Not quite as famous as ‘one-nil to the Arsenal’ was in its day, granted. But one-nil is ‘the Spain Scoreline’. It’s the margin via which, according to the scorer Andrés Iniesta, Spain regained self-esteem and belief by winning at Old Trafford in 2007. Beating England, to those who were charged by Luis Aragonés with installing a ‘new’ form of play, put La Roja on the map again, Iniesta told me. Italy and France both followed months later — old foes, bogey teams. One-nil, one-nil. Spain on the march. Alvaro Morata capped his Spain debut with the winner against Ukraine on Friday night . One-nil, the scoreline, against the USA which saw Spain booed out of the country before Euro 2008. One-nil, the scoreline which gave them a technical knockout against Germany in the Final a couple of weeks later — narrow margin, total control. Champions. Portugal, Paraguay, Germany, Holland — four games, four goals, four clean sheets. One-nil to La Roja, world champions 2010. They had it within their repertoire to hit threes, fours, fives. But the single-goal win was a trademark. Own the ball, own the midfield, get the advantage, never look like conceding. But, Friday night in Seville at the beginning of Semana Santa (Holy Week) was something different. One-nil over Ukraine. A record 97th international match without conceding for ‘Saint’ Iker Casillas. A debut goal, after only 38 competitive minutes, for Álvaro Morata. In touch with Group C leaders Slovakia, who are the next home opponents — in Oviedo in September. The bare bones look good. The full X-ray much less so. Morata has all the hallmarks of an old style centre-forward who finishes . On another night, one of those ‘accident nights’ which hit every team every so often, Spain would have lost this one. On another night, Ruslan Rotan would have had a hat-trick. On this night, there was the sight of the Marquis del Bosque, for whom the game left ‘a bad taste in the mouth’, throwing his hands up in the air at the naivety and imprecision of the second half and roaring at his team: ‘What are you playing at lads?’ Transition. It can be a glorious, strategic, rewarding process — or an unmanaged, inglorious, frustrating decline. Quite where Spain are in that process is debatable. For seven years between 2007 and 2014, they dictated. But, just as when all dictatorships are overthrown, the subjects have had a good time stamping on the statues. Brazil in the Confederations Cup Final, Holland at the World Cup — La Roja were to be bullied, pushed around, made to chase, pressed to within an inch of their lives. The striker has struck up a 'thing' with Andrea Pirlo at Juventus . But there’s no doubt that renovation is afoot. Isco, Real Madrid’s gem of a midfielder, should have been at the World Cup, should probably have been a starter. Koke, dynamic, aggressive, intelligent — the heartbeat of an Atlético Madrid side which won the Spanish title and came within seconds of winning the Champions League — is now a fixture. Debuts have been given to Diego Costa, Juan Bernat, Paco Alcácer and David de Gea, while everyone waits for Javi Martínez and Thiago Alcántara to get fit. And stay fit. Yet Spain, Europe’s reigning champions, are fighting for their dignity and automatic qualification from this group because they could not control a 1-1 situation in Slovakia last year. They are sore and should be contemplating this midweek’s friendly against Holland with queries in their minds because they could neither augment, nor control, Friday night’s 28th-minute lead against a Ukraine side which at first came to defend and play on the break. Then, sniffing glory, piled runners forward through the Spain midfield, robbing possession and launching assaults on Casillas’ goal. It all makes the scorer much more interesting. What Spain require, even above some restored arrogance and self-confidence, even above key players avoiding injury, is for a prolific striker to emerge. Morata has also been likened to Real Madrid and France striker Benzema . In Raúl’s day, his goals patched up the fact that Spain didn’t have a world-class XI. Good, but not great. When David Villa and Fernando Torres took charge they would, regularly, add the goal or goals which gave sense, confidence, and purpose to La Roja controlling play via Xavi, David Silva, Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, Marcos Senna and Sergio Busquets. Cutting edge. Costa — if del Bosque accepts that more direct, more vertical football, quarter-backed by Cesc