Raúl and the club of 100 caps

Yesterday, an event promoted by UEFA and the Spanish FA made a tribute on the modern myths of the Spanish NT: they players who have more than 100 caps with La Roja. Andoni Zubizarreta (126 caps), Iker Casillas (125 caps) and Xavi Hernández (105 caps) were in the facilities of the RFEF in Las Rozas and got a commemorative blue cap with a golden tassel for it. Angel María Villar, the president of the Spanish FA, said: "Only those who have been football players know how difficult this is".

The cap is a symbol, it represents the first international match, played in 1872 between England and Scotland. Each player of this match were given a cap as memento of this match and this tradition still continues in England. Also László Kubala, in his times as coach of the Spanish NT, used to give a cap to the players that were called to play the international matches.

Xavi, Casillas and Zubizarreta

The first Spanish player to reach the 100 caps record was the goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta, who defended the shirt of the Spanish team from 1985 to 1998, playing 4 World Cups and 2 Euros, while playing for different clubs like Athletic, Barcelona and Valencia. In his speech, Zubizarreta made his personal tribute on players who also deserved to reach these 100 games, but never did it, like "Iribar, Arconada, Hierro or Camacho".

Iker Casillas also got his cap, the captian of the team, the one who raised the Euro and World Cup trophies in images that will be kept forever in the retinas of the Spanish people. Iker Casillas recalled that he was called for the first time 11 years ago and assured that he faced "the next match as it was the last". Iker Casillas probably represents the times of a golden generation of goalkeepers in Spain, including his teammates Pepe Reina and Victor Valdés, not forgetting others who are triumphing in La Liga or abroad. As good captain, he also recalled all the teammates he had in all these years. "Without them, it would not have been possible".

Zubizarreta

A double tribute awaited for Xavi Hernández, who also got the gold medal of the RFEF, aside the already mentioned UEFA's cap. Surrounded by two special coaches for him, like Luis Aragonés and Vicente Del Bosque, Xavi assured that he felt "priviled to live from football, achieving so many things of a sport that I love and adore". The Catalan midfielder, who made his debut in the year 2000, made some memory and recalled that, in this team, "we lived not so good eras, like nowadays, but with all this recognition and these victories, I am enjoying like a kid". Xavi also got a particular tribute in the words of Del Bosque and Aragonés. The current coach of the Spanish team used him as an example by stating that Xavi "represents the modern player in and out of the pitch, a singular player, gathering too much football in his boots, a very complete player". Luis Aragonés, who Xavi himself labaled as the coach who made him reach a new level, highlighted the "virtues of this player and his extraordinary quality" to raise the importance of this player in the current scheme by assuring that "the influence of the coach is not that high, the example is Xavi for his way to live and play".

This event also made a tribute to several players for the importance of their goals in the history of the Spanish national team. Five paintings of these goals were shown. We refer to the goal of Zarra in Maracaná in the World Cup 1950 against England, which allowed Spain to end up in the fourth position of this tournament, which was the highest achievement of this competition for this team until the last World Cup. The goal headed by Marcelino against the USSR in the Euro 64 final in the Santiago Bernabéu, the first international title of the team. The winning goal of Kiko Narváez against Poland in the last minutes of the Olympic Games 1992 in Barcelona's Camp Nou, a goal which was worth a gold medal. The goal of Torres in Vienna, in the Euro 2008, the goal that opened the era of the champions. And, of course, Andrés Iniesta's historical volley in Johannesburg, in the South Africa World Cup final.

Iker Casillas and the Euro 2008

Another played had been invited to this tribute, another player who also has more than 100 caps: Raúl González. The nowadays Schalke 04 player and already madridista and Spanish NT legend declined the invitation with a very weak excuse sent via fax: a training session with his current team, because Schalke had a friendly match. Yesterday, the department of communication of his own club denied the existence of this friendly match. Raúl erased himself from this tribute, showing his personal feelings in a historical error.

There was a time when Raúl was a living legend inside the Spanish team. Raúl broke all the goal-scoring records, he was the Gran Capitán, the Siete de España (the 7 of Spain). In the summer of 2006, Luis Aragonés' Spanish team had failed in the World Cup played in Germany. The more experienced French team had knocked out a team that mixed veteran players like Michel Salgado, David Albelda, Santi Cañizares and Raúl González with the core of young players that nowadays form the golden generation of the Spanish football. This failure had a bitter taste and there were rumors of rebellion inside the Spanish team, led by the veterans. Salgado, Albelda and Cañizared disappeared from the team for good, but Raúl was the captain.

