?18th June 2014. The day that Vicente del Bosque’s tiki-taka revolution died.
The all-conquering Spaniards went into the World Cup as reigning champions, having also been victorious in the previous two European Championships.
Their opening game of the tournament had the potential to be an absolute classic. In a repeat of the 2010 final – which had been more of a Royal Rumble than a football match – Del Bosque’s side faced off against the Netherlands in the curtain raiser of Group B.
Things started out as expected with Spain taking an early lead through a Xabi Alonso penalty. Then…things started to go wrong. Very wrong.
First, a wonder goal from Robin van Persie (that header!!!!!!) drew the Dutch level, before Arjen Robben gave them a shock lead. The Dutch doubled their advantage soon after when Stefan de Vrij capitalised on some calamitous defending and it was a similar story for their goal.
This time, a fatal error from Iker Casillas allowed Van Persie to grab his second and to add insult to injury, Robben capped off a momentous night of football by steaming past Sergio Ramos and adding a fifth goal with ten minutes left to play.
How could this have happened?! We took a trip down memory lane to find out…
SPAIN
Key Talking Point
Look, we know it was 5-1 but it all could have been so different.
With Spain 1-0 up and in the ascendency, David Silva was presented with a gilt-edged chance to double his side’s lead.
For some reason the Netherlands defence parted like the Red Sea, which allowed Andres Iniesta to slide one of his trademark through balls into Silva’s path.
The ?Manchester City man had all the time in the world and only Jasper Cillessen to beat. And yet – for whatever reason – instead of slotting the ball home, Silva decided to go for an audacious chip. Needless to say, he did not pull it off.
Minutes later, the Netherlands would grab an equaliser via an outrageous diving header from Robin van Persie.
Who knows how the game might have gone if Silva had been able to finish his dinner…
Starting XI: Casillas (4); Azpilicueta (6), Pique (5), Ramos (5), Alba (5); Busquets (6), Alonso (5), Xavi (5); Iniesta (7), Costa (6), Silva (5).
Substitutes: Torres (4), Pedro (4), Fabregas (5).
Andrés Iniesta
?The best of a properly bad lot for Spain was Andrés Iniesta.
Even in the midst of all the chaos, Iniesta was never flustered and was his side’s only reliable creative impetus.
Key Talking Points
?
It was a remarkable night for the Dutch and although they were certainly helped along the way by some shambolic Spanish defending – and goalkeeping, now we come to think of it – they deserve credit for a ruthless attacking performance.
All five goals were superbly taken and Van Gaal got his defensive gameplan spot on.
Setting up in a rigid 3-5-2 made it difficult for Spain to dominate the midfield and this proved to be a masterstroke with Spain’s usual control over the game conspicuously absent.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Cillessen (7); Janmaat (7), Vlaar (8), De Vrij (8), Martins Indi (7), Blind (8); De Guzman (6), De Jong (8), Sneijder (8); Van Persie (9), Robben (9).
Substitutes: Wijnaldum (6), Veltman (6), Lens (6).
Robin van Persie
?Both van Persie’s goals were strokes of genius but for very different reasons.
His first goal – when his side were under the cosh – set the tone for one of the greatest nights in Dutch footballing history.
Things That Aged Worst
Let’s be real. Would Louis van Gaal’s managerial legacy be any different if he hadn’t taken the ?Manchester Uni?ted job after the tournament? No.
??
Things That Aged the Best
?Two things really.
First, and most importantly, this image of Bruno Martins Indi looking like he’s trying to melt Diego Costa’s brain using telepathy has aged well. Very well indeed.
??
Yeah, we reckon we’re going to go watch it right now actually. Back in a moment.
Players You Completely Forgot Existed
Roll up, roll up. It’s time for a roll call of all the mediocre ?Premier League players who somehow managed to beat the best generation of footballing Spaniards in history.
First up, Ron Vlaar. Remember him? Played for Aston Villa for a while.
Next, the aforementioned Martins Indi. You know him by now. That injury stricken Stoke City centre-back. He’s still there by the way – yeah, genuinely.
Jonathan de Guzman anyone? A Swansea City legend whose now plying his trade for Eintracht Frankfurt.
Don’t worry, we saved the best until last. Jeremain Lens, scorer of four goals across two seasons for Sunderland. Now that is £10m very well spent. He plays in Turkey now because…of course he does, who else is going to pay his extortionate wages?
What Happened Next?
?
And what about the Netherlands?
Let’