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Given that Spain still has many players who put talent with the ball at their feet above sacrifice, we can be sure that the next manager they choose to coach the team will try to follow a similar offensive strategy with the players he has. It won't matter who comes next, as long as he puts all his offensive midfielders to good use and learns to work with the younger players who can take the role of former key names such as Xabi Alonso, Xavi Hernandez and even Andres Iniesta who is closer to leaving the team.
To former Spain international Gaizka Mendieta, there won't be many changes in the team's structure or style. He spoke to Omnisport about it: "I don't think there will be massive changes. We have worked so hard and so long to get what we have got. It's a matter of small adjustments in the team and adapting to the philosophy of whoever is the new coach. It's not about changing the manager like you do with clubs, and you change the players or philosophy or ideas. The federation started working a long time ago on this idea of how we play, with this team and players.
"Therefore, whoever steps in, it won't make much difference in terms of the players. In Spain, we are lucky to have very good players to pick from. More so, the manager will identify his personality to the team, but it will still be the same sort of philosophy, the football, the passing and attacking. So that's not going to change much. Whoever it is, it will be alongside the mentality that Spain has to keep progressing because football evolves. Like Germany did in 2006 and 2008. And like we did and we changed. You have to adapt to new times and I'm sure we will do it."
Far from being concerned about the future, Mendieta is actually very excited: "We have always had the players. Since my days and before and until now. Luckily our academies work well. They play at a very young age with top teams in La Liga and some in Europe. It's a matter of putting those ingredients together and making something special. I think we obviously got spoilt with the way Spain play and won things. That was quite unique. We have to analyze and realize what happened was very special. Two Euros and one World Cup [in a row]. No team has ever done that before. So it tells you the magnitude of what we're talking about.
"Also we had a group of players who were very special like Xavi, Xabi Alonso, David Villa and Fernando Torres in that generation. It was a special time and obviously you want to replicate that. Now we have achieved that standard and level, we must try and stay there. You see Germany, Italy, Argentina, these teams always reach quarter-finals and semi-finals, they are always there, so I think Spain are where they should be. There are cycles. Argentina, Holland in the 1980s, Germany and more. We've had ours luckily. We have to be appreciative of that."
Photo credit: Seleccion Española