Xavi, leader and reference

In the following official match, already in the qualifiers of the Euro 2008, Spain visited Belfast to face Northern Ireland. With the smoke of the ashes of the previous tournament visible, Spain failed in a miserable way and got a shameful 3-2 defeat. The press exploded and Luis Aragonés was targeted. At that moment, Luis Aragonés took a decisive decision, dropping Raúl González from the national team to give a new protagonist role to the young generation led by Xavi as the reference of the new style. The decision was an earthquake and, despite the results backed the team, Luis Aragonés had to deal with uncomfortable questions about Raúl in every press conference. The pressure was huge on the coach, a rising pressure while the Euro 2008 got closer and closer, while Raúl recovered his best goal ratio. In the 2006/2007 season, Raúl scored 23 goals and, in the following season, 24 goals. In these two seasons, Raúl won two Ligas and was near the figures of his best years, when he built his legend. Despite the huge pressure of a sector of the press and the constant "Raúl, yes; Raúl no", Luis Aragonés kept betting for the new system and the new generation, leaving Raúl out of the Euro 2008. The rest is history and, even Del Bosque, did not touch what was not broken.

Raúl never criticized the decision in public and Luis Aragonés never closed the door to a possible return and only with the pass of time admit that "there was a point when the national team was too big for Raúl and we had to think in the team and not in a player". The rumors were different though. Luis Aragonés always defended the new model of team around the midfielders, mainly Xavi. The Catalan midfielder and Luis Aragonés designed the team that has given Spain the highest achievements of its history and Raúl did not fit in this new concept. Raúl, always moderate in public, was in the mouths of many people in the tribute on the historical players. These voices suggested that Raúl holds resentment on Luis Aragonés and some players who blocked his presence in the national team in the Euro 2008, his last chance to achieve an international title, the only titles he missed in his infinite curriculum of records.

Raúl and Euro trophy

This resentment made him blind to understand the mechanics of football and his no presence is a historical record that he will probably regret in some years, when the perspective of time and the calm of the retirement allow him to realize that the changes made by Luis Aragonés in the national team were necessary, logic and ended up giving Spain the so wished titles... despite he was the main victim of it. The Gran Capitán failed to understand that he should have been there, with his teammates Zubizarreta, Casillas and Xavi, because his weight in the history of the Spanish team is huge, because it is impossible to understand the modern history of the team without him, because these titles do not hide his legendary status. In one way or another, Raúl also got his commemorative cap and the place in history he still is unable to understand.

David Silva, Del Bosque and Luis Aragonés.

June 16 2010, Spain made their debut in the World Cup they ended up winning against Switzerland. The coach of the team, Vicente Del Bosque bets on a system that is similar (but not the same) to Luis Aragonés' lineups in the previous Euro 2008. But the result could not have been worse and Spain lost 0-1 against the Swiss team. There was a victim of this game: David Silva. Since then, the player of Manchester City did not count for Vicente Del Bosque, who has been calling him, but always for a very secondary role. Last week, David Silva exploded and targeted Del Bosque: "He does not trust in me". The words of someone who feels strong after the memorable games Silva is playing in the Premier League. But behind these words there is a debate that has been hidden under the success of the Spanish NT.

There is a remarkable difference between Luis Aragonés and Vicente Del Bosque, a difference that is not irrelevant: Silva or Xabi Alonso. After the World Cup 2006 and the failure in Northern Ireland in the qualifying round of the Euro 2008, Luis Aragonés made a bet for the rupture. Since the World Cup 1998, Spain had been walking on the shoulders of Raúl, icon of the Spanish NT and Real Madrid. Raúl defined the style. Raúl was not a classic striker, but a forward that always played with a striker along him. Since then until 2006, Spain had been using a system with two forwads, two wingers and a double midfield. However, Luis Aragonés thought that the change was needed and there was a radical change in the model and the point of gravity. The team would not turn around Raúl, but a new figure: Xavi. This change was not just a change of names, but a change of style. The huge personality of Raúl swallowed everything, while the new model around Xavi focused on the system. Xavi defines the style as long as he has partners that speak his language.

