La Furia Roja - The Masters of the Tiki-Taka - A Spanish National Team Story

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Spain appoint Jonathan Diaz as manager
Spain have today announced that they have appointed Jonathan Diaz to replace the departing Luis Enrique as manager. Speculation persists that Enrique's termination of contract has been partly down to the fact that he has failed to attend Spain's matches, most recently in their 3-0 win over Sweden which happened not 24 hours ago. Diaz is a relatively unknown manager, however, but is appointed with high hopes. He's already formed himself as a social figure, being highly touted by Belgium boss Roberto Martinez as a result of his appointment.

In Diaz's first press conference, he stated the following:

I hope to positively influence the Spanish side during my time at the helm. I was a spectator at the 2010 World Cup of Spain and admired the way which they played. I want to replicate that. The passing play with such speed and precision was exquisite to my eye; it's something which I want to see happen again. When I select my team, I want it to be youthful. I realise that some of our greatest servants, like Gerard Pique and David Silva, have and remain key players of our setup. But I believe there time has come and now gone for Spain. I believe that I should begin building for the future. While a few of the elder statesmen will remain, I want to bring in the young players. I want to build the next generation of Spain and I believe that it should begin now. Thank you.

As can be gathered from Diaz's comments, he is likely going to opt for a youthful system. He's already posed some potential selection surprises, with Gerard Pique and David Silva being ejected from the squad and replaced by Marc Bartra and Mikel Merino. It's going to be a long process for Spain, but Diaz looks like a bright young manager who is certainly one for the future. He said of being offered a club role that they're are only a selected few which he would accept. But it's still very early days and exciting times await Spain.

 

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2018 ROUND-UP - SUCCESS SO FAR FOR DIAZ AND SPAIN

Spain have gotten off to a successful start under new manager Jonathan Diaz, having played 6 matches, winning 4 and drawing 2. Diaz has opted for a fluid tiki-taka tactic, and has used some new faces in his team. His set-up presents a good blend and balance of youth and experience, while he is continuously looking to gradually bring more young players into his team. Cesc Fabregas is likely to be a casualty soon as Diaz has expressed his doubt that he'll remain in the squad much longer.

To analyse the tactic of Diaz, you would begin at their fantastic front three. Costa, Morata and Alcacer have rotated at times but the Dortmund man Alcacer has been preferred and now remains their main striker. The midfield would regularly use Saul instead of Isco, who would move to the bench ahead of Fabregas, however Saul is injured at the moment going into 2019. The back-line hasn't changed as much with Jordi Alba originally playing but now behind the favoured Nacho. It's certainly not a mainstream Spain squad, but it certainly seems to be having the desired effect.

Spain also made progress from their difficult group in the Nations League. They certainly posed themselves as the boss team, scoring freely and playing brilliant football at times during their run so far. They'll play Germany in the semi-final in several months time. Overall, Diaz has been a big success so far at Spain.

Above is the results for Spain in-depth. Diaz singled out youngster Marco Asensio as the team's best player so far, going as far as stating that Asensio seems like the 'central piece' for the future of Spain. Sergio Ramos has also been very solid at the back, and it's important as an injury to Mario Hermoso, their main back-up CB has at times left them vulnerable for back-up in this position. However, if required Nacho can move across and Jordi Alba can slot into the LB role.

 

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Euro Championship Qualifying Stroll for Spain

Spain have easily won both their matches to begin their European Championship Qualifying stage. Their group is seemingly relatively simple, with Israel, Russia, Kosovo and Romania their opponents. Diaz dropped Isco from his Starting XI for this set of matches showing that he wouldn't take comments from his players lightly, especially as he's often guarded against complacency.

Above is Isco's comment on the group selection. Diaz supposedly told his squad that the team shouldn't be complacent and was furious with Isco's response to the matter. Therefore, the underperforming Spandiard dropped the final straw for Diaz and he was taken out of the squad. However, it was likely that Saul would take his spot regardless.

While they only managed a 1-0 win against Romania, they only faced 3 shots in total and should've had more goals, so finishing was likely the main problem of this match. Their possession stats certainly back-up their tactic, with a superb pass success rate and ability to maintain possession. It was similar against Israel with a frustration over being able to get a 2nd goal for breathing space. However, once the returning Isco was brought off the bench to score from the spot, the goals flowed in for Spain showing how ruthless they can be even if it is against a side against a slightly lower calibre such as Israel. Playing Saul at CB against Romania was a major surprise, but he's been training to develop his ability to deputise into that position and it showed as he put in a solid performance. Sergio Ramos was a rock at the back as well as scoring a brilliant free-kick to round off their 4-0 win against Israel.

