Navas putting a spring in Spain step
And if the Czechs can bedazzle Giovanni Trapattoni’s defence in such a way, what can the Spanish do?
Of course, one of the most intimidating aspects of facing Spain isn’t necessarily their near-perfect passing game. Nor their near-perfect record.
It’s that, when that passing game is struggling to perpetuate that record, they have so many other extra options and styles that offer another outlet.
As discussed on these pages a few weeks ago, there’s the physique of Fernando Llorente to contrast all that finesse. And, as the Dutch found in the 2010 World Cup final, there’s the directness and wide play of Jesus Navas.
For 115 minutes of the South African showpiece, Spain had prodded and probed but couldn’t find a successful route beyond Holland’s abrasive backline.
Then, right by the corner of his own 18-yard box, Navas — a 60th-minute substitute making just his third appearance of the tournament — received the ball at the by-line. Rather than look for a pass inside, the winger shuffled forward and instantly took three oncoming Dutch attackers out of the game.
Next, in the furthest-reaching movement of the match, Navas surged 50 yards up the line and right into the Dutch half. Drawing another two midfielders, he then released for Andres Iniesta before recovering the ball and spraying it out to the other wing.
Within seconds, Iniesta had scored the goal that won the World Cup.
And, as much Spain’s passing carousel eventually exhausted Holland, it was Navas’s contrasting style that ultimately exploited that situation: direct, uncompromising, old-fashioned wing-play; no-prisoners instead of nuance.
Of course, one the most interesting elements of Navas’s game-changing involvement in the final was that he mightn’t have been in South Africa at all. And entirely by choice.
For the majority of the 26-year-old’s career, the most talked-about aspect has not been his livewire ability but rather his debilitating homesickness.
Having initially forced a call-up to the Spanish under-21 side with his exhilarating form in the 2004-05 season for Sevilla, Navas then had to prematurely leave the camp because of anxiety attacks. It was based in Murcia — just a few hours from Seville. The next summer, the same happened as his club trained in Huelva... which is in the same region of Spain as Seville.
All of which makes it bewildering that a deal was done to take him to Chelsea in the summer of 2006.
Predictably, the move broke down. And, a year later, he was forced to sit out a pre-season trip to Chicago.
As such, it’s much less surprising that any career with the national team was eventually put on hold. In fact, Navas’s fragile emotional state forced him to announce his international retirement before he’d even gained a cap.
Until, eventually, his sheer sensational form demanded something change. As one of the key attacking players of the relentless Sevilla side that won successive UEFA Cups and should have claimed the 2007 title, Navas was essentially denying his talent the career it deserved. Not to mention the medals that define such careers.
“I had reached a point that made me realise I needed to put up a fight,” he revealed.
So, in the lead-up to World Cup 2010, Navas started to seek professional help and therapy for his problem. At the start of that season, he even indicated a willingness to return to the fold.
In many such situations, existing squad members might balk. Some Sevilla players had spoken of Navas’s need to “act like a man” and in Ireland we’ve seen our own issues with Stephen Ireland.
Not a bit of it with Vicente Del Bosque though. He knew what Navas could offer: something different. Something potentially decisive.
Navas eventually made his debut in November 2009, as he was about to turn 24.
Unfortunately for Navas, his career after the World Cup was checked by injuries during the following season. Now, he’s back in form and fitness and on Saturday night he tore Atletico Madrid’s left side apart as he set up another goal. It’s become a familiar sight.
Clearly, Navas is determined to make up for lost time. In every sense.
