Lessons for Dethroned Spain From Rival Who's Been There
Defending champions Spain crashed out of FIFA World Cup to leave football fans shocked at large. The team however can seek solace in how European rivals Italy have surfaced from a similar crisis.
- Andrew Keh, The New York Times
- Updated: June 21, 2014 12:26 AM IST
It was a shocking about-face: Four years after lifting the World Cup trophy and charming fans around the world with its attractive brand of soccer, Spain fizzled unceremoniously out of the tournament's opening round, losing its first two games. It was cast as the sudden end of an era. (Comprehensive FIFA World Cup coverage)
The death knell, dumbfounding as it was, had an oddly familiar ring. Look back to the 2010 tournament in South Africa. Before Spain's eventual triumph, Italy arrived as the defending champion and was blindsided in the opening round. Somehow, in a group with New Zealand, Paraguay and Slovakia, Italy finished last and was sent home. The team was eulogized and harshly criticized as it slipped into a period of organizational soul-searching. (Spanish media bemoans early exit)
But if Spain is smart, it will review the past four years and see how its European rival navigated them.
Since the 2010 debacle, Italy has undergone an impressive rebranding and renaissance. Having embraced new ideas and a spirit of change, it is once again among the top teams in the world and a favorite to go far in Brazil.
Coach Cesare Prandelli, 56, one of the primary architects of Italy's revival, said Thursday that he had too much respect for Spain to comment too deeply about its downfall. But he said he fully expected it to bounce back, just as his team has.
"I'm sure in two months' time, Spain will resume being one of the best teams in the world," Prandelli said.
© AFP
Prandelli is a man with perspective. Spain is facing many of the same criticisms Italy encountered after the 2010 World Cup, when he took control of the team: It is too old, too reliant on stale ideas, too reverent of the recent past. He inherited a team that had lost the trust of its fans, but has earned it back with a class of young, promising players.
Chief among these players is Mario Balotelli, the flashy 23-year-old striker, who sat next to Prandelli during a news conference Thursday. The coach gently prodded him, talking to reporters about Balotelli's massive potential and in the same breath noting his maddening propensity for inconsistency. As Balotelli listened intently, he did not seem to lack for confidence.
"I don't feel any pressure or anything of the sort," Balotelli said. "My personal goal is to score as many goals as possible."
Prandelli's squad has also subtly subverted expectations of how an Italian team is supposed to play - something Spain may have to do moving forward. Spain's 2-0 loss to Chile on Wednesday was being cast as the death of "tiki-taka," the system of short and intricate passing born in the academy of Barcelona, one of the country's biggest clubs.
Prandelli has birthed the playful phrase "tik-Italia," a possession-oriented, attacking-minded system that was nicely expressed in Italy's first game of the tournament against England. The Italians completed 554 passes in 2-1 win, with a success rate of more than 92 percent. It seemed like an ideal way to play in the muggy conditions of northern Brazil.
"From the outset we tried to have a certain idea of the way we wanted to play," Prandelli said, referring to the last four years as "this journey."
Prandelli and his team Thursday went through an abbreviated workout at Arena Pernambuco in preparation for Friday's match against Costa Rica. While he expressed some concerns about the heat and humidity, he heaped praise on the opponent despite resorting to somewhat overworked stereotypes about world soccer.
"Costa Rica pretty much encompasses European organization," Prandelli said, "but its thrust and creativity is more akin to South American teams."
Prandelli has made it harder to wedge Italy back into similar, old pigeonholes.
Spain, a once-proud champion, will have to do the same.
© 2014 New York Times News Service