Charlie Christie - Spain deserve to reign in the sporting world
Last Sunday was yet another huge shot in the arm for Spanish sport as firstly 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz destroyed Novak Djokovic in straight sets at Wimbledon before the Spanish football team lifted the 2024 Euros in Berlin later that night.
As an avid tennis fan, it was quite surreal watching Djokovic being dismantled by his younger opponent given that I, along with so many others, had become accustomed to seeing the Serbian dictate matches over so many years – especially on the grass at Wimbledon.
This time though it was the young man from Villena, near Alicante, who had all the answers allied to some majestic shot-making which saw him win his fourth grand slam title and his second in 2024 after his epic 5 set triumph over Alexander Zverev at the French Open in June.
After Federer, Nadal and Djokovic this looks like it represents a new dawn in men’s tennis and, along with 22-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz could go on to dominate the sport for many years to come.
After enjoying the afternoon’s tennis, I nervously settled down with friends to watch England’s latest attempt to ‘bring it on home’ against the tournament’s most entertaining team and yet again the Spanish didn’t disappoint.
Luis De La Fuente was relatively unknown in European football circles when he became the Spanish manager in December 2022, but he had certainly served his apprenticeship having coached in the lower national leagues prior to joining the Spanish FA in 2013 where he worked with a hugely talented under 19 squad.
His team in Germany were worthy winners having won all seven matches which included being the only side to come through the group phase with nine points and no goals conceded.
Their system was incredibly flexible allowing them to deploy a high pressing game when required or taking the sting out of matches, if necessary, by retaining possession and being more conservative in their approach.
For a period in that second half, they ran England ragged and had Dani Olmo’s 48th minute strike gone in then the final score would have undoubtedly been far more comfortable for ‘La Roja’.
Along with Olmo, their wide players Williams and Lamal were causing England all sorts of problems at that stage, but it was the technical masterclass and fluid movement on display that allowed them 65 per cent possession and to dictate the tempo of much of the game: not dissimilar to that majestic Spanish team of the 2008 – 2012 era.
England gave it their best shot and Cole Palmer’s fine finish gave them hope with 20 minutes left but it would have been a travesty had Spain not won.
They were the best team throughout the tournament and over the course of the final were superior to England in all aspects of the game.
After Gareth Southgate’s unsurprising resignation on Tuesday morning England now begin the search for a new manager and, whilst he was not everyone’s cup of tea, it is hard to argue with his record with the national team. He leaves a group of very talented players in situ for the next incumbent and it will be interesting to see who the English FA appoint as they continue their never-ending quest to bring it home!
