National coach Luis de la Fuente’s 1st away game was not what was expected in Spain. “There’s a long way to go,” was the coach’s defence.
Spanish slip in Scotland: “The grass was too long”
Despite an optical field dominance with 68 percent possession, Spain hardly had any clear chances at Hampden Park. “It was a painful defeat,” said De la Fuente, who after Vicente Miera in September 1991 is the first national coach to lose his first away match with Spain. “We tried everything, but it didn’t work. There’s still a long way to go. We have planted seeds and I am sure the future will be brighter. I don’t deviate an inch from the idea I convey to the players.”
“Shipwreck,” headlines Sport. “What’s the plan? The coach has a huge task.” writes Marca after the loss in Scotland. “Spain was involved in a wonderfully beautiful battle at Hampden Park. It was like a game from another time, of players without tattoos, of kamikaze crosses and of people in the stands who didn’t even look at their mobiles. Spain emerged from that battle fairly defeated, whatever De la Fuente had tried.”
Unfavourable pitch
According to defender David Garcia, the state of the field in Glasgow did not cooperate for the Spaniards. “We already saw that the grass was too long and that disadvantaged us,” said the 29-year-old Osasuna debutant. “We can’t use that as an excuse. And we have to look at ourselves and make up for what we did wrong today.”
Manchester City midfielder Rodri opened fire on the Scots’ style of play at Viaplay. “It’s the way they play, in the end you have to respect it, but to me it’s rubbish. Wasting time, provoking, falling. That’s not football to me. The referee doesn’t do anything about it and that’s frustrating, because we want to win.”
Under the skin
The captain on the other hand, Andy Robertson, did not agree with the words of Spain captain Rodri. “I think they went down easily,” said the Liverpool defender. “We have not crossed a border. They rolled around the field a bit too much in the first half, giving us a couple of cards. But we won the battle and got under their skin.”
Meanwhile, 167-time international Iker Casillas called on to keep calm. He said,” Spain was the best on Saturday. We would win the fourth European Championship. No one remembered Luis Enrique. Today the coach is nothing more. Spain is a disaster. They do not qualify for the European Championship. And we’ve only just begun…”
