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On the nighttime that Spain won their archetypal World Cup successful 2010, Rodrigo Hernández was connected campy determination mislaid successful the woods of Connecticut. He had been canoeing erstwhile the selección bushed Germany successful the semi-final, upset to person missed it, and for the last helium convinced 1 of the supervisors to fto him watch, alone, connected a mini-laptop successful the hut wherever the unit slept. When Andrés Iniesta scored the winning goal successful the 116th minute, helium ran disconnected screaming, doing laps of the lake. He was 14.
On the nighttime that Spain won their 2nd World Cup 16 years later, Rodrigo Hernández was backmost successful the US, not truthful acold from there. When Ferran Torres scored the winning extremity successful the 106th minute, helium ran disconnected screaming successful a straighter enactment and accompanied this time: towards the country wherever his other family were. And then, erstwhile it ended, erstwhile the warring finished too, helium collected the trophy, pausing conscionable agelong capable for Donald Trump to permission centre signifier earlier lifting it, his timing cleanable adjacent here.
It wasn’t the lone trophy helium had, but those could beryllium handed implicit and this could not. By the clip Rodri departed astatine 9.38pm eastbound time, the past antheral retired of the dressing country astatine the New Jersey New York Stadium, helium couldn’t transportation them all: walking with him, conscionable ahead, Ladis had to lend a hand. A shot squad is ne'er conscionable the players, nor adjacent conscionable the coaches. When helium departed the dressing country 9 minutes earlier, the aforesaid happened for Pau Cubarsí. Nuria helped him, their boy: conscionable 19, looking similar a kid down present successful the stadium successful existent beingness but not connected the transportation wherever he’s a leader. Luis de la Fuente was accompanied by Paloma.
Rodri came with the trophy for the tournament’s champion subordinate too. Cubarsí had the young subordinate award, Unai Simón the Golden Glove. They besides had 2 World Cups, each Spain subordinate did: a replica of their ain successful a achromatic Louis Vuitton trophy trunk, not casual to acceptable nether an arm, and different successful Lego. Rodri had three: some of those and the cup. They departed laden down, large large integrative bags full, pieces of the past they made. Shirts, successful reddish and yellowish and bluish and white. Balls, boots. They had chopped the nett and taken pieces of that too. They had been fixed rings, NBA style.
Before the last began, Marc Cucurella had sneaked disconnected towards the touchline and buried a coin successful the pitch, similar that different left-back Joan Capdevila had done successful 2010. Iniesta had been retired there, his sanction chanted, arsenic helium showed the cupful to the stands. After it, Sergio Ramos brought it backmost again. Dashing out, excitedly kissing it, helium placed it connected the plinth for this caller generation, achieving the intolerable successful emulating them, to spell and collect. One by 1 they passed, Borja Iglesias and Lamine Yamal among the astir evasive successful shaking Trump’s hand, until Rodri took the trophy and lifted it to the sky.
Nico Williams went to find his mum successful the beforehand enactment and handed implicit his medal. Lamine Yamal had made his mode crossed to Lionel Messi, who was sitting but who stood for him, embracing the lad successful the bath, the successor: a rite of passage, an representation that volition beryllium for ever. The histrion Javier Bardem was hugging Iglesias, his caller person and idol. Ferran Torres was talking astir a “great liberation”: helium had suffered, felt however cruel this crippled could be, however radical could beryllium too, but helium said: “Destiny is written: God gives to those who deserve.” And Keyne was, well, Keyne. In the dressing country – the aforesaid one, Cucurella noted, wherever helium had been astatine past year’s Club World Cup – the champagne was cracked open.
It was little – the formation to Spain was scheduled for 11pm and they wanted to get backmost – and soon they were connected their mode again. Behind the screen, on the corridor they came, mode down successful the depths and the half-light of the stadium. The president, the staff, each the players; the many, galore radical who made this so. Iglesias carried a container truthful large it was similar helium was a pupil taking his washing home, and helium was struggling to halt that container slipping. In the different manus helium wheeled a large reddish speaker. Now playing: Dirty Cash (Money Talks) by PAWSA & Adventures of Stevie V. Lamine Yamal came, via the anti-doping room, successful orangish sunglasses, 4 chains, achromatic headdress connected backwards. He didn’t deterioration his medal, but astir did, heavy discs circular their necks. And commemorative shirts, ordered up successful case.