Xavi

In this idea of football, Xavi was the center and it was necessary to create the appropriate atmosphere for him. Since then, Spain basically played with a defensive midfielder (Senna), two central midfielders (Xavi and Iniesta) and two open players cutting in (Villa or Silva) plus a striker (Torres). The system admitted some changes, as in the semifinals and the final of the Euro, when Villa got injured. Then Cesc was the 12th player instead of David Villa. Using this system, Luis Aragonés took the best of the Spanish team, in terms of success and brilliance.

Vicente Del Bosque, during the qualifiers for the World Cup 2010 did not fix what was not broken, but the rivals were not important enough to know his intentions. Besides, some injuries, especially in the case of Iniesta, the main victim, made not possible to know his real intentions. And, in this situation, we go back to June 16 2010. Spain lose against Switzerland and Del Bosque points the guilty: David Silva. Silva disappeared from the lineups and Del Bosque made a cautious approach. The idea was the same, ball possession and attacking football.... but with the handbrake on. Del Bosque made a very strong bet on a double defensive midfield, untouchable until these days, with Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso. While Sergio Busquets may fit in the shoes of Marcos Senna, since both were used to play in a system with only one anchor man, the main difference was Xabi Alonso. If everything had to turn around Xavi Hernández, the Catalan midfielder lost a partner upfront to get one at his back.

Alonso & Busquets

Spain won the World Cup, showing good moments of football, but never reaching the brilliance of the Euro 2008. Since the knock-out rounds, Spain won all the games with a short 1-0. Spain was the best team, probably because they had the best players on the pitch, but the new system killed some of the beauty shown in the Euro 2008. The difference was Xabi Alonso instead of Silva. Last week, Silva talked to the media and said that "before the game against Switzerland, I had confidence. I played regularly and I had a place in the team, but everything started to change with the defeat. Because of this reason, with the pass of time, I believe I was the victim of the bad debut in the World Cup. The only thing I say is that Luis (Aragones) trust in me... Del Bosque thinks in a different way. I am going to work to keep the level I am showing in this first games, however, I doubt that I can have a protagonist role in the Euro. I feel I played in a high level and it was not enough to have a place in the starting XI. There are lots of good midfielders, not good, really good! Nothing to say about them to be chosen. I do not discuss the lineups: I analyze my situation and I am not happy. And I do not see that anything is going to change. Not playing for Barça or Madrid damages me".

Probably David Silva is right in his thoughts. The problem is not his good or bad performances, but Del Bosque's concept of football. Del Bosque sacrificed an attacking player to introduce a defensive midfielder to cover his back. Del Bosque is not Luis Aragonés, who created the circle around Xavi, nor Guardiola, who is the flag of La Masia's style. Del Bosque always trusted in the double defensive midfield, call it Makelele-Helguera or Busquets-Alonso. But, definitely, it is out of question that Del Bosque belong to a more conservative school in terms of lineup design. Del Bosque probably believes that it is better to keep the back well covered, since the talent in attack will solve the games anyway. It is logical to think that, at some point, Xavi or Iniesta will find Villa, Torres or whoever to win a game... but everything starts by keeping the order in defense. It is not that Luis Aragonés does not trust in defensive balance, he surely did, since his motto was "compete, compete, compete". But Luis Aragonés thought that the balance was assured with only one defensive midfielder... this is not possible for Del Bosque's idea.

David Silva

The consequence is that Spain waste two magnificent attacking midfielders like David Silva and Cesc Fàbregas, relegated to a secondary role, to hype Alonso and Busquets. The gravity of Spain's football is 20 meters backwards and this is not irrelevant. At the same time, Xavi will probably keep doing well, since his talent is out of question. However, when he raises his head, he will miss references that he usually has in Barcelona or used to have in Luis Aragonés' Spain. So far, both systems triumphed, but Spain's brilliance got lost in the way and the results started to walk on a thin line of 1-0's.

The debate was hidden by the success, but I am glad that David Silva put it on the table and it will mark the future of Spain. Personally, I believe it is a tragedy to punish Silva and/or Cesc in order to play with Alonso, when Busquets has shown to be capable of doing the task by himself. Why punish the attack with such a defensive and (why not) coward approach? Why? Del Bosque may win the Euro again, but I doubt Spain will find the excellence of the Euro 2008 again... and the absence of David Silva explains the difference.

