Spain kicked off the Luis Enrique era with two wins over England and Croatia in the Uefa Nations League but what did we learn about Lucho's side and how do we think they will fare in the upcoming two years to the expanded European Championships and who will feature?
Post World Cup , Spain were in an unfamiliar position in contrast to the glories of the past decade. The national team had just succumbed to a 2nd round knockout at the hands of hosts, Russia. Several parties were at the forefront of the blame for the managerial mess which preceded their opening game against Portugal. Jose Rubiales, the organizations executive came in for criticism for his heavy handed treatment in the dismissal of the then boss Julen Lopetegui when news emerged that he would be Real Madrid's next first team coach. Lopetegui's replacement, Fernando Hierro resembled at best a rabbit in the headlights and did little to halt the sense of impending doom in the Spanish setup. Of course Real Madrid and their president Florentino Perez did not emerge with flying colours throughout this whole process either and the way in which they poached Lopetegui from the Spanish setup will forever leave a sour taste in the mouth of La Roja board members and supporters alike. Coupled with the ongoing fervour surrounding off the pitch problems, Spain post tournament had to contend with a team in transition with the likes of maestros Andres Iniesta and David Silva announcing their imminent departures along with Gerard Pique from the international setup and also the executive committee were tasked with finding a new head coach.
Luis "Lucho" Enrique was soon the man tasked with leading La Roja into the 2020 European Championships much to the trepidation of some supporters and many in the media who find his behaviour to be cold and non conforming at the best of times. Many football fans are familiar with Enrqiue from his three year spell in charge of Barcelona and the changes he endeavoured to implement there. Although largely he enjoyed a successful tenure in Catalonia he did show his divisive parts of his character from time to time seen through his fallout with star Lionel Messi in the defeat to Real Sociedad in January 2015 or through his ongoing spat with left back Jordi Alba which still exists, the Barcelona defender was omitted from Enrqiues's squad for the England and Croatia games. For many Lucho resembles a throwback to the Luis Aragones days with his old fashioned nature. One thing you are promised when the Gijon man takes the reigns as shown through his time at Roma, Celta Vigo and Barcelona that both change in personnel and style is imminent.
PERSONNEL
Upon joining the setup, the Spanish Futbol Federation announced the makeup of Lucho's backroom staff which compromised of Robert Moreno, Rafel Pol and Joaquin Valdes. All three were donned "Lucho's men" at Barcelona given their close relationship and the quartet have worked in tandem since Enrique's appointment at Roma. Robert Moreno is the assistant and close confident to the manager. The two became great friends at La Masia and Moreno is charged with scouting the opponent, analyzing tactics and formulating set piece routines. Rafel Pol is in charge of physical preparation and is the youngest of Luchos' backroom team while Joaquin Valdes is the team psychologist. Enrqiue has always been a keen proponent of team synergy and group identity and relies on Valdes to maintain a happy atmosphere in the La Roja camp.
Player wise there were also noticeable changes from the Spanish setup in Russia. As already discussed Iniesta, Silva, Pique and Reina have all called it a day which automatically left their positions up for grabs however what was most interesting about Lucho's squad was the omission of left back Jordi Alba, Atleti's Koke and Real Madrid winger Lucas Vazquez who were all fundamental parts of previous manager Julien Lopetegui's squad. There was no place too for Arsenal's Nacho Monreal. This shows Enrique once more not being afraid to enact change. There was an influx of youth to the squad with Dani Cabellos, Suso, Rodri and Real Sociedad's Diego Llorente all earning call ups while there were also places in the Spain squad for Betis' Pau Lopez, Valencia left back; Gaya ,Napoli stalwart Raul Albiol and Chelsea flyer Marcos Alonso. Enqrique's influx of both new and old shows a new dynamism to the Spanish setup and showcases his willingness to include players on current form and not show a preference to club loyalties as what many press members believed. Enrique has shown for long to be a man of character and won't indulge in club loyalties or bow down to media or fans alike. In fact the only Barcelona players that were included was Sergi Roberto and Sergio Busquets.
