Germany’s group opponents Spain are going to the World Cup with Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig. The attacking player is the only Bundesliga legionnaire in coach Luis Enrique’s team, which is led by captain Sergio Busquets. The 36-year-old Sergio Ramos is not included.
You really can’t say it’s a good week for the old defense giants of our time. The iconic Gerard Piqué got red in the dressing room in his first game after his official retirement (sounds weird, but it was true) as a substitute for FC Barcelona for viciously beating up the referee. Then Germany’s heroic tackle Mats Hummels had to deal with his non-consideration for the World Cup in the desert on Thursday, before Sergio Ramos suffered the same fate the day after. The 36-year-old has no place in the squad of Spanish national coach Luis Enrique.
Ramos is one of two big names who are surprisingly missing from the “Furia Roja” squad. The second is Thiago, the former control body at the heart of FC Bayern, who struggled through this season with injury problems at Liverpool FC, but was still one of the more consistent footballers in coach Jürgen Klopp’s diva-like Reds. Thiago lacked the rhythm, but Ramos? After a debut season at Paris St. Germain, which wasn’t actually one because he was injured almost continuously and by the end of which he was already dismissed as a transfer flop, he has fought back brilliantly in the current round and is taking a leading role in the luxury ego Ensemble.
Ramos was in such good shape again that he was at least considered a candidate for the World Cup squad. While the opinionated media at home has remained largely muted, prominent advocates have risen to lobby for the aging gladiator, who will be remembered as the toughest (to put it flatteringly) and hard-hitting defender of our time. Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti earlier this month praised the “quality and experience” of the 36-year-old, who has won the world championship once and won the continental tournament (EM) twice. For the coaching maestro, Ramos “is still one of the best central defenders in the world.”
But he’s out now. Luis Enrique didn’t want to say a word about why. Instead, he wanted to talk about those who are involved. And that’s a lot of youngsters and only two representatives of the “Golden Generation” that had dominated world football with their enchantingly grueling Tiki-Taka. Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are those men. One (Busquets) is brain and corrective in the center, should the gifted around him have too much nonsense in their heads. The other (Alba) cavorts on the left defensive flank and should also intervene to stabilize. The Spaniards are sending a team into the race that is far from established, but inspires great fantasies. With Pedri (19) and Gavi (18) – both, like Busquets and Alba, play for FC Barcelona – two small and very agile creative people act in midfield, who are among the greatest fascination of international football.
However, they are only the most spectacular outgrowths of a talent pool that is once again powerful. They also include central defender Eric Garcia and wingers Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati (all FC Barcelona). Meanwhile, Fati’s nomination comes as a bit of a surprise. Not because there are doubts about the 20-year-old’s abilities, which are ultimately considered exceptional. There are doubts because Fati has already accumulated an impressive medical record at his young age. In the past three years, since the end of September 2019, he has missed Barça more than 500 days injured. “He’s had a difficult time. It’s had a big impact that I’m hoping for Ansu’s best performance. Will it happen? We’ll see.”
The youngsters in the squad also include 20-year-old Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao) and Yeremy Pino (Villarreal FC). Both are at home on offense. This also applies to Dani Olmo, the only Bundesliga player for the “Furia Roja”. The Leipzig midfielder had recently shown himself to be in top form again after his knee injury – and was now celebrating his appointment. “Every Spanish youth player dreams of playing for the national team at a World Cup at some point. For me, this dream is now coming true,” said Olmo on Sky. The 24-year-old expects a tough battle to win the group. “Germany have a great squad with world-class players. The game against them will be like a final for us,” he said.
Germany gathers its world class in the offensive rather than in the defensive area. The world agrees. The same applies to Spain. Enrique is taking a massive risk when it comes to choosing his central defence. Young Garcia is not an absolute regular at Barcelona, ??especially when Jules Kounde and Roland Araujo are healthy and fit. In addition to Garcia, only Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City) and Pau Torres have been nominated as specialists. Torres trained alongside the legendary Raúl Albiol at Villarreal FC and is ready for the role of defender. Laporte, meanwhile, is slowly making his way back from knee surgery at City, having played the full 90 minutes twice recently. All the more remarkable is the renunciation of Ramos, whose Paris buddy Achraf Hakimi, once also at BVB, commented on Twitter immediately after the Spanish squad was announced: “Sergio Ramos, the best defender in the world.”
Enrique sees things differently, saying: “I have a great list and I have absolute confidence in the group. We’ve put together a strong team and I really believe we’re ready for Qatar.”
