When Sergio Camello scored for Spain within the a centesimal minute of the males’s Olympic remaining on Friday, France coach Thierry Henry turned from his place on the touchline and tried to stroll again to his bench. However there was an issue.
A flood of Spanish gamers and workers had poured off their bench and have been speeding in direction of Camello, sprinting by means of France’s technical space and forcing Henry to strive, in useless, to slide by means of the Spanish siege. Ultimately, the French legend simply slumped his shoulders, endured the bumps and bristles, and waited as La Roja gained 5-3 to select up their gold medal.
Henry’s expertise is, in some ways, what your entire soccer universe goes by means of proper now. Spain’s dominance — throughout ages and genders and tournaments of all types — is full and whole, leaving the remainder of the soccer world to marvel simply how lengthy this all may final.
The record of Spanish titles is getting comically lengthy. As only a sampling, contemplate that Spain’s males’s groups have gained: this yr’s Olympics and European Championship, in addition to final yr’s Nations League. Their ladies’s group gained final yr’s World Cup and this yr’s Nations League, whereas their under-19 groups — on each the boys’s and ladies’s facet — gained each of this summer time’s European Championships.
It’s a staggering resume, much more so when you think about that the success is not confined to the senior stage. This Olympic males’s event, as largely an under-23 competitors, was simply one other reminder that Spain’s expertise pipeline is deep.
Whereas some squads right here used their three permitted overage gamers to carry the best of top-line gamers — like, say, bronze medalists Morocco rostering Achraf Hakimi, who is perhaps the very best proper again on the earth — Spain was extra modest. Juan Miranda, Sergio Gómez and Abel Ruiz are stout, to make certain, however not spectacular.
Quite, the hearth on this Spanish squad got here from its on-the-rise stars. Simply take a look at what occurred Friday: Barcelona‘s Fermín López (21 years previous) and Villarreal’s Álex Baena (23) are the one two gamers on the Olympic group to have additionally gained the Euros, and so they mixed to attain three of the 5 Spanish targets in opposition to France, with substitute Camello, additionally 23, ending the job together with his pair.
Soccer followers could really feel like this phenomenon is acquainted. Certainly, the boys’s group had a sustained interval of dominance within the late 2000s and early 2010s, sandwiching a World Cup title in 2010 with Euros wins in 2008 and 2012. That model of La Roja toyed with its opponents, stringing passes collectively by the a whole lot and grinding video games to mud.
That is totally different, partially due to the way it stretches past merely one program but in addition due to how Spain is doing it. From a personnel perspective, it’s unimaginable to disregard the continuity Spain has sought in its teaching: Luis de la Fuente, who led the senior group to the Euros, was a longtime youth nationwide group coach, profitable U19 and U21 Euros with Spain earlier than shifting as much as the best stage.
Santi Denia, who managed the Olympic group to gold, has an analogous background. He’s presently the Spanish U21 coach, and beforehand spent eight years because the U17 coach and 4 years because the U19 coach.
That familiarity with the bigger pool of Spanish gamers permits for unbelievable institutional reminiscence, in addition to true consolation with a bigger enjoying philosophy. Whereas these earlier Spanish groups have been identified for the relentless, short-passing tiki-taka fashion, the present iterations do not at all times dominate the ball — France truly had 55% of possession within the Olympic remaining — however focus extra on clearly outlined roles and duties, in addition to skilled execution and precision.
That was on show in opposition to France, because the host nation had extra early probabilities (and took the primary lead), solely to have Spain rating on what felt like every of their first three vital forays into assault.
Their ending was chic. Baena lower an inch-perfect move throughout the penalty space that Lopez first-timed expertly into the nook for the primary Spanish purpose earlier than pouncing on a rebound moments later to push Spain in entrance. Baena’s dipping free kick — swooping over the wall and diving down simply so — offered the third. Camello’s ending was equally exact, as he coolly chipped on-rushing France goalkeeper Guillaume Restes to place Spain in entrance in additional time earlier than doing it once more on the break simply earlier than full-time to seal it.
Afterward, Henry gathered his gamers collectively in a circle on the sphere earlier than everybody went inside to alter into their official Olympic medal ceremony tracksuits. Henry gained a lot as a participant for membership and nation however has but to seek out any vital success as a coach.
His future is among the lingering subplots from this Olympics, and the place he goes subsequent — to work underneath Didier Deschamps? To educate one other nationwide group just like the United States? Some other place? It is a query that can absolutely play itself out over the following days and weeks. Wherever he finally ends up, although, Henry will probably must reckon with some model of the issue he confronted on Friday night: Find out how to keep away from a Spanish surge that exhibits no indicators of stopping.
