Reality bites hard for La Roja
After the 5-1 humbling by Holland and 2-0 defeat to Chile ended any hopes of progression to the last 16, further embarrassment was avoided by Monday’s 3-0 win over also already eliminated Australia.
But even that result could not take away the pain, playmaker Andres Iniesta admitted on Monday night in the mixed zone of Curitiba’s Arena de Baixada.
“We are leaving feeling bad,” Iniesta said. “The pain of going out of the World Cup, with this group, and with the expectations there were, is difficult to accept. It is time now to reflect, to look at what has happened.”
As the squad left Brazil, not too many of Iniesta’s colleagues seemed ready to start that process of reflection. Spain’s record goalscorer David Villa — playing what he admitted was probably his last game for his country — reacted angrily to being substituted against the Australians. Worse was Jordi Alba, petulantly threatening a journalist travelling with the squad.
Meanwhile other senior figures including Iker Casillas and Xavi Hernandez have been noticeably silent since the Chile game.
Spanish FA president Angel Maria Villar has also not been seen in public — cancelling an expected press conference, and avoiding reporters while in Brazil.
Villar has however heard from the federation’s many big commercial sponsors, who (according to sports daily AS) want some of the millions spent in promotional campaigns to be returned, given the team’s limp showing and early exit.
Of more interest to fans is whether Del Bosque will continue as coach.
The 63-year-old has at least taken some responsibility for the team’s unexpected performances, suggesting he will step aside if asked when he meets to discuss the future with Villar in the coming weeks.
While a few sensationalist TV pundits have attacked Xavi and (to a lesser extent) Casillas and Del Bosque, the majority of the local sports media has been mostly supportive of the manager and the squad.
Tuesday’s front of page of AS was headlined ‘We will return’. Fellow Madrid-based paper Marca led with ‘Start Over’.
Reaction among fans has also been relatively forgiving. A reported 250 fans gathered at Madrid’s Barajas Airport at lunchtime on Tuesday to welcome back the players back from Brazil with messages of support, however the players avoided supporters and the assembled camera crews by exiting via a back door.
The already sombre mood of the squad would not have been helped at this point by the plane being hit by lightning as it approached the airport, with the pilot apparently having to calm fears in the cabin after a noise like an explosion had been heard on the right wing.
The most upbeat reaction came — characteristically — from long-time back-up goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who made a rare appearance in the dead rubber against Australia. The Liverpool player told reporters after that game that he hoped Del Bosque stayed in the job.
“Sometimes bad things can be a positive, even better than good things,” Reina said. “We hope that this was just an accident. Time will tell if we are right or not.”
Reina was at least trying to positive spin on an awful tournament. But in reality he and everyone around the La Roja squad will want to forget Brazil 2014 as soon as possible.
Most Spain players were silent as they walked passed the press corps inside the stadium after Monday’s ultimately meaningless 3-0 final group game win over Australia.
However, left-back Jordi Alba took the opportunity to threaten AS journalist Javier Gomez Matallanas, having apparently been angered by something which Matallanas had previously written.
“Next time I’ll rip your head off,” Alba reportedly said to Matallanas, who later told Onda Cero radio station that he did not know what had upset the Barcelona player.
By the time he returned to Spain yesterday lunchtime, Alba had calmed down enough to issue a (half-hearted) apology.
“I want to apologise if there was any moment of unwanted tension,” Alba tweeted, but the damage had by that stage already been done.
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