Iniesta set to sprinkle his midfield magic over Spain's quest for Euro 2016 glory
Spain begin their quest for an unprecedented third consecutive European championship on Monday afternoon in Toulouse against the Czech Republic. They face Turkey and Croatia in their other Group D games over the next eight days.
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Four years ago when skipper Iker Casillas hoisted the European Championship trophy aloft, he was not only acknowledging a spectacular 4-0 annihilation of Italy but also the apotheosis of Spain’s tiki-taka football.
The midfield maestros of Andres Iniesta, Xabi Hernandez, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso and David Silva had dictated the tempo of the final in Kiev, passing to ball to each other as well as their team mates with such mesmerising precision, that the final whistle at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev appeared sweet mercy for their beleaguered opponents.
Four goals had been put past Gigi Buffon, one of the world’s best goalkeepers who was operating behind a defence that had only conceded three times in the five games before the final. Spain didn’t even operate with a recognised central striker in the showdown.
Erstwhile hero Fernando Torres, who had been labouring at Chelsea that season, did not even start the final. He came on as a substitute to hit the third goal. Silva had opened the scoring and Jordi Alba added the second just before half-time. Torres and his Chelsea team mate Juan Mata added the gloss in the last six minutes.
Second consecutive title
That Spain won was no surprise. They were the world champions. It was the savage beauty of the demolition. And the defence of the European championship they had claimed in 2008 imbued the triumph with symmetry.
Spain had so often flattered the fantasies. But they were perennial underachievers. It was thought the 2008 crown would ingrain a winning habit. And so it proved. They collected the 2010 World Cup thanks to Iniesta’s goal in extra-time and went on to defend their European crown in Ukraine.
Iniesta has lost his midfield mucker Hernandez who is stacking up the cash for his pension plan courtesy of Al Sadd Doha in Qatar. Iniesta is now the schemer-in-chief while Alonso, Fabregas remain his wily lieutenants but aged 32, 34 and 29 respectively, coach Vicente del Bosque’s knows that their time in the engine room is nearing its end.
His mission is to wrench a historic hurrah from the troika before they shuffle off into international retirement. It remains a tall order though. No nation has won three consecutive European trophies.
“We’ve got immense faith in Iniesta,” said del Bosque. “After an intense season for him at Barcelona, we hope that he will be in good form for the national team.”
It’s unlikely that he won’t be in good shape. And he has experience of transferring his prodigious talents from the domestic to the international arena.
When Spain won in 2008, Iniesta went into the tournament just after Barcelona had claimed the Spanish title and it was the same scenario when Spain won the 2010 World Cup. Six years on, Iniesta confronts what will probably be his last European championship having skippered Barca to the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey.
Since he made his first team debut for Barcelona in 2002, Iniesta has amassed 30 trophies making him the most decorated Spanish footballer. Yet bling is not his thing.
“Football is a serious game in which you should have fun,” he told Spanish reporters recently. “We’re going to prepare for Euro 2016 like we have the others,” he said on the eve of the competition. “This season has been one in which I’ve enjoyed myself individually and collectively.”
That sounds ominous. Adversaries usually don’t want Iniesta having a laugh. It invariably means they don’t have the ball, and they're in for a thrasing.
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