Game Blog: Spain at Estonia

Fernando Torres is back! After missing the last 2 WCQs, which left the Spanish attack missing his trademark hunger and spine, the squad that won the Euros is back together again for these two final WCQs before next spring. Silva is still missing, but Marchena and Torres are both back from injury.

Maybe they carried their bug back to camp with them, because all week long we heard injury reports to various players, including Capel having to leave camp altogether, Iniesta and Sergio missing trainings, and Albiol practicing by himself for a day or two. Sergio still seems to be carrying the knock that he got from the last international get-together, requiring massive amounts of tape on his shoulders/waist/legs to hold in check.  This game being against Estonia, however, means that Del Bosque can afford another science experiment. The lineup:

Sergio – Puyol – Juanito – Capdevila
Cazorla – Xabi Alonso – Xavi – Iniesta
Torres – Villa

It’s a cold, rainy night in Tallin, Estonia, so its long sleeves for Spain today. I don’t know if I like Sergio’s shorter haircut now that it’s wet, though you do get to see his tattoo behind his ear . .

9:05 So . . nothing terribly exciting to report so far. Visions of a 7-0 victory a la Bosnia is slowing limping out of my head, having been beaten up by Estonia’s foul-mad players. It’s clear what their game plan is here today. Sit all 11 men behind the ball, try to sneak out a cigarette break if they can, but if they can’t, then they will bully the Spanish players off the ball, using whatever means necessary.

Already we’ve seen Estonia players elbow Sergio in the face (“that should’ve been a foul,” says the commentator), toss Cazorla aside chasing down a ball on the right flank, trip Puyol up at the endline over a ball that Carles saved just inches from becoming a corner kick, and now, they foul Xavi by tugging and shoving him off the ball in the midfield. The rainy night is probably not adding to anyone’s mood – nor the memory of their last, disastrous defeat at the hands of Bosnia. Even Torres cannot break down their stick-to-you-like-glue defending, and I haven’t even seen Villa yet . . is he on the pitch?

14:30 HOLY LORD! THAT WAS DANGEROUS!!!!!! What happened??? Suddenly the Estonia #8 is all alone 1v1 with Iker?? But even with that gift they cannot finish. Iker comes out very far and I am afraid it is too far, but no! He forces the player to panic and shoot rather than round him and hold possession, and the shot is thankfully deflected by Iker and bounces out wide.

Replay: As the commentators are snickering that Estonia is relying solely on the long ball to get upfield because they cannot possibly hope to out-pass the Spanish midfield – the Estonia players suddenly pull out of their hat such a marvelous string of passes that so neatly splits the central defense of Puyol and Juanito (both 30+ of age) that I am agog. In the blink of an eye, Estonia #8 is unmarked and running amok, played onside by Sergio (damn it!) who seems to raise his hand calling for the offside even as the striker turns with the ball and no red shirt within yards of him to bear down on goal and possibly a place in Estonian history – only for Iker to outwit him and force him into a premature shot. Balon d’Or voters, ahem! Please take notes here! If not for Iker it would’ve been 0-1 right here.

20:15 Poor Nando is getting sandwiched and shut down by 2 or 3 defenders anytime he’s even near the ball. He raises his hand to ask for a foul, but he’s smiling about it – as if he knows its dubious at best. Villa is still MIA . . though I think I saw his shirt running around once or twice. The action’s been slow so far. 20 min in and we are tied at shots on goal, 1 apiece? That can’t be right. Even the announcers are urging Spain to make something happen, saying that not only should you win, but you should “pile up the goal difference too”. You know, Mr. Announcer, you’re not exactly helping things either. If this is how you think football games should be called, then you clearly haven’t heard Ray Hudson (GolTV) or Andy Gray (ESPN) call them. I haven’t heard you say a single thing that I didn’t already know. Plus the pitch is a putrid yellow-green color . . ugh. Time for a drink.

21:00 Oh, there’s Villa! With a horribly weak shot wide. Fantastic, Dhaveed. Way to send chills down their spine, huh? LOL – and as the ball rolls harmlessly past their keeper out of bounds, Nando stands there at the edge of the 6-yard box with his hands on his hips, as if he couldn’t believe his striking partner to be capable of such a bad shot. Everyone else has jogged off towards the central circle, allowing that shot to be purged from memory . . but not Nando. Our #9 is still standing there, all by himself, as if he’s still trying to understand what the hell just happened . .

