Spain's dominance comes to an End

Euro 2008 marked the beginning of the Spanish dominance on the International stage. The 'Tiki Taka' style that set the footballing world alight was a feared component of the Spaniards game and helped them claim a record three international tournaments in a row. Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 were all won by what is claimed as the golden generation of Spanish football and some have even argued that this was the best football team to ever grace the beautiful game.

But Spain's supremacy over world football had to come to an end one day, and that day was 18th June 2014 when the Spaniard's were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by Chile. The 'Tiki Taka' style football that incorporates a possession based passing and movement was non-existent during their opening two World Cup games, with both the Netherlands and Chile suppressing the Spaniard's possession laden football. To be fair to Spain, they had a tough group, how they would have wished to have faced Australia in their opening match just to get some points on the board. Instead, they are left with a dead rubber against the Australian's with only pride and not coming bottom of the group at stake. But questions have been raised since the end of the Confederations Cup last year when Spain lost 3-0 in the final against Brazil, and now the questions are turning to facts. Teams have found solutions in ways to nullify the passing game that the Spaniard's behold and it was extremely evident against the Netherlands who bought an attacking approach to the table and completely annihilated them in the process. But for me the biggest question is why did manager Vicente Del Bosque elect pretty much the same squad he did four years ago?

The question goes without saying; you can't win the World Cup twice with the same squad. Italy and Brazil are the only two sides to have lifted the Jules Rimet trophy twice in succession, (1934, 1938, Italy, 1958, 1962, Brazil) but arguably the World Cup was much different back then, with less teams and a different format. France, winners at the 1998 World Cup took a similar squad to the 2002 World Cup and subsequently went out in the group stage finishing bottom. The same fate happened to Italy in 2010 coming bottom of the group having won the World Cup in 2006. And now, judging by Spain's performance in Brazil, coming bottom is a dire outcome they may find themselves in if they lose to Australia. I can understand why Del Bosque opted to take the same squad because he would have had faith in these players and know that they are obviously capable of winning a World Cup. But the problem is the lack of hunger the players actually displayed. In fact, the players just seemed lost; Diego Costa seemed obsolete up front and some of the chances he did have were well off target. Seeing him play, it was hard to imagine that this is the same player that netted 27 goals this season for Atletico Madrid. Xavi on the other-hand should just hang up his boots, the 34 year-old hasn't made an impact in football since Euro 2012 and Barcelona's disappointing exploits over the last two seasons is evidence that Xavi has lost his pace and touch. But it's goalkeeper Iker Casillas who has raised the most eyebrows this tournament. Both goals conceded against Chile could have been prevented by Casillas but he just wasn't up to the challenge and his performance in the opening group game against the Netherlands was a complete disaster, finding himself in precarious situations that he had created himself. Casillas is 33, but when you consider the likes of veteran keepers Gianluigi Buffon and Tim Howard who are still at the top of their game, it makes you wonder is Casillas' career over? Would David De Gea, who has had a much more consistent season with Manchester United been the better choice?

It does seem that most defending champions lack this hunger to win the title again, but if you bring in some fresh faces to the team - which Spain have more than enough of - then these will bring a different element to the game, a new impetus you could say that can even bring out the best in the older players. It will be interesting to see who Del Bosque fields in the last match against Australia, because it's obvious he will opt for the younger and less capped players in his 23-man squad and we will get a glimpse of what could have been for Spain in this World Cup.