Tuesday 14 June 2016 06:58, UK
Spain kicked off their Euro 2016 with a 1-0 win over the Czech Republic thanks to Gerard Pique's late header in Toulouse. The result will go some way to banishing memories of Brazil two years ago, but issues remain for Vicente del Bosque's team, writes Adam Bate.
There was a moment in the press conference prior to Spain's game against the Czech Republic when their captain Sergio Ramos appeared to backtrack. "The team can shine and play at the same level as before," he said. "Well, maybe not quite at the same level as before. But at a very high level."
It was revealing. For while Spain have indeed arrived in France with a formidable squad, an outfit with more international caps and more medals in their collection than any other group at the tournament, the context of those previous glories continues to frame the mood. The task is to replicate achievements rather than scale new heights.
It's also about avoiding another humiliation. So emphatic was Spain's elimination from the World Cup in Brazil two years ago that the memory lingers. Vicente del Bosque's men might be defending champions but they have kicked off that defence as third favourites behind France and Germany. Both those teams have beaten Spain since the World Cup.
Moreover, the defeat to Georgia on the eve of the tournament was technically the worst result in Spain's history in terms of the gulf in the rankings between the two teams. Andres Iniesta had called it "an accident" in the pre-match press conference, stressing that the challenge of facing the Czechs would be "a completely different game".
Not everyone seemed so sure. "We are very calm but we're always a bit uncertain because it's a competition," Del Bosque had said on the eve of the match. "You never really know what's going to happen."
He got some answers in Toulouse with Gerard Pique's 87th-minute header securing a deserved victory in a game they dominated.
It was a testament to his team's character that they continued to push for the winner and succeeding in breaking their opponents' impressive resistance. A fifth 1-0 win in seven competitive games will come to be regarded as the hallmark of champions should they still be delivering such results in Paris next month.
However, the ongoing questions about Del Bosque's side will continue to be asked. Should it have required a late goal by a defender to separate these two sides? Does this team need a consistent goalscorer to go all the way? They are issues that would have been discussed rather more noisily had Vladimir Darida not been denied by David de Gea in stoppage time.
Spain had 68 per cent of possession in the first half. The ball was stroked around with ease and the technical superiority was uncomfortably apparent to everyone in the stadium. Czech coach Pavel Vrba called it "another level" afterwards. But the goal would not come. The best chances fell to striker Alvaro Morata and he could not find a way past Petr Cech.
An early one-on-one was adjudged offside but the Czech goalkeeper saved it anyway. After a quarter of an hour came the best opportunity from David Silva's cross but Morata's first-time effort from close range was repelled. Before the half-hour mark there was a third chance for the forward but Cech tipped the shot wide of the far post.
Iniesta provided the through-ball and while Del Bosque's Spain have been criticised for overplaying, the little magician in midfield could not be accused of lacking incision here. Time and again he probed and prompted before breaking the defensive lines with a ball fired into the path of a full-back or a forward. It took Pique to finally convert one.
For Morata, that will be frustrating. For Spain, it's a problem. David Villa won the Golden Boot at Euro 2008. Fernando Torres went home with it in Euro 2012. Finding a worthy successor is proving tricky. "I think we've had the best forwards in the history of our country with Fernando, David and some others," said Iniesta beforehand.
"The scenario is now different. We've got new players like Alvaro, Aritz Aduriz and Cesc [Fabregas] has played there as well. But we have full confidence in them, their qualities and in the important moments they'll score goals. That's what the No 9s are there for. We are going to help them do their job the best they can."
I think we've had the best forwards in the history of our country with Fernando [Torres], David [Villa] and some others. The scenario is now different.
Iniesta began the second half with similar intent, providing another pass for Morata to run onto only for the Juventus striker to be pushed wide before seeing his cross deflected onto a post. Morata was always willing to make runs but he became increasingly anxious as the minutes ticked by, as might be expected of a player with only three senior goals for Spain.
That's two more than the 35-year-old Aduriz who replaced him just after the hour mark. The Athletic Bilbao target man came up with an unconvincing overhead kick and headed wide from a Ramos cross, but this pattern of near misses continued until Pique latched onto Iniesta's teasing delivery with just minutes remaining.
Was it an issue that it took a defender to make the difference? "The goal came the way it came because we have good headers of the ball," observed Iniesta drily when accepting his man of the match award. And yet, while it's difficult to imagine why playing ahead of such a player could ever be a problem, Morata and Aduriz wouldn't be the first not to fit in.
It's fantastic that we have great midfielders and if the forwards have to move, then they have to move and interpret what the other players are doing.
Indeed, Diego Costa's 10 appearances for Spain yielded only one goal. "I don't think it's difficult," insisted Del Bosque after the game. "We all have to adapt to a certain style of playing. It's fantastic that we have great midfielders and if the forwards have to move then they have to move and interpret what the other players are doing.
"We created a lot of chances. We hope it's not a problem. We had the game completely under control and that's the important thing. Everyone wants to score more goals but it hasn't been too bad for us this style has it?" He later added: "You always have a responsibility to win. Not just to play nicely but play nicely and win."
That comment underlines the fact that Spain needed that Pique goal. Not just because Croatia and Turkey are dangerous, but for their own confidence. Remarkably, this was the first time that they have won their opener under Del Bosque. It isn't always vital, of course, as his side has shown in the past, but after events in Brazil it certainly felt significant here.
Iniesta had spoken of his hope that winning the first game would allow the team to "play the second game a little more relaxed" as a result. If that's the case and Del Bosque's strike options begin to play with more belief, then Spain could yet make the 2010 World Cup seem like a blip. And maybe then Ramos really will believe they are back to their old levels too.
