We really should have been better prepared for the Spanish demolition than we actually were. Four years ago, Barcelona were a well-oiled machine, and tiki-taka was at the height of its powers. Xavi and Iniesta had formed a double-act, with either Busquets or Alonso slotting in behind them, that treated ball retention as a religion. Since then, Barcelona have taken something of a backwards step in Europe, and Guardiolas Bayern Munich brand of tiki-taka having been sumptuously crushed just three months ago. Nobody predicted this sort of a collapse, however. Iniesta, so often dubbed the third best player in the world, looked anything but, as he failed to get a hold of the ball on matchday 2 against a rampant Dutch side. Following their 5-1 humiliation, the cornerstone of their triumph in 2010 was needed to reignite the spark in a must-win encounter with Chile. 90 minutes later, and the pale-faced Catalan was slumped on the turf, contemplating just how the European Championship and World Cup holders were eliminated after five short days.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
