Shedding the halo of the past

The last time Spain reached a major final, when they beat Italy 4-0, the whole world immediately talked about the "best team in history". Yes, everyone knows that they are the only team to have ever won 3 major tournaments (EURO, World Cup) in a row. 4-0 is the biggest score ever in a major final. The Spanish squad at that time was filled with Real Madrid or Barcelona stars. And of course, everyone had to talk about the philosophy, the legendary tiki-taka style of play.

Reuters

But, football only has different philosophies and playing styles, but no philosophy or playing style can guarantee victory or titles. Just 2 years after that magnificent EURO 2012, Spain lost 1-5 to the Netherlands in the opening match of the 2014 World Cup. Losing 0-2 to Chile, the "best in history" Spain was eliminated from the World Cup before they finished the group stage. Because the Netherlands was too weak at that time (compared to what people knew about Dutch football before), coach Louis Van Gaal had to abandon all the principles that had made the "brand" of this famous football. For the first time, the "orange whirlwind" took the field with 5 defenders in the squad, adding 3 more defensive midfielders than attackers in the midfield. They played as simply as possible. Prioritizing defense - counterattack. Preventing each specific situation and being confident because according to the principle "defending is easier than attacking, destroying is easier than building". The 5-1 result says it all. Spain faded from there, eliminated from the World Cup by Russia or Morocco, and no one considered them a serious contender before this EURO. Spain is currently led by Luis de la Fuente, a relative unknown. And he has a team with almost no star players. After all, they are the most formidable team at EURO 2024.

"Playing simple football" is the hardest thing!

When Spain beat France 2-1 in the semi-finals, the starting lineup of Spain only had 2 representatives of Real Madrid or Barcelona. One was the youngest player in EURO history, Lamine Yamal of Barcelona. The other was veteran Nacho, who had actually expired his contract with Real and had just moved to the Al Qadsiah Club of Saudi Arabia... right in the middle of EURO. The "El Clasico" quality of the French team was even stronger, with Aurelien Tchouameni (Real) and Jules Kounde (Barcelona) starting, and Kylian Mbappe would join Real right after the tournament. Because center-back Robin Le Normand was suspended, coach Fuente had to use veteran Nacho. Right-back Dani Carvajal was also suspended, and Fuente replaced him with another veteran who was even older than Nacho: Jesus Navas, who was 38 years old, about to turn 39! It cannot be said that this Spanish team was a collection of stars. And because they have no outstanding stars, and are not influenced by "super clubs" like Real and Barcelona, ​​Fuente's Spain does not need to follow any philosophy. When they beat Croatia, led by star Luka Modric, 3-0 in their opening match, Spain kept the ball less than their opponents. They also kept the ball less when they beat hosts Germany. Just play reasonably and simply. And Spain won all 6 matches on the way to the final. Croatia, Italy, Germany, and France were crushed one after another. This Spanish team is formidable not because they possess any special talent. This Spain is too strong, even though there is nothing too special. That is truly formidable. Because, how to deal with this "simple" strong team?

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