Busquets c 6. Llorente 7. Morata 8. Koke 9. Gerard Thiago Torres Rodri Alba Olmo Oyarzabal Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors. Thank you for signing up to Four Four Two. You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Not on this occasion. For the first time ever, not a single player from Real Madrid was selected, with just three from Barcelona. To put that into perspective, of the man squad to go to the World Cup, no fewer than 10 His squad mixes veterans with young players, exciting talents such as Pedri, 18, and Ferran Torres, 21, alongside veterans including year-old Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta, and the experienced Sergio Busquets, There is another new face in Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte, who had turned down the chance of representing Spain in the past, citing that his aim was to play at senior level for France.
But with Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps repeatedly opting not to play him, and with Fifa approving a change of nationality, Laporte is now eligible for Spain and started their frustrating opening draw with Sweden.
Despite dominating world football between and , Spain have not even got close to winning any of the three major tournaments that have taken place since. If it goes well this summer, Luis Enrique will be a hero. If it goes drastically wrong, the media will have a field day. But for some time now, the year-old has been convinced it does not matter what he says in front of the cameras or microphones because most journalists, he feels, are only looking for a soundbite or moment of controversy.
For that reason, his relationship with the media has been strained at best - and he does not give one-on-one interviews now. In the past, he has never felt the need to make the right noises to the press or go through hoops in order to placate them. Another reporter who asked him about a conversation that had allegedly taken place in the dressing room was told: "You still have 15 years competing in the lower categories before we can bring you into the first team.
When you're a first-team player, then you will find out about the talks given by the coach. But to the media's credit, the self-imposed news blackout during his daughter's illness was strictly adhered to and demonstrated from them a show of compassion. Luis Enrique himself has a very small group of journalists he knows and trusts and whom he counts among his friends and in recent times, convinced by the media department of the national side, and he has certainly made efforts to build bridges, trying to come across in a more amenable and less confrontational manner.
Much of that will matter little compared to the ultimate metric of what happens on the pitch. But either way, there is little chance Luis Enrique will change. He has always been, and will always be, his own man. Listen to nocturnal mixtapes specially curated from his music collection.
Everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment. The latest rumours and stories from around the world of football. Analysis and opinion from our chief football writer. How to get into football - the most popular sport in the world, with clubs and facilities throughout the UK. Luis Enrique took over as Spain boss after their last exit from the World Cup In June , less than a year after taking over as Spain manager, Luis Enrique announced he would be leaving for personal reasons.
Top Stories. England's Genge out of Australia Test. Wales secure play-off place at least. It is the fifth managerial spell for Spain since June , all under president Luis Rubiales. Julen Lopetegui was sacked on the eve of the World Cup after agreeing to join Real Madrid following the tournament. Everyone knew that if Luis Enrique wanted to come back he had the doors open. Luis Enrique left the team camp in March, on the eve of their meeting with Malta.
He continued to manage the team from a distance, with Moreno on the bench on his behalf.
0コメント