‘Stupid’, ‘negligent’, the ‘end of an era’ – the Spanish media pulled no punches in their assessment of the national team’s last-16 exit against Russia. From the sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the World Cup, to selection errors by interim boss Fernando Hierro and an ageing squad, the media blamed many factors. A penalty shootout defeat left the 2010 champions stunned.
‘Going home’ is Marca’s simple, honest but damning headline. ‘To think that dismissing the coach wouldn’t have consequences was naive’
‘Hierro’s team showed all its shortcomings’ – El Mundo “If in a World Cup you play with fire, in the end you burn. Spain started the tournament with good football against Portugal, but then it was losing that until reaching the terrible game against Russia.”
‘They were a broken team’ – La Razon
‘The Russian exile was not just a bad day’ – El Pais “Spain was so stupid during this stormy World Cup that she ended up condemning herself…