‘The Irish are still stuck in the stone age’

Spain’s 4-0 win over Ireland convinced a previously wavering Madrid media that La Roja were on track to win Euro 2012.

On the morning of the game Spanish coach Vicente Del Bosque was out of his depth tactically and did not know his best starting XI. Twentyfour hours later the veteran was a master at marshalling his resources and getting the most out of a multi-talented squad.

“It was glorious,” wrote AS editor Alfredo Relaño. “The debates were cleared away with the early opening goal from Fernando Torres, and all that remained was to enjoy ourselves. It was an exhibition — 898 passes, 815 completed, 27 shots, 15 of those on target, 4 converted into goals. A great night.”

There was a consensus that Del Bosque’s best decision had been to leave out Cesc Fábregas and start Torres in attack, after the Chelsea striker put a difficult club season behind him with two goalsa double strike.

“The days before the game were dominated by the question of whether to play a traditional forward,” wrote Marca’s Luis Fernando Rojo. “Del Bosque’s choice left nobody with any doubts. With a ‘9’, La Roja were 10 out of 10. El Niño settled the debate after just four minutes. The whole team ran to embrace him, knowing the importance of the goal for the team and above all for Torres.”

There were also laurels for the creative trio of Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and especially David Silva.

Pedro Pablo San Martín in AS said Silva’s display characterised what was best about the team’s style of play.

“Silva always wanted to win the game with his intelligence,” wrote San Martín. “He approached the Irish penalty area with intent, looking for gaps, lifting his head and searching for the best passing option, as the great players do. That is how he scored the night’s ‘golazo’, and that is how Spain played one of their greatest games, to the wonder of the world.”

Marca’s match report said that the Irish team had been completely overrun, especially in central midfield.

“Ireland suffered a calvary,” wrote Santiago Segurola. “The Irish are still stuck in the stone age. Far from advancing, they provoke nostalgia for the likes of Johnny Giles or Liam Brady, excellent midfielders who would have been disappointed in their national team. Ireland could not string two passes together.”

After all the pre-match talk of Xabi Alonso’s brief experience of Gaelic football in Meath as a teenager, El Mundo analyst Julían Ruiz chose another sport to make his point about Ireland’s lack of quality.

“Ireland seemed like a rugby team because of the shape of their players and the roughness of their technique,” wrote an unimpressed Ruiz. “But they could not invent a try or a scrum. The Irish ‘potatoes’ ended up in the sack made by the Spanish team.”

There was more reasonable analysis from Julio Maldonado in AS.

“There was little Ireland could do,” he wrote. “They began with a high defensive line, but Spain pushed them back with their passing game. That left McGeady and Duff without any options, and it was even harder for Robbie Keane. The centre of Ireland’s defence was powerless against Torres’ movement. Only Given saved Ireland from a hammering.”

Former Spain coach Luís Aragones was nicer to Ireland in his Marca column: “There was only one team on the pitch,” argued the Euro 2008 winning boss. “You cannot belittle the win because the opponent was not as good as they might have been. This is also to Spain’s credit, they knew how to magnify their own virtues and minimise those of their rival.”

All the papers agreed that Ireland’s fans had outperformed their team by singing through to the final whistle.

“Spain spent the last few minutes showing off, and it was then we understood that the true representatives of Ireland were their supporters,” wrote Juanma Trueba in AS. “They were exceptional.”

However, most thoughts had already moved on from Ireland to Monday’s final Group C clash with Croatia and Spain’s chances of retaining the Henri Delaunay trophy.

“La Roja is on the right road,” wrote ex-Atlético Madrid coach Gregorio Manzano in Marca. “We must go step by step, but the best is yet to come.”