Luis Enrique is looking to put his own stamp on the Spanish national team
Spain endured a turbulent World Cup in the summer but they appear to be on the right track once more under Luis Enrique - so what has the former Barcelona manager changed?Julen Lopetegui's sacking on the eve of Spain's World Cup opener against Portugal set the tone for what would prove to be an underwhelming campaign for one of the pre-tournament favourites.A last-16 exit to host nation Russia suggested that Spain's hugely successful possession-based philosophy had gone stale, as they crashed out on penalties despite having 79 per cent possession over 120 minutes of play.
It is early days, but Luis Enrique's strong start as manager suggests that Spain are eager to avoid a repeat performance any time soon. From his three games in charge, Spain have beaten two of the World Cup semi-finalists, England and Croatia as well as a resurgent Welsh side.That Spain's squad has an undeniably fresher feel to it under Luis Enrique isn't all the new manager's making.Following that World Cup elimination at the hands of Russia, mainstays of Spain's golden era Andres Iniesta, David Silva and Gerard Pique all announced their international retirements as did back-up goalkeeper Pepe Reina. Between them, that quartet had amassed 394 international appearances with Iniesta, Silva and Pique all part of Spain's exclusive 100-cap club.
David Silva and Andres Iniesta both announced their retirement from international football after Spain's World Cup elimination
If Luis Enrique could do little to reverse the retirements of Spain's more senior players, his decision not to call up Jordi Alba into either of his two squads, despite the Barcelona left-back's fine start to the season, has been entirely of his own making.Alba, capped 66 times by his country, said after his snub for the September internationals: "I'd like to go to the national team but it's the coach's decision and I have to respect it."With five experienced players either no longer in contention or out-of-favour, the average age of Spain's squad - which was the 11th oldest at the World Cup - has shrunk from 28.5 years to 26.1. Whereas Spain had seven players over the age of 30 in Russia, there are currently just four 30-somethings in Luis Enrique's latest squad.
Replacing the elder statesmen are players such as Marc Bartra (27), Jose Gaya (23), Saul Niguez (23), Rodrigo and Dani Ceballos (both 22), while Marco Asensio (22) has taken a more influential role in the side.When at their free-flowing best, no nation could match Spain as they swaggered their way to three successive major titles between 2008-2012. Eventually, rival nations found ways of stifling Spain and making their much-revered possession-based style of play ineffective. None more so than Russia at the World Cup.Spain's performance inside Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium was the nadir ofTiki-Taka. Statistically, Spain passed their hosts to death. They completed 1,114 passes to Russia's 290, had a pass success rate of 90 per cent compared to 59 per cent and enjoyed 79 per cent possession in total. Sergio Ramos' 174 successful passes was over five times that of Russia's top-passer, wing-back Mario Fernandes.
But they lost and deservingly so too. For all of Spain's passing, there was little penetration in attack. They made it all too easy for Russia to defend against but in the early stages of Luis Enrique's reign, it appears as though Spain have rediscovered their cutting edge, scoring 12 times in three games, including six unanswered goals against the World Cup runners-up.Luis Enrique has been quick to downplay Spain's move away from the philosophy that defined their three successive tournament victories, but has insisted they are in a stage of evolution: "We are trying to evolve and improve it because when you manage to win world titles, you are all copied and studied so opposition teams are able to find many solutions and that poses many problems."