 

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NATIONS LEAGUE SUCCESS AND QUALIFYING PROGRESS FOR SPAIN

Jonathan Diaz has guided Spain to success in the Nations League in good style by thumping Belgium 3-0 in the final. The side fought off difficult opponents, notably Germany in the semi final and have already got a piece of silverware under Diaz, becoming the first victors of the new international tournament. Speculation is mounting that Diaz could become one of only a few managers to work at club and international level, with his name being linked to Real Madrid and LOSC Lille and Real Madrid. However, his focus lies on the Spain job at the moment.

It's obviously all very flattering and interesting as well. I'd be stupid not to consider a job at club level as well, wouldn't I? However, my mind is on Spain right now and will be for the near future. I've am delighted with our success and can only hope that I bring more good results to this team. I'd like to think that I've got the team playing some good football right now, and I think that was evident against Belgium. I think it's clear we also have a fighting spirit, like against Germany. I try to embed nice possession based football into my teams, but if we need to in order to achieve a result, then we'll play a different style of football.

Jonathan Diaz has clearly been a positive appointment so far for Spain and has done a wonderful job so far. We saw a different side to La Roja to begin with against Germany. After going ahead things were looking good, but an equaliser came before a stunning strike saw the Germans 2-1 up at half-time. It was left to debutant Mikel Merino to rescue the side late on before Paco Alcacer won the game for Spain deep into extra-time. They weren't about to lose the tournament after such a grueling match and responded to it by demolishing Belgium 3-0. The Belgians might have had a goal or even two, but on the night that were outclassed by the silky Spaniards. Their focus then turned to the upcoming Euro qualifiers where star player Marco Asensio was missing through injury, but they didn't face any major tests, recording comfortable wins against Russia and Kosovo. The 2-0 win over Russia demonstrated their superb tiki-taka style with an astounding number of successful passes being completed. Their focus turned to the goalscoring aspect and they recorded a comfortable 3-0 win over Kosovo. They sit comfortably top of the group with a game in hand and are still yet to concede.

 

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SHOCK AS DIAZ TAKES LILLE POST, GETS DRAW AND LOSS FROM OPENING GAMES

Above: Lille's previous matches
Jonathan Diaz has taken over at LOSC Lille just 7 games into the new regular league season. It's caused a big surprise amongst most, considering that Lille currently sit at the bottom of the table and Diaz supposedly could've taken a job of a higher regard. However, it's theorised that Diaz is looking to build up his reputation at club level, and will weigh the pressure of two managerial jobs in the meantime. It is widely thought that he could eventually move on from Lille and it could be as short as a sole season should he succeed, but Spain is his long term project which he'll remain manager of for as long as he can. He's adopted the same tactic with Lille and despite a slow-ish start, the team is playing better and more offensive already. Lille have certainly appointed well there with one of the best managers around right now taking over.

The start for his side hasn't been amazing, but they certainly haven't played easier sides in the division. Both Bordeaux and Nice are usually associated to be similar sides to Lille and with the low morale within the dressing room, you can't expect a brilliant start for Diaz. The loss to Nice was Diaz's first as a manager but he's acknowledged that they're will be more eventually but he'll do all he can to prevent that. The draw with Bordeaux was a good sign. The side, whose defence has been terrible thus far, showed competence in both matches, however the finishing aspect does need improving. The table doesn't look great for Lille, but Diaz now turns to Spain to face both Romania and Israel.

 

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SPAIN SUFFER SLIGHT DIP BUT TO NO MAJOR CONSEQUENCE

Spain's form took a little dip with only 4 points gained from 2 matches where you would regularly expect the side to win comfortably. While manager Jonathan Diaz fielded a strong line-up on both occasions, you could sense that complacency was seeping into the Spanish heads and it reflected in a lacklustre performance against Romania. Diaz was clearly upset with the result and the squad responded with a much improved performance against Israel. While the result still wasn't convincing, they played much better and were never really at threat of conceding a goal. They could and perhaps should've been able to score more than once in the course of the match.

To take you through the matches, Spain played poorly against Romania, in a match where you'd feel sorry for the fans and spectators of the game. It was an extremely poor outing from both sides, with the game totalling just 7 shots, none real chances, across the entire game for both sides combined. It was a much livelier performance against Israel, however, with Spain totalling 24 shots to Israel's 3. They played they ball nicer and it resulted in a performance which should've culminated into a 2 or 3-0 win. However, the points are in the bag for Spain and they've confirmed qualification with two matches to spare. The final spot looks set to be battled out by Russia and Romania, who face eachother on the final matchday in what will be a key game.