Thiago Alcántara, blessed problem

You did not need to be a genius to realize that Thiago Alcántara is the player of La Masia with more potential, at least in the short term. He had been amazing everyone since he joined the youth system of Barcelona and it was evident that the kid had all the talent to triumph in football if he kept everything else in the right direction. Aside the talent, Thiago seems to have an infinite ambition. Last year, he started the season with Barcelona Atlètic in Segunda División, but his football was too good for the cathegory and the club was "forced" to make him part of the first team during the season, automatically activating a clause to raise his buyout price in order to avoid surprises, since he already was in the agenda of half Europe. The same ambition that betrayed him when he said that he wanted to triumph in football, not necessarily in Barcelona. Words that forced him to apologize fast... but also the kind of words that made people doubt about his head, since he would not be the first player to lose track in the progression for thinking too high too soon.

At the end of last season, Pep Guardiola set the objectives for this summer and, once again, Cesc Fàbregas was in the list. Many people made a logical interpretation: Xavi is already 31 and will be 32 early next year and, last year, the injuries were hauting him. Despite he did not show signs of decline, it is evident that he will have to start to save efforts pretty soon. Andrés Iniesta is in the peak moment of his career and is Xavi's perfect partner. But then, there was a gap between the fantastic duo and Thiago Alcántara. No one had doubts about his talent, but it was normal to have doubts about the capacity of such a young player to drive the most exigent midfield of the World so soon. Thiago was good, very good, but too young to be compared with the 2 best midfienders of the last years. And this is why, the logical reasoning asked for Cesc, a player with La Masia DNA, experience and leadership skills. It would be perfect for Barcelona and for Thiago's development.

Before the U-21 Euro, Luis Milla, the Spanish NT's coach and someone who knows Johan Cruyff's psychological methods too well said about Thiago: "If Thiago wants to be like Xavi or Cesc, he needs to be humble". A kind of attack on his star, which suggested that Thiago still had a lot to learn, trying to cool all the hype about him. Thiago responded with a magnificent tournament driving Spain to the victory, showing great football. Later on, Thiago joined Barcelona's pre-season and, if there is a name that is shining above the rest is Thiago Alcántara's.

Cesc is not in Barcelona yet and, once more, Thiago is going very fast, jumping stages in his career. With the signing of Cesc to be decided, Thiago is making people have doubts about the necessity of the player of Arsenal, considering the huge amount of money Arsenal is asking for. The debate is in the streets, is Cesc necessary having Thiago in the pocket? When at the end of May, most of the barcelonisme was convinced about Cesc, now things are not that obvious and there is an important sector that defends to give the #4 to Thiago Alcántara... the guy is prepared for it.

There are 2 possible scenarios: If Cesc joins Barcelona, will it be a problem for Thiago? Barcelona would gather 4 fantastic players for 2 or 3 positions (Iniesta can still be a fake winger) and Pep Guardiola would have to drive the situation very well, since it is hard to keep 4 players of very high level happy, if they do not enjoy all the minutes they want. In that situation, it is likely that Thiago would be the one enjoying less minutes and the club already knows the hot mouth of the Spanish-Brazilian player.

The 2nd possible scenario is Cesc staying in London. Then the question that arises is: Is Thiago prepared for the big games? One thing is to shine in pre-season games and a different one is to do it in the important matches of the official season. Xavi and Iniesta had to work and fight a lot to be where they are. In that sense, as much as Thiago is impressive, he also needs to keep in mind that things are not always that easy and sometimes you need to clash against the floor to get up stronger. It is not stupid to think that Thiago still has a lot to learn and do to compare his career with Xavi's and Iniesta's ones... even with Cesc's.

At this point, probably, Thiago is going faster than Pep Guardiola would have thought at the end of May and two possible scenarios seem to open long debates in Can Barça. Guardiola definitely has a problem and he will have to find a solution... but blessed problem!