27:00 Why won’t Sergio take on his defender 1v1 and tap that ball forward for both of them to chase like he’d always loved to do? Why won’t Cazorla? Sigh . . even Iniesta isn’t doing his magic tricks today. I miss Capel.

29:00 “In case you’re wondering, Estonia is ranked 137th in the world.” Oh, thank you, that makes me feel heaps better! And FINALLY we get some excitement! Torres with a burst of speed to meet that through-ball from Xavi, bearing down towards the right edge of the box and then trying a quick, slightly-off-balanced shot that the keeper barely gets a hand on, letting the rebound fly back into play!!!!!! But Nando can’t track it down, and the moment is over.

30:30 Torres again with a HEADER!!!!!!!!!!! It’s bobbled!! And Nando is so adorable, looking up hopefully with raised eyebrows from the ground to see if that bobble turned into a goal . . but alas, it does not.

33:30 Spain is finally coming to life!! Some beautiful, awe-inspiring movements now in the midfield, as everyone has been heartened by Fernando’s recent exploits. Ughhhh . . just as I was getting excited, Estonia’s #9 sticks out a leg to trip up the magisterial Iniesta, and doesn’t even look apologetic about it. Free kick! It’s 25 yards out to the far, far left . .

GOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT A BALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUANITO! 1-0!!!!

What a priceless, ferocious ball whipped in by Xavi, it needed almost no help at all to go into goal – but Juanito takes no chances and just puts the slightest of touches on it with his forehead, guiding it full-force into the net, past the keeper, past Fernando already at the goalmouth, and he puts his arms up in celebration!!!! Iniesta, Xavi – you know this one is as much yours as it is Juanito’s!!! And the players hug and hope that this is one of many as they mob Juanito. The Betis captain is soon jogging back to position, though, so duteous, so serious at making sure his starting job today ends in a clean sheet. Juanito, c’mon, smile! You’re on camera!

37:00 PENALTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s more like it!!!!
Wow, there is the Villa we all know and love! Tearing off to the far right for the ball, watching, watching for his strike partner, then whipping in the fierce cross – EXCEPT! What happened?! Torres storms into the picture at 90mph and ends up rolling head over heels inside the box, in a complete tangle with his defender! He was just inches away from meeting that cross, which now bounces out harmlessly wide! Whistle! And the ref points to the spot. No questions asked, just whips out the yellow card to the defender on the ground. The culprit, #3, throws up his hands helplessly. After suffering from the wrong end of penalties twice now with Real (v Betis and v Espanyol), now we get one! YAY! Who gets to take it?

Villa. Suddenly his miss against Bosnia flashes painfully in my mind, and I’m wondering: why can’t Torres take it? He was the one who got fouled, ain’t it? But Villa makes no mistake this time. Ice cool, as always – he sends the ball hurtling into the roof of the net, so that for a brief second I’m almost afraid it hadn’t gone in – but NO! There is Villa celebrating!! GOOOOOOLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2-0!

Replay: He comes in from an angle on the left, fools the keeper completely to diving the wrong way, before turning his hips and rifling in that shot by his right foot. Classic, classic finish.

Replay on the penalty foul: The Estonian #3 just grabs Torres by the waist and twists and turns him onto the ground, both of them going head over heels. Jeez – if that is not malicious intent and waving the white flag all in one I don’t know what is.

39:30 XAVI!!!!!!!!!!! So close! Fantastic one-two with Villa, he suddenly breaks clear of the defense and bursts clear, and you’re already standing up screaming for a goal – only for the shot to be saved by the keeper! Ah, but that was beautiful one-touch football, and Estonia right now is starting to get that deer in the headlights look.

42:50 WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Just finish it, Torres! Everything up to that final moment was picture-perfect, our midfield maestro Xavi is absolutely untouchable, at the height of his powers. And Iniesta! What a pure little devil! Even leaping up over the legs being stuck out on him, LOL!!!! Jesus Christ, it is almost orgasmic watching them play!!!!! Now if only Torres could shake the 2 or 3 defenders always attached to him like super-glue, and finish it, goddammit!!!!! Let’s show them how its done!

Second Half:

52:48 Sergio! I knew something was wrong! He still isn’t 100% after his muscle injury a couple days ago, and has been really quiet today. He is the first to be subbed off, as #13 Iraola comes on. In comparison to Sergio, Iraola looks – like a kid, a boy! So slight! I hope he’s ready?

