“Have you seen any Spanish player complaining about a teammate?” they ask from within the Spanish camp in Germany. “Well,” they reply; “There you have the answer.”
Spain closes its goal in Germany. And it doesn’t matter whether the three posts are guarded by Unai Simón (Croatia and Italy) or David Raya (Albania), or whether the defense is led by Nacho (Croatia) or Laporte (Italy and Albania): La Roja is the only team in the Euro Cup that ended the group stage without conceding a goal. An unprecedented fact in the 21st century for the absolute team and that coincides with the most successful stage of Spain, two-time European champion in 2008 and 2012. It is not a coincidence. At least, that’s how Luis de la Fuente’s staff understands it.
“It is very common in the world of football to see a player making a fuss or moving his arms to reproach a teammate for an action,” the coaching staff explains. And that, according to the same source, does not happen in La Roja. “Here you can see Morata, who is the captain, talking to a teammate, but so does Cucurella, who has been with us for a short time.” It is no longer just about camaraderie, nor about Morata’s choral leadership and zero leadership, the answer to La Roja’s tough defense is communication.
“Pressure, to put it simply, can be compared to a mathematical formula. One presses this one, the other one this other one. And if one doesn’t get there, the other one covers for him. Do you know what isn’t mathematical? Communication, what the players say to each other on the field. They coordinate and do it without gestures. That’s what a team is. The coach can give instructions, but they are the ones who interpret the plays on the field,” the same sources from the Roja group conclude.
It all boils down, in short, to the first talk that De la Fuente had with his footballers at the Las Rozas Football City before traveling to Donaueschingen, Spain’s base camp in Germany. “We are a family, defending is everyone’s business,” the coach repeated over and over again. “You just have to work as a team, with help to your teammate and with the ability to recover the ball. You must talk to each other and help each other in the field,” De la Fuente asked them. The clean sheet, then, is explained from an intangible point of view (coordination), but also from the tangible (data).
According to data provided by StatsBomb, Spain is the fourth team that allows the fewest opponent passes before recovering the ball: 9.88. Only Austria (7.66), Germany (7.86) and Belgium (9.28) will surpass it. And it is the third that puts the most pressure after losses (178), only behind Germany (184) and Croatia (180). Pressure after loss is understood when the ball is recovered within five seconds. “The explanation is very easy: they are a team that defends very well. That means there is a collective commitment. That is the secret of this team, from the first striker to the goalkeeper they are committed to the transitions in attack, but also in the defensive ones,” analyzes Raka Alkorta, former defender of Athletic and Real Madrid, 54 times capped by Spain.
Advance the line
Spain is also the fourth team in the Euro Cup to defend with the most advanced line. The average distance of the Red is 50.69 meters per duel in front of their goal line. The table is led by Belgium (53.39), Denmark (51.92) and Germany (52.18). “A team with the ball is one thing and another without it. And Spain has shown to do well in both facets of the game, it is a team with variants. Luis is a great coach and he knows how to convey his message to the players,” Alkorta summarizes.
De la Fuente’s message is interpreted by his forwards: Morata, the first to infect Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal with the pressure—normally more apathetic when it comes to biting—and is continued by Pedri and the two midfielders, Rodri and Fabián. A collective work that makes life easier for the center backs, the most questioned position before landing in Germany. “Nacho was the best center back in the League, especially in the final third. Le Normand was not as brilliant as last season, but he has been very good. It is true that Laporte comes from a less competitive league, but he has shown that he is up to the task. And Vivian is one of the best center backs in Spain. The four have shown that they are at a very high level,” defends Alkorta.
It’s not just a question of the center backs. Carvajal never hides and Cucurella is one of the revelations in Germany. Grimaldo and Navas did not fail either. “The camaraderie between Cucu and Grimaldo is spectacular. And not to mention what Jesús Navas does: against Albania he played for more than half an hour with a swollen ankle. When the game ended I couldn’t even walk. That is the commitment of this team,” they conclude from the coaching staff.
Spain closes the goal in Germany and the explanation is not only on the field, but also in the locker room: the La Roja family.
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