Why Xavi should be the #1

Yesterday, UEFA announced the 3 nominees for their Best Player in Europe Award: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi Hernández, and the winner will be crowned in the UEFA Gala at the end of August, as always, in Montecarlo. Some months ago, UEFA said that "the new accolade will recognise the best player, irrespective of his nationality, playing for a football club within the territory of a UEFA member association during the previous season. For the inaugural award, players will be judged by their performances during the 2010-2011 campaing in all the competitions, both domestic and international, and at club and national team levels". The jury is formed by 53 journalists, members of the European Sports Media (EMS). Basically, this award is an answer to the FIFA World Player after they merged with France Football's Ballon D'Or and, somehow, wants to fill the space left by the award of the French magazine.

Aside the 3 nominees, UEFA announced the top-10 and there is a fact to highlight: aside Xavi and Messi, FC Barcelona have 2 other players in the top-10, Gerard Piqué and Andrés Iniesta, who was 4th in the votes. So, according to these results, 3 of the 4 best players in Europe play in Pep Guardiola's and the Spanish NT teams. These results do not differ much from the last FIFA World Player Award, which suggests some consensus about the domination of the mentioned teams in their respective tournaments.

Out of the pure facts, I must admit that I am not a big fan of these individual awards. In fact, I believe they are unfair and somehow silly, since I believe football is a collective game, a team game, where the synergies are more important than the pure sum of individuals. Of course, individual talent is important, but it only excels when the collective functioning works as a perfect machine, where the connections, the associations, the flow of a system allows the players to express their natural talent inside the rules and discipline of a system.

Is Xavi better than Messi and Ronaldo? First of all, I believe it is not possible to compare. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo probably represent the image of football, they are the best commercial of the game, outstanding players who make the difference when and where it matters. Both are a joy to watch, each one in their own style. No one is going to discover their talent at this point and, of course, if they win any personal award, I would have nothing to say about it. Xavi is not in charge of the electric chair as the other two, his style is more subtle, or just different, impossible to compare.

So why Xavi? Despite I know that these awards are a recognition for the contribution of a particular player in a particular season, I also believe that it is necessary to take some distance and analyze the overall moment. It is evident that Xavi can not compete with the other 2 in terms of goals, highlights or these particular moments that, at the end, are the aspects which make this game be different and attractive. On the other hand, before the goals and the highlights, there is a team, in FC Barcelona, Real Madrid or any other team you can think about. A team that, with their collective performance allows the executioners to excel in what they do.

Looking at the last years, the most successful club has been FC Barcelona. A success based on a certain and maybe unique style of football, which has attracted the attention of the World. At the same time, the Spanish NT won the Euro 2008 and the World Cup 2010, with a different system, but the same idea of football. Basically, we are talking about the most successful teams of their era, in the club and international level respectively. All these teams have something in common: Xavi Hernández.

History will say that, in this era of football, there was a dominant style and, in my opinion, the icon of the style is Xavi. The Catalan player is the engine, the brain and the soul of the teams he plays in. Xavi and his way to view football define the idea of his teams: Barcelona and the Spanish NT. Without Xavi, it would be impossible to understand the success of the dominant teams of this era. Pep Guardiola is not Luis Aragonés and none of them is Vicente Del Bosque and vice versa. The system changes, the mechanisms are different, but the philosophy is the same and the whole idea is built around Xavi.

As extraordinary as they are, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo do not define a style, they do not change the teams they are in. They are the best in what they do. They make the difference and they would do it anywhere they would go, but none of them have the influence to change the style. Put it this way, Barcelona and Spain would not be what they are without Xavi. They might be as good as they are nowadays, they might win everything too, but they would be different. Xavi is the key of the idea, everything flows around him, the teams where he plays in build their overall mechanisms and automatic movements around the game of Xavi. If intelligent and patient ball possession is successful, it is because there is a player called Xavi, who reads the game as no one else does nowadays, always choosing the best option, giving the ball backwards instead of losing it or risking an impossible pass, accelerating the pace of the game with a killing assist that breaks 2 defensive lines, but always with an idea in mind: "if the ball is yours, the rival does not have it", which is an idea that breaks the supposed defense and attack border to become an overall idea of football. If the ball is yours, you can score the goals you need... and if the ball is yours, the rival does not have the ball they need to score a goal against you.

Maybe these awards will never recognize the individual achievement of this player, but I believe history will put this Barcelona and this Spanish NT in their right place and Xavi will always be recalled as the architect of their idea of football. I do not believe in personal awards, but I believe in recognition where its due. This is why I believe Xavi should be the #1.