 

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DIAZ SHOWS MANAGERIAL CLASS, STEERS LILLE CLEAR OF RELEGATION ZONE

Jonathan Diaz has achieved a magnificent number of consecutive wins and he has lead Lille from bottom place to serious top 10 contenders, and he still believes they should be pushing for Europe. They've been able to hold the top sides and get a result, while consistently getting the better of the sides just above and around them. Diaz is a real up and coming manager, and there are already a number of clubs swarming for his signature, especially as he never holds back comments and has fully expressed an interest in taking over many club level jobs. It's also a dream of his to one day be manager of Barcelona and Spain. But he's also stated that at the moment he is fully committed to progressively taking Lille forward. The club has already vastly improved as can be told by just a glance at a few results Diaz has achieved, with a front 3 of Jonathan Bamba, Rafael Leao and Nicolas Pepe causing major trouble for opposition defenders.

Highlighted are the key games which demonstrate that Diaz's tactic can work on all forms of team. Spain has often been associated with tiki-taka, but never Lille. However, the players have adopted to it like a duck to water and Lille are the in form team of the entire league, winning 7 and drawing 2 in their past 9 games. A key to this is young LB Youssouf Kone. He wasn't in Lille's plans earlier before Diaz arrived, but immediately thrown in and Diaz won't regret it, with some great performances from the full back attracting attention from clubs as big as Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. But the main part truly has been Nicolas Pepe returning from injury and putting in some outstanding performances. He's on the radar of the best clubs in Europe, but Jonathan Diaz has issued a hands off warning to attempt to keep his prized asset.

 

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SPAIN COMFORTABLY ON TOP AFTER QUALIFICATION FINISHES

Spain have qualified for Euro 2020 after the qualification finished with manager Jonathan Diaz bringing back some of his older players for one last hurrah as qualification had already been confirmed. While the end to their qualification period may not have been brilliant, the squad looks capable of playing against any calibre of team and getting a result. The team will be in high spirits after they cruised to progression along with Russia, who finished in 2nd.

While they did qualify with relative ease, Spain surely will be disappointed that they perhaps deserved to lose against Russia. It was their first notably poor performance under Jonathan Diaz and they struggled to get a number of solid attacks going. However, the team played much better against Kosovo, and while they only won 1-0, they never looked like losing and played a much better overall game. Overall, Spain have been successful so far and will hope their good patch of form continues into the major tournament of Euro 2020 itself.

 

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GREAT TRANSFERS BY DIAZ BUT CHELSEA SPECULATION MOUNTING HEAVILY
Lille manager Jonathan Diaz has continued his good form with the club but an early exit looks very likely with Diaz poised to become the new manager of Chelsea. While he states that he doesn't want to go club hopping, he is extremely interested in the prospect of joining a club such as Chelsea. After a great transfer window where Diaz reportedly spent over 100m via lots of funds being left by the previous manager, including the signing of young starlet Ramon from Barcelona, it looks like Diaz could be the next to himself make a move. We'll have more news coming soon and it looks like Jonathan Diaz is about to take the next step in his managerial journey.
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JONATHAN DIAZ: THE NEW FACE OF CHELSEA

Huge news coming today from Chelsea officials. Jonathan Diaz has been announced as the new manager of 6th placed Premier League side Chelsea. Diaz's stay at previous club at LOSC was short lived but brought great attention and Chelsea jumped at the opportunity. Many pundits think this is a great deal for Chelsea and that they've gotten a steal with one of the brightest up and coming managers. Diaz is said to have signed a long term contract as he looks for a longer stay rather than club hopping. When asked, Diaz said the following of the matter:

I'm delighted with this opportunity to take on a big club such as Chelsea and create a legacy. I know that I was planning to stay at Lille for longer, and it's with no disrespect to them that I take this job. The atmosphere there was great, but this offer was something I couldn't turn down. It's really a dream come true for me to secure my name to a club which has a big name attached to it. I want to create a new generation and I think the foundation for that is already here. It may take a few seasons but I know that I am capable. Thank you.

Diaz adopts the above squad and is thrown straight into the action with a Round of 32 Europa League tie against Real Betis in just 2 days time. Chelsea have stated that they are not looking for instant success but would like a top 4 finish this term and firmly believe that Diaz is able to achieve such a result.