STYLE
Upon taking the helm Enrique did suggest he would stay true to his favoured 4-3-3 formation and assured Spain would be more direct and aggressive in their style. The main question facing Enrqiue before Spain's two games versus England and Croatia was would Spain remain loyal to their identity of "tika taka" or will they move on with the rest of football and evolve. In both games Spain did set up in Lucho's favoured 4-3-3 approach. Against England, Spain did have teething problems with the likes of Saul and Thiago struggling at times to combine but however in the match against Croatia it was Saul with his direct, powerful play and tendency to play vertically who took the game to the heart of Croatia was the standout performer in the Spain side and symbolizes the type of football Lucho will attempt to implement throughout his tenure in charge.
ENGLAND V SPAIN
In Spain's 2-1 victory against England, they lined up in the aforementioned 4-3-3 formation with Chelsea man Marcos Alonso making just his second national team appearance on the left side of the defense. What was most interesting was the triumvirate of Busquets, Thiago and Saul in the Spanish midfield and their three contrasting styles of play. Marcos Asensio was also a notable exclusion from the starting XI with Iago Aspas lining up on the right of the Spanish front three. A big question in Spanish football at the moment was concerning which Real Madrid starlet would Spain build around for the foreseeable future; Isco or Asensio. It was Isco who was given the nod here and it was his position on the left of a front three that enabled him to be the crux of the Spanish play and freed him to roam into dangerous areas. Given the cover in midfield he was also less of a liability when Spain transitioned from attack to defense given the marauding nature of England's Kieran Trippier, a luxury which arguably was never afforded to him when David Silva and Andres Iniesta donned a red jersey.
Spain averaged 55% possession against England which was low in comparison to previous years but which indicated a change in approach from the new boss. Ramos' tendency to hit diagonal balls to the right hand side was a keen feature of Spain's play and this was complimented by the direct powerful and late running of Atleti's; Saul who scored his first international goal through this approach. Saul, who most symbolizes the new direct approach Lucho wishes to apply did not play a single minute in Russia last summer. Thiago, meanwhile was his usual mercurial self and was the main focus point and outball of Spanish possession. He was a throwback to the likes of Xavi and Iniesta in the role he played. However it was important to note that full backs Carvajal and Alosno both enjoyed the most touches on the ball (104 and 100 respectively). Spain were therefore less inclined to dictate possession for possession's sake, no doubt which would have been welcomed by their new boss. Rodrigo and Aspas up front arguably both are a better fit of play to that of Diego Costa with their interchanging movements in tight spaces and their linkup play however Aspas looked particularly quiet in his role on the right while his compatriot Rodrigo bagged the winner in an impressive performance from the Valencia man.
The back four as discussed above were also crucial to their manager's style of play. Alonso and Carvajal were particularly the main outballs in possession and charged with moving the team vertically up the pitch. Carvajal in particular was impressive with his performance with his lung busting runs over and under lapping Iago Aspas and was integral to Saul's goal. The Real Madrid man's ability to rotate with several other Spanish players in possession is often under rated but one which the new boss seems to be gaining joy from. Sergio Ramos once more played his role as the archetypal villain to the disdain of the English home crowd but once more moved Spain up the pitch continually with his long raking diagonal balls to the right wing. The performance of Nacho however would have been of concern to his manager, he looked particularly vulnerable in the half space between his full back and struggled against the pace of Marcus Rashford throughout the 90 minutes. With Diego Llorente and Inigo Martinez waiting in the wings Lucho has a few options available to him as he mulls over Gerard Pique's long term replacement.
There are a few other areas which would have caused the La Roja boss cause for concern. Most namely being the two corners which Spain switched off for in quick succession in the first half. One of them which surely had resulted in a goal if not for the heroics of David De Gea. Thiago and Saul also struggled at times in the first half to maintain their positions in a compact formation allowing England to exploit space in behind which Harry Kane did so well leading to Rashford's goal. They soon gathered some stability however when Thiago was subbed off in the second half this allowed England once more to play through the lines and the likes of Dier was allowed to play more vertical balls which certainly would not have been on if Thiago was on the pitch. The trio of Busquets, Thiago and Saul were solid for the most part of the game without possession however once Thiago departed the likes of Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard had a field day arriving into half spaces which were not on during the opening 70 minutes. Against more possession based sides such as Germany and in South America Spain definitely would have encountered more problems in this area. This result would have been a welcome start to Lucho's reign but also a big reminder of the work that needs to be done in the Spanish camp if they are going to be one of the main contenders to lift the European Championships in 2020.
