Spain's Reign Ends

Spain     0        Chile     2    

                                                     Vargas  19      Aránguiz 43 

 

 

The Spanish sides of 2010 and 2014 were both history makers but for very different reasons.

Four years ago Spain didn’t just win the World Cup in South Africa they won it in a way which changed the complexion of football, rebuilding the game around possession and keeping the ball. ”Tiki taka” as it was known, was the new way to play.



Sergio Busquets rues his missed second half chance

Yet four years on it’s a completely different story. Spain’s defeat to Chile last night ended their eight year dominance in which they had claimed a World Cup and two European championships; it certainly felt like the end of an era for a team which many had labelled as the greatest team of all time.  

But it was the manner they went out which was must disappointing. After being crushed 5-1 by Holland in their opening group game this was a match Spain had to win and in truth that never looked like happening.

Chile were more than worthy of their 2-0 victory following goals from Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aranguiz. They were simply better in every department, playing with energy, passion and a policy to win the ball back quickly.

For 90 minutes Chile’s pressure was relentless, they rushed Spain into mistake after mistake, as their once winning tactics appeared outdated and ineffective. Could this be this be another sign that the game is moving on?

Following their defeat to the Dutch, Spain’s manager Vicente Del Bosque elected to drop the influential Xavi, the man who has been the backbone of the Spanish side during their success.

Nevertheless this was by no means a weak Spanish side, any team on the planet would crave to have a midfield containing Xavi Alonso, David Silva and Andres Iniesta. But on this occasion it wasn’t enough.

Over the course of the match Spain were in possession of the ball 63% of the time however they rarely threatened Chile keeper Claudio Bravo and were forever pinned back by a wave of white Chilean shirts

In comparison Chile were quick and sharp on the counter attack and took the lead on 19 minutes. Spain were caught in possession midway inside their own half and before they could recover Chile had broken away in force. Arturo Vidal played a neat through ball to Aranguiz in the Spain penalty area; he then had time to square the ball to Vargas whose calm touch took him away from Spanish keeper Iker Casillas allowing him to covert from close range.

Surely their would be a reaction from the defending champions, the side that had conquered Europe and the world in recent tournaments. But Spain never looked like coming up with an answer.

Their passing was off; even the usual reliable Alonso just wasn’t at the races. Upfront lone striker Diego Costa still appeared to be struggling with the same injury that forced him to be substituted in the early stages of the Champions League and looked well short of match fitness. The fluent elegant passing which has become the feature of the Spanish game was nowhere to be seen.

On the stroke of half time Spain’s situation went from bad to red alert. Alexis Sanchez went for goal from a promising Chile free kick which Casillas should have caught. Instead he elected to punch the ball away, a decision which proved costly as it dropped at the feet of Aranguiz who prodded the ball home to double Chile’s lead.

That proved to be the killer not only to the match but to Spain’s hopes of reaching the last sixteen. They desperately searched for a way back into the game but their chances were rare, Costa’s touch let him down when he was played through on goal, while Sergio Busquets squandered a golden chance when the goal appeared to be at his mercy.

However there was no bombardment at the Chile goal or a late onslaught to save the Spanish crown, as the Champions never looked like scoring and their immaculate run ended with a whimper rather than a fight until the end.

They become desperate only threatening Bravo in the Chile goal through long range shots from Iniesta and substitute Sani Carzorla, but both were a comfortable height for keeper.

Four years ago Spain made history in the way they won the World Cup, yesterday they made history as it was the first time the defending champions have been the first team sent packing. How times have changed and what will this unpredictable World Cup throw up next?