61:20 Iker with a frantic SAVE! Estonia is suddenly attacking with glee, taking full advantage of the vacancy Sergio has left at RB to go down that channel again and again, and both Puyol and Juanito must come to help out. Phew! Now they get a corner kick – and its chaos in the box! How, how did their #4 miss?????? Not that I’m complaining. But this is perhaps why they are #137 in the world. From 2 yards out, they manage to not only miss, but not even get a shot on goal? Wow. Then said #4 claps his hands together high above his head, as if asking for it back, so he can try that again. Not very likely, bud. Well, lucky lucky Spain.

62:50 See??? Again! Iker comes out too far and their striker has a HUGE chance with the empty net at his mercy! But he somehow elects to shot it over the goal instead! Thank God for that! Haha, Iker is lying face-down on the ground, his nose buried in the grass, slowly willing his heart-rate back to normal as he relives that one. Not even daring to look up! It’s ok, Iker. The record you seek of keeping a clean sheet for 700+ minutes is within reach.

65:00 This game has not been as good as I’d hoped it would be. Every game by Spain I will treasure, of course. But aside from some fantastic moments in the first half (though brief) and one or two decent chances in the second . . this is NOT Spain at its full glory. And its entirely Estonia’s fault. Sitting everyone behind the ball is evil. Sitting everyone behind the ball and fouling left and right wantonly is even eviler. How in hell did Bosnia put 7 past them? And why can’t we do it? I was hoping for a goal-fest today but by now I’ve realized it won’t ever happen. And perhaps we don’t need to either. Already the players are thinking of the next game, in Brussels. Del Bosque, no doubt, is doing the same, musing on who he should take off to save for the next one. God . . it’s already a lost cause, ain’t it, Estonia? Why not just let up and allow us to play? Grrrrr . . .

68:00 GOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FERNANDO!!!!!!!!! PUYOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3-0!!!!

And no one marks him this time!! God, Xavi is the king of free kicks, isn’t he? Without him we would have no goals. Iraola wins a free kick on the right side, some 35 yards out. Now Xavi steps up to survey his domain, and in comes the free kick, wicked and dead-on as always. Nando rises imperiously to head that home, except he knows he’s tall and the bar only so high, so he almost ducks his head to try to shorten himself and get that header down into goal! Thank God too, because the ball slams against the underside of the bar, another inch and it would’ve ricocheted to who-knows-where, the keeper misses it entirely, and now its spinning the air! Rife for the picking!!!! And Puyol, in that exact spot, guns for it and knocks it home.  Fantastic sequence, and it tells you something when Spain cannot score from the run of play, but instead grabs 2 of 3 from set pieces, how miserably clamped down Estonia is playing them.

69:30 Cesc on for Villa. Oh, and not Torres? Cesc! What’s up with your hair?! Just because you’re a Spaniard does not mean you need to grow it out! Respect your fanbase, plz!

73:45 CESC!! When he comes on there’s always magic! And Santi, you shoulda had that!!!!!! Instead, he slams it just wide! And he trots off, frowning at himself. Santi hasn’t had a goal yet for Spain, has he? Been so close a couple of times, though. But that pass from Cesc is just pure gold. The whole thing was magic. Iniesta on the left side, holding, then tapping it forward for Cesc, who gets the fortune of coming on at a time when the defense’s starting to run ragged, so he actually finds an acre of space to be able to see Torres and Cazorla charge up the middle – and the pass is spot-on, in fact Santi takes the shot first-touch, so nearly burying it into the top corner of the goal, but instead finds it sailing towards a lucky fan in the stands. And poor Nando is once again left staring at it, wondering what if?

78:00 Capel’s replacement Albert Riera comes on for Iniesta.

78:50 #kfdsjfoae%p! Say what? “Sergio Ramos is flagged for offside,” the announcer says matter-of-factly to the whistle blown on Fernando Torres. Umm . . right. If you do not value your job, sir, please let me have it? Does Nando or his #9 shirt look anything close to Sergio Ramos or #15 to you?! He’s sitting on the bench, for god’s sakes!! Get a clue!

81:00 Not bad! Riera charges down the left flank and whips in a cross for Torres thundering up the middle to finish – only for the ball to go straight into the keeper’s clutches. Nice to see the Liverpool linkup, even if it didn’t work out.

