Sir — Spain’s elimination from the World Cup is testimony to the fact that all good things have to come to an end one day. Through the rest of the tournament, we will miss the Spaniard’s ‘tiki-taka’ style of football, which was once scoffed at by the Argentine legend Diego Maradona. Though the general trend is let go of the ball quickly, Spain savoured the ‘tiki-taka’ wherein it held on to the ball for longer periods.
Though the Spanish Press has been mostly magnanimous in commenting on the team’s early exit, the perplexing approach on the field, the apparent fatigue writ large on the players, and a palpable lack of motivation is worrying. It has already taken a toll on the team’s captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Known as ‘the wall’, he was unusually fragile in this tournament. Spain has to go for a young and robust team because the World Cup holders wilted against the attacking ploy of its rivals, Netherlands and Chile.
Already into the second week, this edition of the soccer extravaganza has been a hit for the fast and daunting game adopted by South American teams like Colombia and Chile, while another strong contender, England, is finding itself on the edge.