The world champions are out. History. Kaput. Spain are
gone. Tied first in departing this tournament, with Australia. Not in body,
because there is still the matter of a meaningless final group game in Curitiba
on Monday, but mathematically and in spirit. They trooped off the pitch in the
Maracana Stadium last night, heads bowed, all resistance spent. After two games
they have no points and a goal difference that reads 1-7. This truly is a
seismic development for football.
It is the worst defence of a World Cup title in
history, poorer even than Italy in South Africa four years ago. They, too,
exited at the group stage, but at least their final game was live. Spain now
travel Brazil a redundant embarrassment. Nobody wants to be one of those teams,
the dead rubberers, fulfilling a fixture list simply because they must.
This will be the game that many say marks the end of
the era of tiki-taka, too, but with that is raised a more existential question.
Was there ever any such thing? Did tiki-taka create a great Spanish team, or
was it merely itself the invention of 11 outstanding players.
And one in particular: Xavi Hernandez of Barcelona. We
think systems make players, but perhaps it is the other way around. Holland
have played great football since the era of Johann Cruyff, but has it ever
again been total football?
And Spain will no doubt come again – but will it be
with tiki-taka, or some new philosophy that simply suits their XI at the time.
Diego Costa is most certainly not a disciple of tiki-taka. He is an
old-fashioned target man, of the type that every English club once had.
Xavi, meanwhile, was dropped for this game, having
been partly responsible for the 5-1 defeat by Holland last week. In his
absence, others tried to recreate Spain’s style, but without success. Xabi
Alonso had a terrible time and was substituted after 45 minutes. They tried to
tiki, they tried to taka, but without Xavi at his peak it just wasn’t the same.
Chile were, by contrast, magnificent. It would be
wrong to say they played without a philosophy, because they were superbly
organised, pressed high and upset Spain’s rhythm beautifully.
Yet there is no catchy name for what Chile do, no
books that are written on its rise, no credit given for changing modern
football as Spain have done with their three straight tournament wins.
Jorge Sampaoli, an Argentinian, has simply got his
team playing excellent, technical, hard-working football of the type that wins
big matches, and maybe tournaments, too – unless the big guns of South America
buck their ideas up here. Chile looked better than Argentina did at the
Maracana on Sunday, and were an upgrade on either of Brazil’s two performances
so far. They took their chances, defended manfully, ran to the point of
exhaustion and showed great courage after half-time when Brazil threw the kitchen
sink at them. It wasn’t always comfortable, but it certainly wasn’t fortunate.
What happens now in the final game against Holland may depend on how keen
either team is to avoid Brazil, who it is presumed will win Group A. If both
teams go for the top spot in Group B on that presumption, it could be one of
the matches of the tournament.
Fittingly, the Maracana is where this World Cup has
found its truest, noisiest expression. Why Brazil have avoided coming here
until the final, therefore, is a mystery. In their absence, the rest of the
continent has taken residence – Chile raising the decibel level above even the
crescendo of Argentina on Sunday. And that was before they took a two goal
half-time lead against the world champions.
Spain had too much to lose, while Chile played like a
team that could only be heroes. The exclusion of Xavi and defender Gerard Pique
– but, fatefully, not goalkeeper Iker Casillas – spoke of the trauma suffered
in the five goal defeat to Holland. Chile’s players, by contrast, spent the
previous night socialising with friends and family at their beachfront hotel in
Barra. It showed. In the second minute Gonzalo Jara headed an Alexis Sanchez
corner just wide to roars of approval and the pattern was set. Chile were not
in the least intimidated by this occasion. There were here to destroy some
serious reputations.