84:20 Oh Cesc! I’m almost weeping tears of joy! For you are the only person to understand our Nando, it seems! Deprived of the ball for the bulk of the second half, as one defender or another always managed to beat him to it, Cesc all of a sudden tries a longball that finds Torres almost perfectly positioned off his markers – and my heart jumps into my throat! OH FERNANDO! BURY IT!!!!!!!!!! Please, for the love of god! But Fernando’s control of the ball is just a touch too heavy, it betrays him by such a few inches, and though he tries to win it back, 1 vs 2 almost never works and both defenders fight to snuff that out as if their lives depended on it. Sigh . . the hunt continues for his goal . .

84:50 Santi, how can you miss that???? I’m really starting to wonder here! Yes, yes, offside. But still! Fantastic through-ball by Xavi, Santi at an angle that he should bury, and instead he sends it out wide. He gets a consolatory pat on the back by a teammate, but he winces, knowing he should’ve done better. How this game is not 6-2 by now is beyond me.

86:50 WOW, Fernando, what fire!!! That’s the boy I know and love!!!

After the crowd whistles and boos Puyol for shoving an Estonian player off the ball just seconds ago, Fernando is pushed and shoved around likewise – in fact both he and the Estonian #4 go down in a heap for the ball! But he gets right back up. Fuming, ticked off, finally 1v1 and not 1v2 or 3, Fernando keeps going; he doesn’t just wave his hands up in the air for a foul. He knows by now that he’s gonna have to fight for every scrap he gets, and he guns for that ball, teeth bared, blond hair flying. Twisting, turning, those long legs of his a blur as he looks to control the ball, to fight off his opponent – until the #4 has no choice but to grab his arm from behind.

The linesman nods to the referee. Tweet-tweet! Yellow card for #4. And I marvel at our #9, fighting as ferociously as if it were still 0-0 instead of 3-0! And then I realize – it is 0-0. At least for him it is.

We line up for our last free kick. Xavi’s delivery, as always, is excellent – but Juanito tries to redirect it too far and it just misses both the far post and Capdevila by it, before spinning out of bounds.

90:00+1:00: That’s it! 3-0 at an away game, I’ll take it.

Man of the Match:

Xavi!

Post-game thoughts:
First, let me just say that this game isn’t going onto any top-ten lists anytime soon. I will follow Spain anywhere. But this game was one of those “trap” games where: its away, its against a low-ranked opponent, and its just 4 days before another match that is much more important. So for much of the game, it played exactly like so: 10 men behind the ball and 10 men trying to break down the gate but not exactly hurtling themselves at it. This results in a few scintillating moments, a few flashes of brilliance where the sun breaks out and rainbows appear over the horizon. Then its back to the rain and the gloom, and wondering how much more fun it must be listening to Spanish commentators rather than the FSC ones.

That being said, 3-0 is still a fantastic away victory. And for each game, even if the overall run of play does not inspire, you are still left with the impression of individual talents, and for me, watching Xavi’s performance today was just awe-inspiring. Even though he recorded no eye-popping assist in the run of play (a la Cesc in the last 2 games) – both his free kick mastery and his uncanny ability to find people despite 10 opponents trying to prevent him was just such a joy to watch. To have him and Iniesta anchor Barca – how can you lose at anything??

My God, to have three Spaniards fighting for the Balon d’Or, on the short list of five! Stunning! Amazing! Truly a remarkable achievement! And every one, proved his worth today. Iker was instrumental in not allowing Estonia to sneak one past us, especially early, and get themselves into the game. Fernando ran their best defenders ragged, created that third goal for Puyol, and kept on fighting right to the end.

And Xavi . . oh Xavi! For a while in previous games when we kept playing every corner short, I wondered how we could shore up our obvious set-piece deficiency. And obviously Estonia is not Germany in defending set-pieces, so we didn’t need to play them short. But seeing Xavi being able to deliver such deadly balls has me wondering: are there any weakness in this Armada of ours? And perhaps the biggest compliment I can give him, as a Real Madrid fan: if I had enough room in my heart to love two teams equally, then Barca would be it. For style of play, for attacking options, for the tiki-taka that’s endeared me so much to Spain – Barca is like Spain v2. Why else would Cesc call it “a dream” to go back someday?

On to Belgium!

PS: For US viewers, the Belgium game will be on PPV Setanta at 4:30pm ET (delayed), not FSC or GolTV.