Maverick

Popular opinion has pronounced Spain dead, finished and buried. Iberians might as well pack their bags and go home rather than endure the humiliating first round exit also shared by previous champions France in 2002 and Italy in 2010.

 

No other fate appears to beckon Del Bosque’s side, and indeed I cannot recall a single defending champion that suffered such a spectacular drubbing in their opening game. And if that weren’t bad enough, there’s Chile’s best side ever waiting in the wings with wind in their sails and the smell of blood in their nostrils.

 

At the moment, Spain look about as likely to emerge alive from their encounter with the South Americans as Superman from a coffin made out of kryptonite.

 

It seems to me that it’s during desperate times like these that a struggling champion might need to turn into a bit of a maverick. Forget all this tiki-taka nonsense - Spain need to get down and dirty, gritty even, and employ every last trick in the book. And if they’re looking for inspiration, they need look no further than Argentina in 1990.

 

They say ‘comparison is the thief of joy’ but as so often proven in football, there is an exception to almost every proclaimed nugget of wisdom out there. Del Bosque had best pull out the history books fast, and seek to inspire his team with past world cup replays on the big screen.

 

In 1990 Italy hosted the world cup, which was to be defended by Argentina. The albiceleste were reigning champions, and ended their showcase opening game with a humiliating 1-0 defeat to no-hopers Cameroon. Believe it or not, Cameroon had openly declared before kick off that they were not scared of Argentina, and in truth they had little reason to be.

 

In his autobiography, Maradona goes to great lengths to describe the wretched physical condition of Argentina’s side before a ball had even been kicked. A number of the winning  ’86 team had been withdrawn through injury, and El Pibe d’Oro himself had toe damage which caused him mind-splitting agony. Before long he was soon also nursing bad knee and ankle injuries, after Cameroon had kicked him almost as much as the football.

 

Things hardly looked up, since their next game was against the USSR. Before I hear anymore sniggers at the back of the classroom, please note that the Soviets were expected to go very far in the tournament, having only lost the European Championship two years earlier to the Netherlands by conceding the best (and most impossible) goal ever witnessed, courtesy of Marco Van Basten. It was a must-win for Argentina against seemingly impossible odds.

 

The omens hardly improved as the game got underway, when first choice Argie keeper Nery Pumpido cracked his leg in half. He was replaced by Sergio Goycochea, a Buenos Aires 26 year old, who had arrived in Italy expecting to warm the bench. As it happened, it was to pro

Argentina were up against it, with Maradona limping around the field on one leg and shouting at his men to rally like some latter-day Long John Silver. Most people have now forgotten it, but he even had the cheek to pull off another lesser known ‘hand of God’ early on in the game, denying a certain USSR goal on the line and proving that the ref was blind.

 

An unlikely Troglio header then put the Argies ahead, before Troglio was fouled in the second half. The Soviet defenders waited for a whistle by the ref which never came, as a grateful Burruchaga pounced on the ball and tucked it away. Maradona’s miscreants had pulled off another minor miracle, but as desperate as they were to beat Romania in their final game, a dire 1-1 draw was played out with the Eastern Europeans.

 

This meant a clash of the titans against Brazil (who ironically could yet also prove Spain’s second round opponents at this year’s world cup), although the form of both teams going into the match could not have been more different. Brazil had won three out of three in their group, qualifying as undisputed leaders, whilst the Argies had crept through the back door as one of the four best third-placed sides, mainly due to their undeserved victory against the USSR.

 

No one gave them a prayer, and for an hour wave upon wave of Brazilian attacks pegged back the albiceleste, with the selecao repeatedly denied by the post, poor finishing and a growing Goyco in goal. In the last minutes of the game, Maradona limped forward with the ball, and as four Brazilians closed in on him like a vice, he surprised them with a little sprint, before squeaking a small pass towards his onrushing sidekick Cani’ (Caniggia), who chipped the ball past a despairing Taffarel.

 

Incredibly Argentina had pulled off the impossible once more, setting up a quarter against Yugoslavia. It was probably the albiceleste’s best match of the tournament, yet they could find no way past their opponents. The game came down to penalty kicks, and the long-suffering Diego fluffed his, as did Troglio. Surely now the Argies were on their way to the plane.

 

El Goyco jokingly told Maradona not to worry, saying that he would save the next two penalties. And he did! Once more the cliffhanger continued, although even those Argentina fans who had not yet died of a heart attack knew that Argentina would surely end their unlikely run against Italy in the semi. Unlike Maradona’s miscreants, hosts Italy had had a perfect run in the tournament, having won every single game in regular time without conceding a single goal. It was David vs Goliath, and when I think of Italy’s unbelievable defenders now (Baresi, Bergomi, Ferrara, Maldini, Vierchowod) I get a lump in my throat. 

 

It appeared to be business as usual for Italy, as Schillaci got a goal after 17 minutes. Losing was unthinkable for them, but somehow the Argies held firm and kept the Italians at bay. After almost an hour it was expected that Italy would manage to wind the clock down as they had done so well throughout the tournament. Then the unthinkable happened when Caniggia glanced a header from a cross past the onrushing Zenga. Italy had conceded their first goal, and were stunned and reeling as the game wore on.

 

Then things looked up for the hosts, as one of Argentina’s men was sent off, and in extra time El Goyco pulled off a stunning save from a Baggio free-kick. Yet despite the incredible amount of injury time in extra time (one half had eight minutes added on!) some desperate defending, playacting and time-wasting kept the Argies going until penalties. El Goyco stepped up again and saved two, breaking Italy’s heart as Maradona’s mavericks found themselves in the final.

Argentina had few friends or admirers left as they headed into their last game, for England were still bitter and twisted about their own ‘hand of God’ at the last world cup in ‘86, and the USSR had also just suffered one. Brazil were still furious about their second round exit, and Italy was still too devastated to even talk about what had just befallen them in the semi. Germany also had a score to settle after losing the last world cup final to the Argies, and before kick off the boos for Argentina in the stadium were so loud that you could not even hear their national anthem.

 

The albiceleste were worn out after their game with Italy, and were running out of tricks as not one but two of their players were sent off in the final. Incredibly, it was the referee who decided the bad-tempered encounter. After denying Argentina a legitimate shout for a penalty, he went on to award a non-existent one to the Germans. El Goyco nearly got his fingers to it, but the luck of the mavericks had run dry. Although Argentina lost the cup and friends the world over, they were given a hero’s welcome upon their return home.

 

This history lesson only serves to indicate that Spain still have it all to play for against Chile, regardless of the setbacks, injuries and the lousy form of their first keeper. All they need is for the world’s best player to never give in, and in my view this is still Andres Iniesta, regardless of the spotlight which always falls on Messi and Ronaldo. The 90 mins against Chile will prove a sizzling encounter, and it remains to be seen whether Spain regain their old form, crash out at the group stage, or wing it like el Diego’s mavericks did during one Italian summer in 1990.