SPAIN V CROATIA
The dominating question proceeding both of Luis Enrique's first games was whether Spain will remain loyal to their identity of tika taka or will they move on from the rest off football and evolve. It is fair to say per their 6-0 humiliation of Croatia that it was the latter they illustrated. Saul Niguez was one of the stars on a great night for La Roja who with his direct, powerful play could be the most important player the next few years in Lucho's setup. The Elche man began the goalscoring with the opener at his home ground. The goal started from a long crossfield diagonal from captain, Sergio Ramos to the feet of Dani Carvajal who exquisitely delivered an exquisite ball with the outside of his boot for Saul to convert with a thumping header. It is indicative of the first goal in the method of play Enrqiue wishes to achieve within the Spanish camp much like his Barcelona days. A more direct approach where one of the key features was Ramos spraying balls to the right wing. Their average long balls at the World Cup was 23 whilst they managed 34 alone in this game. They are more aggressive with the ball and have a purpose. The passing stats are similar to Russia but they do not account for the added variety in midfield runners Enrqiue and Spain are now implementing with great success.
The second goal stemmed from another facet which the Spanish new coach hopes to implement that being of the high block. The Croatia midfield and defence were smothered by the Spanish midfield and coughed up possession in a dangerous area where Marco Asensio was fed 25 yards outside the goal to fire a scorcher into the roof of Danijel Subasic' net. A key theme which emerged over the course of the two games was whether Enrique plans to build around Isco or Marco Asensio, a subject of much debate in the Spanish press currently. Asensio certainly did no damage to his own claim with that beauty along with three assists. While his teammate, Isco supplied a goal of style too with Spain's sixth with some wonderful fast feet. Rodrigo once more delivered a promising performance netting the Spanish fifth following good midfield play. It has been noticeable during both England and Croatia games than both Rodrigo and Iago Aspas are better suited to the Spanish style than the notorious Diego Costa. Their link up play and control in tight spaces where just some of the key elements the diminutive duo were able to contribute to the Spanish side.
Apart from the obvious technical aspects on show from Spain another intriguing feature of their play was their positional play. Marco Asensio was instrumental with his movement from the right flank totaling at ease with clubmate, Carvajal. The Spanish midfield essentially acted as a rotating pivot throughout with Dani Ceballos impressing in particular. It is noteworthy that the calibre of players including Jose Gaya, Marcos Alonso, Rodri and the latter who featured in either or games that they will received the chance from Lucho to lay their claim for a starting berth. The two September games would have given much food for thought to Enrqiue and his backroom staff. Of course there were many positives but there were also a few negatives. This weeks games away to Wales and at home to England at Estadio Benito Villamarin will provide La Roja with no better opportunity to eradicate any further fears of a World Cup hangover. Lucho is a shrewd and efficient operator and this week in question will only serve him to refine a youthful International side with aspirations for the top.
SQUAD V WALES & ENGLAND
Borussia Dortmund's in-form striker Paco Alcacer has been included in the squad for the first time since March 2016. Alcacer has scored seven goals, including a hatrick off the bench in their 4-3 win over Augsburg, since joining Dortmund on loan from Barcelona this summer. Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke, who also played at the World Cup but did not make Luis Enrique's first list, is back while Barcelona left back, Jordi Alba remains out of favour. Notable other recalls include Chelsea's Alvaro Morata and Real Betis' Marc Bartra. Wolves left back; Jonny Castro earns a first call up to the senior setup. Real Madrid duo Isco and Dani Carvajal, plus Barca's Sergi Roberto and Athletic Bilbao's Inigo Martinez, were all part of the last squad but miss out through injury.
Goalkeepers: David De Gea (Manchester United), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea), Pau Lopez (Real Betis)
Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Nacho Fernandez (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Marc Bartra (Real Betis), Jonny Castro (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Marcos Alonso (Chelsea), Jose Gaya (Valencia)
Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Atletico Madrid), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid)
Forwards: Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo), Alvaro Morata (Chelsea), Suso (AC Milan), Rodrigo Moreno (Valencia), Paco Alcacer (Borussia Dortmund)