Spain sacks coach Enrique

"The sports department of the Federation has just sent a report to the President, in which it is determined that the national team needs to start a new sports project, in order to continue the momentum of development in recent years. President Luis Rubiales and Mr. Sports Director Jose Molina informed the coach of this decision," the RFEF announcement at noon on December 8, Madrid time, wrote.

RFEF then thanked Enrique and his team for their dedication to the Spanish team over the past few years.

According to Marca, the RFEF's decision to sack Enrique also puts an end to the rejuvenation strategy and ball-control style he has guided for the national team for the past few years, because he could not bring about any major Spanish titles.

Before being kicked out of the 2022 World Cup by Morocco in the penalty shootout in the round of 16, Spain also stopped in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 and finished second in the Nations League 2021.

When making the list for the 2022 World Cup, Enrique caused controversy when he ignored many veteran faces who are in good form at club level such as Sergio Ramos (PSG), Thiago Alcantara (Liverpool), Rodrigo (Leeds)... in that, he put his faith in Pedri, Gavi, Ansu Fati, Balde, Nico - talents between the ages of 18 and 20.

The reality in Qatar shows that the young faces Enrique uses are immature and do not bring life to Spain as expected. Spain only played well in the opening match against Costa Rica 7-0, then gradually declined with the German 1-1 draw, lost 1-2 in reverse to Japan, and was only fortunate to pass the group stage thanks to the sub-index. .

The style of controlling the ball that Spain pursued under Enrique was also said to be no longer suitable for modern football. In the round of 16, Spain held the ball 77%, finished 13 shots - twice as many as Morocco but only once put the ball on target, then lost 0-3 in the penalty shootout. In the match against Japan, Spain even held the ball up to 83%, but lost in the first three minutes of the second half.

In the 1/8 round, Enrique's ball-control style based on young players was deadlocked to the extreme before a group of less-known but experienced players and very disciplined defensive kicks of Morocco. After drawing 0-0 through 120 minutes of play, Spain continued to show their poor bravery when they lost 0-3 in the penalty shootout.

Enrique took office in Spain to replace former teammate Fernando Hierro after losing in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup. But a year later, he temporarily left his position to be with Xanita - his daughter was found to have cancer. bone in March 2019 and died five months later. Enrique returned to power from mid-November 2019 until being fired today.

Through two periods, Enrique led Spain in all 47 matches, but only won 26, reached 63.1%, drew 14 and lost 7 matches.

After the sacking of Enrique, the RFEF will start the search process - appoint a new coach.

There are currently 4 candidates for this position, including Roberto Martinez - who has just resigned as Belgium coach after the 2022 World Cup, Marcelino Garcia Toral - who is free after resigning as Athletic Bilbao coach in the summer of 2022, former coach of Real, Liverpool and Inter Rafa Benitez, and Spain U23 coach Luis de la Fuente. Of these, Martinez received the greatest support from the Spanish public, with 38% of the 86,840 votes in favor according to a survey by Marca newspaper.