Fabregas, is central to the renovation — may become vital. Meantime there’s Morata — once of Real Madrid, lately of Juventus. His former Madrid mentor, Míchel, himself a mighty forward, recently said that Morata, whose debut goal on Friday was more valuable than it was beautiful, was ‘part van Basten, part Benzema’. Now that is praise. It’s meant to mean that he has the direct No 9 repertoire which accounts for his 32 goals for Spain at junior levels and his tournament top-scoring performance last time La Rojita won the European Under-21 Championship. Holland's Marco Van Basten is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time . Equally, it speaks of his awareness of space and how to profit from it. ‘Sometimes you have to really “love” football to understand strikers,’ he says. ‘To understand, or spot, their movements behind strikers, the process of “opening up a defence”. ‘Some people can’t see it. Some think that if you haven’t scored you’ve not had a good game. Right now, first-touch, fluid, strategic football is in fashion — the old style centre-forward who finishes but is static is a vanishing species. If you don’t have much more to your game, you won’t play.’ When he did get to play he chose the No 7 for his back. With Spain, just like at Manchester United, that’s a special number. It belonged to Raúl, record scorer until along came Villa — now Spain’s record scorer, and not formally retired. ‘I dream of scoring my first goal for La Roja,’ Morata said on Thursday. Then: ‘I was angry at myself for missing an earlier chance, so I didn’t really celebrate when I scored,’ he told me on Friday evening after the dream arrived. Good mindset. At Juve, he has struck up a ‘thing’ with Andrea Pirlo. ‘He never looks up when he hits you a first-time pass, but you learn. You anticipate.’ Just as he did against Ukraine to sprint onto Koke’s volley-pass. Some of Spain’s transition will be played out through the talents of this guy. Part van Basten, part Benzema. Taught by Pirlo.
Alvaro Morata scored on his Spain debut against Ukraine on Friday night .
The Juventus striker had scored 32 goals for Spain at junior levels .
Former Madrid mentor Michel said he was 'part van Basten, part Benzem'
Not quite as famous as ‘one-nil to the Arsenal’ was in its day, granted. But one-nil is ‘the Spain Scoreline’. It’s the margin via which, according to the scorer Andrés Iniesta, Spain regained self-esteem and belief by winning at Old Trafford in 2007. Beating England, to those who were charged by Luis Aragonés with installing a ‘new’ form of play, put La Roja on the map again, Iniesta told me. Italy and France both followed months later — old foes, bogey teams. One-nil, one-nil. Spain on the march. Alvaro Morata capped his Spain debut with the winner against Ukraine on Friday night . One-nil, the scoreline, against the USA which saw Spain booed out of the country before Euro 2008. One-nil, the scoreline which gave them a technical knockout against Germany in the Final a couple of weeks later — narrow margin, total control. Champions. Portugal, Paraguay, Germany, Holland — four games, four goals, four clean sheets. One-nil to La Roja, world champions 2010. They had it within their repertoire to hit threes, fours, fives. But the single-goal win was a trademark. Own the ball, own the midfield, get the advantage, never look like conceding. But, Friday night in Seville at the beginning of Semana Santa (Holy Week) was something different. One-nil over Ukraine. A record 97th international match without conceding for ‘Saint’ Iker Casillas. A debut goal, after only 38 competitive minutes, for Álvaro Morata. In touch with Group C leaders Slovakia, who are the next home opponents — in Oviedo in September. The bare bones look good. The full X-ray much less so. Morata has all the hallmarks of an old style centre-forward who finishes . On another night, one of those ‘accident nights’ which hit every team every so often, Spain would have lost this one. On another night, Ruslan Rotan would have had a hat-trick. On this night, there was the sight of the Marquis del Bosque, for whom the game left ‘a bad taste in the mouth’, throwing his hands up in the air at the naivety and imprecision of the second half and roaring at his team: ‘What are you playing at lads?’ Transition. It can be a glorious, strategic, rewarding process — or an unmanaged, inglorious, frustrating decline. Quite where Spain are in that process is debatable. For seven years between 2007 and 2014, they dictated. But, just as when all dictatorships are overthrown, the subjects have had a good time stamping on the statues. Brazil in the Confederations Cup Final, Holland at the World Cup — La Roja were to be bullied, pushed around, made to chase, pressed to within an inch of their lives. The striker has struck up a 'thing' with Andrea Pirlo at Juventus . But there’s no doubt that renovation is afoot. Isco, Real Madrid’s gem of a midfielder, should have been at the World Cup, should probably have been a starter. Koke, dynamic, aggressive, intelligent — the heartbeat of an Atlético Madrid side which won the Spanish title and came within seconds of winning the Champions League — is now a fixture. Debuts have been given to Diego Costa, Juan Bernat, Paco Alcácer and David de Gea, while everyone waits for Javi Martínez and Thiago Alcántara to get fit. And stay fit. Yet Spain, Europe’s reigning champions, are fighting for their dignity and automatic qualification from this group because they could not control a 1-1 situation in Slovakia last year. They are sore and should be contemplating this midweek’s friendly against Holland with queries in their minds because they could neither augment, nor control, Friday night’s 28th-minute lead against a Ukraine side which at first came to defend and play on the break. Then, sniffing glory, piled runners forward through the Spain midfield, robbing possession and launching assaults on Casillas’ goal. It all makes the scorer much more interesting. What Spain require, even above some restored arrogance and self-confidence, even above key players avoiding injury, is for a prolific striker to emerge. Morata has also been likened to Real Madrid and France striker Benzema . In Raúl’s day, his goals patched up the fact that Spain didn’t have a world-class XI. Good, but not great. When David Villa and Fernando Torres took charge they would, regularly, add the goal or goals which gave sense, confidence, and purpose to La Roja controlling play via Xavi, David Silva, Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, Marcos Senna and Sergio Busquets. Cutting edge. Costa — if del Bosque accepts that more direct, more vertical football, quarter-backed by Cesc Fabregas, is central to the renovation — may become vital. Meantime there’s Morata — once of Real Madrid, lately of Juventus. His former Madrid mentor, Míchel, himself a mighty forward, recently said that Morata, whose debut goal on Friday was more valuable than it was beautiful, was ‘part van Basten, part Benzema’. Now that is praise. It’s meant to mean that he has the direct No 9 repertoire which accounts for his 32 goals for Spain at junior levels and his tournament top-scoring performance last time La Rojita won the European Under-21 Championship. Holland's Marco Van Basten is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time . Equally, it speaks of his awareness of space and how to profit from it. ‘Sometimes you have to really “love” football to understand strikers,’ he says. ‘To understand, or spot, their movements behind strikers, the process of “opening up a defence”. ‘Some people can’t see it. Some think that if you haven’t scored you’ve not had a good game. Right now, first-touch, fluid, strategic football is in fashion — the old style centre-forward who finishes but is static is a vanishing species. If you don’t have much more to your game, you won’t play.’ When he did get to play he chose the No 7 for his back. With Spain, just like at Manchester United, that’s a special number. It belonged to Raúl, record scorer until along came Villa — now Spain’s record scorer, and not formally retired. ‘I dream of scoring my first goal for La Roja,’ Morata said on Thursday. Then: ‘I was angry at myself for missing an earlier chance, so I didn’t really celebrate when I scored,’ he told me on Friday evening after the dream arrived. Good mindset. At Juve, he has struck up a ‘thing’ with Andrea Pirlo. ‘He never looks up when he hits you a first-time pass, but you learn. You anticipate.’ Just as he did against Ukraine to sprint onto Koke’s volley-pass. Some of Spain’s transition will be played out through the talents of this guy. Part van Basten, part Benzema. Taught by Pirlo.
his Spain debut with the winner against Ukraine on Friday night . One-nil, the scoreline, against lately of Juventus. His former Madrid mentor, valuable than it was beautiful, was ‘part van repertoire which accounts for his 32 goals for Spain at junior levels and his tournament