The Nations League game between Spain and Switzerland in Zaragoza on Saturday evening yielded a number of interesting insights. But none was as striking as the surprise at how well Swiss goalie Yann Sommer speaks Spanish.
The Spanish-speaking audience became aware of this because Sommer stopped in front of the microphones of the Spanish radio reporters after the game and explained to the specially dispatched employee of the broadcaster Cadena SER how important the 2-1 triumph was for Switzerland, they won for the first time at all on Spanish soil. Well deserved, by the way: “We defended well, compactly and with concentration,” he said. “We knew beforehand that we wouldn’t have the ball that often.” When asked a question, Sommer elegantly declared that he was not responsible: “Spain? Not my topic.”
For the Spanish newspapers, of course. “A dip in pessimism,” noted La Vanguardia in Barcelona; the sports sheet mark counted: “60 days to wake up”, only then do the Spaniards meet Costa Rica, Germany and finally Japan in the World Cup preliminary round in Qatar. Spain coach Luis Enrique was also touched. “¡Ostras!” he exclaimed, which, as Yann Sommer may also know, is a corruption of a curse called “¡Hostia!” which in turn goes back to the feeding of pious terms from Catholicism (“host”) into the vulgar language. “¡Ostras!” exclaimed Luis Enrique, “never in my entire tenure has a team been as technically imprecise as in the first half.” And that tenure now spans nearly 40 games.
His side’s technical inadequacies were particularly surprising given that the Spanish national team teamed up for the first time with Busquets, Gavi and Pedri – all delicate FC Barcelona midfielders – in the starting XI. And that after the trainer had raved about the best week of training the night before.
Speaking of the training week, outsiders noticed that Luis Enrique had used the walkie-talkie to shuffle his team back and forth. He stood on scaffolding and whispered his commands into a radio; selected players had a speaker installed in these modern chest straps, with which the players’ performance data is recorded electronically. The ones from the newspaper El Mundo Deportivo Widespread story that the world association Fifa is examining the approval of coaching by radio for competitive games, but turned out to be a duck. But that was not the reason why Luis Enrique coached extremely sparingly against Switzerland, often hiding on the coaching bench. Rather, it seemed as if the game and the many good chances of the Swiss had annoyed him.
Mainly because the Swiss made a profit from corner kicks, with the participation of former Borussia. First, ex-Dortmunder Manuel Akanji (Manchester City) scored with a header; then the former Mönchengladbacher Breel Embolo (59th) met after a “corner”, as they say in Switzerland and Spain for the corners. The best goal of the day, however, was Jordi Alba’s goal for an equalizer (55′). Because of his shot under the crossbar and the preparation by Real Madrid professional Marco Asensio. His half-court solo was worthy of a “world-class player,” praised Luis Enrique. The role of Asensios was still questioned. Because he came up as a so-called “wrong” or, as Luis Enrique remarked, “another nine”.
“I have total faith in this team,” said coach Luis Enrique
In anticipation of the defensive orientation of the Swiss, he wanted to give the game greater continuity with Asensio and, thanks to his finishing strength from a distance, wanted to take every opportunity to score, Luis Enrique countered the skeptics of the false nine.
Marco Asensio wears the number ten for Spain, but will play as a “false nine” against Switzerland.
(Photo: Xavier Bonilla/NurPhoto/Imago)
However, Spain only developed momentum after the break – when Asensio left the field and was replaced by a “real”, classic centre-forward: Borja Iglesias (Betis Sevilla). Luis Enrique asserted that he was not dissatisfied with Asensio and the experiment, the substitution was only a question of the burden: “We demand so much from our strikers offensively and defensively – it will hardly ever happen that one plays through,” he explained Coach.
Otherwise, his dissatisfaction seemed to be contained. He was asked if he had any doubts, and the 52-year-old determined that he was his old self again. “None. Absolutely none. My belief in this team is total.” But: Of course you would rather go to the World Cup with a win behind you; on Tuesday they also want to win against Portugal in Braga, a threesome would also be tantamount to qualifying for the final tournament of the Nations League again. Otherwise one could hold on to the fact that on the way to the World Cup title in 2010 there was also a bankruptcy against Switzerland, but at that time in the first preliminary round game, a journalist suggested. Isn’t that a good omen? “Ojalá,” said Luis Enrique. Or as Sommer would translate: “Hopefully.”