There were many surprises in the selection of the Spanish squad for the 2020 European Cup. La Furia Roja’s captain, Sergio Ramos was not called up by Luis Enrique. And what is more surprising than that is that there is no Real Madrid players in the Spanish national team. This is the first time that the Spanish national team has not had Los Blancos players in an official tournament. La Liga’s most successful club has always had representatives. At the 2018 World Cup, Spain’s latest competitive tournament, there were even six players who strengthened the national team.
Every season, Real Madrid is strengthened by many Spanish players. They also tend to fill a significant portion of the national team squad. When Spain play official tournaments, often Los Merengues players are included in the main 11. Previously, Spain had once been involved in a tournament with almost no Real Madrid players. That happened at the 1950 World Cup. At that time, coach Guillermo Eizaguirre only called one Los Blancos player, Luis Molowny. In Brazil 1950, the Spanish squad was dominated by players from Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona and Valencia.
This season, the Spanish players in the Real Madrid squad are still influential. Marco Asensio, Lucas Vazquez and Nacho Fernandez featured regularly. Isco also often comes off the bench. Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal are still important players despite spending most of their time on the treatment table. The performance of Zinedine Zidane’s squad was not bad either. In the midst of an extraordinary injury crisis, they could be runners-up in La Liga. Eden Hazard and his friends also qualified for the semifinals of the Champions League.
So, what causes the absence of Real Madrid players in the Spanish national team? Luis Enrique has his reasons. Ramos and Carvajal failed to reach fitness levels in the expected time. Vazquez is expected to only recover in June 2021. Meanwhile, Asensio, Isco and Nacho are simply not included in Enrique’s plans. All three have rarely played for the national team lately. Isco last played in June 2019. Asensio last played in November 2020, and that was only 79 minutes in two games. Meanwhile, Nacho last played with La Furia Roja in May 2018.
“Sergio Ramos is our captain but he wasn’t called up because he couldn’t play or even train in top condition since January. I spoke to him on the phone, it was a difficult and tough conversation but precise and respectful, “said Enrique. Luis Enrique brought in a number of new players as he saw fit. Two players are likely to get international debuts at the European Cup, namely Robert Sanchez (Brighton & Hove Albion) and Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City).
In Enrique’s chosen squad, there are also several players who have yet to get 10 caps for the Spanish national team. They are Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), Eric Garcia (Manchester City), Diego Llorente (Leeds United), Pau Torres (Villarreal), Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid), Pedri (Barcelona), Adama Traore (Wolverhampton Wanderers), and Pablo Sarabia (Paris Saint-Germain).
Enrique’s choice certainly did not escape criticism, especially from Madridista. In fact, some people associate the selection of the squad with his status as a former Barcelona coach, Real Madrid’s eternal rival. However, this accusation is baseless if we review the injury history of Ramos, Carvajal and Vazquez, as well as the work of Asensio, Isco and Nacho in the Spanish national team in recent years. Also, Enrique has played for Real Madrid as a player. As a professional, he certainly got rid of the club’s rivalry sentiment for his job.
“I can’t pick a squad based solely on whether some people will like it or not,” said Enrique. Apart from the absence of Real Madrid players, the absence of a number of players who have performed impressively this season has also been in the spotlight. Mario Hermoso, Iago Aspas, Sergio Canales and Mikel Merino were not called up, despite performing well at their respective clubs. Meanwhile, Inigo Martinez withdrew from European Cup selection because he was not ready “physically and mentally”.
Luis Enrique’s decision for the 2020 European Cup is indeed a complete surprise. Apart from the questionable squad selection, he also only chose 24 players from the 26 quotas given. The 51-year-old coach argues that training is more efficient with fewer players. “Training will be better with this number of players [24],” he said.
In addition, for Euro 2020, there are more players playing in foreign leagues than La Liga, something that rarely happens in the Spanish national team. There are only 10 La Liga players in the La Furia Roja squad. The Premier League contributes 10 players. Meanwhile, four other players took part in Ligue 1, Serie A and the Bundesliga. Manchester City became the club that contributed the most representatives in the Spanish squad this time with four players.
ASL
