he might have to wait for his opportunity, it seems certain that it will come and his form would suggest he will seize that chance. Nolito said recently that it was "a dream" just to go to the Euros. He could yet play a rather bigger part in the drama that unfolds this summer.