Back successful Dallas, astatine a solemnisation after the semi-final victory, idiosyncratic had joked to the federation president, Rafael Louzán, that the shirts should accidental satellite champions connected 1 broadside and Finalissima winners connected the other, 2 trophies successful one. Tempting, but these bore conscionable the 1 trophy, “Spain 26” connected the back. The warfare successful the Middle East had prevented the Finalissima from going up successful Doha arsenic scheduled successful March and each clip different enactment was offered, Argentina said no, the content that of a team, a federation, moving scared. “Good occupation we didn’t play,” Emi Martínez had said then, aft they scraped past Mauritania successful a hastily arranged affable that filled the hole. “If we had played [Spain] similar this …”
Something similar this mightiness person happened. Not conscionable due to the fact that Argentina played similar this but due to the fact that Spain made them play similar this. “We gave them a battering,” came the verdict from 1 of those heading retired of the dressing room. This wasn’t conscionable a win; this was more. Has a 1-0 ever been arsenic dominant? There was a infinitesimal precocious successful the game, inactive astatine 0-0, erstwhile the Spain fans chanted: “Look astatine them! Look astatine them! How they crap themselves!” and they weren’t wrong. Argentina could not get retired each game; arsenic Spain turned the screw, inactive less, the extremity seemingly inevitable; the astonishment was that it hadn’t travel yet, that determination would beryllium conscionable one. When it did it came arsenic a liberation but besides an enactment of irresistible logic.
Torres’s changeable was Spain’s 20th. Argentina didn’t negociate 1 until the 115th minute. They didn’t negociate immoderate connected target, each game. Across 900 World Cup games for which Opta has the stats, it is lone the 3rd clip that a squad has failed to shoot. And this successful the final. They had done to Argentina what they did to France and to everyone, choking them. For the full tourney Spain had an xG against of 0.3 per game. “If my gloves could talk, they would accidental they didn’t person overmuch enactment to do,” Simón said. “Many teams beryllium excessively overmuch connected the backmost line,” Aymeric Laporte said, but not Spain.
This was the triumph of a collective, of a group; it ended successful New York, but it was built successful Chattanooga and beyond, implicit 51 days. It is the triumph of an idea, a condemnation and of a manager too: a triumph for De la Fuente and the strategy helium leads and the strategy that made him. He began his coaching vocation astatine Deportivo Alavés successful the 3rd tier, wherever helium lasted conscionable 11 games. It was November 2011 erstwhile helium near and helium has not had a nine occupation since. For months, nary 1 returned his calls. He was connected the dole for a twelvemonth and a fractional until helium saw an advert for a job: the Spanish federation was looking for a manager for the younker system. He started successful the under-17s. He won the European Championship with the under-19s and the under-21s. Then helium won it with the elder side; present helium has won the World Cup.
“They asked maine what determination is near to win; we said the adjacent crippled successful September due to the fact that they’re insatiable,” helium insisted afterwards. Simón said: “The manager is outstanding; helium has been our leader.” Cucurella, meanwhile, was successful trouble. He had promised that if Spain won the World Cup, helium would get a tattoo of De la Fuente’s look and present helium had to determine wherever to enactment it to minimise the damage, the formation location an accidental to think. Not slightest to deliberation what a fool helium had been.
“I said: ‘You made a atrocious mistake’,” the manager joked. “But it’s not similar I americium truthful horrendously disfigured that you person to enactment it determination it can’t beryllium seen. And they are men of their word.” For each the laughs, that last enactment truly mattered, and helium knows: 10 of them played with him astatine inferior level. The archetypal rubric helium ever won was the Under-19 Euros successful 2015. In the mediate of his midfield that time was Rodrigo Hernández.
Eleven years on, 16 since helium watched Spain’s archetypal World Cup win, information sought and recognition recovered successful what they achieved, Rodri was backmost successful the US. The embodiment of that idea, a subordinate who approached perfection here, nary 1 played much passes nor made much tackles than him. No 1 had his value either, the skipper starring Spain retired and starring them backmost too. Like truthful galore of his teammates astatine a tourney that was an look of justness and vindication too, helium had suffered for this, a torn cruciate ligament overcome.
“It doesn’t substance if you fall, there’s ever a crushed to get up again,” helium said and present helium had it close present successful his hands. It was 9.40pm erstwhile helium boarded the autobus bound for the airport, carrying the existent World Cup.
