One of the roster lists that got the most coverage prior to the tournament in Qatar was certainly Spain’s. The team had plenty of questions starting from the goalkeeper all the way to the number 9 spot. Between the sticks Luis Enrique actually went with a very smart decision. He kept DeGea, and Kepa off the list to make sure that Unai Simon would not have to be looking over his shoulder during the tournament.
When it comes to the number 9 spot we can’t necessarily say that he used the same logic. Although there are multiple offensive players on the squad Alvaro Morata is the only pure number 9 on the roster. Dani Olmo and maybe even Marco Asensio could potentially fill that role at a specific point in time. Nico Williams could also be used in that spot as well, but most of these guys play on the wing or in a shadow striker role. The loss of Mikel Oyarzabal due to injury could also come back to bite Luis Enrique if things don’t go well in the World Cup. Since he’s also a player that can play virtually any position up top.
Who Could’ve Been A Reserve Number 9 For Spain?
Iago Aspas, and the man they call “The Panda” Borja Iglesias could’ve been called upon to fill that number 9 spot. There’s an argument to be made that they both deserved to be called up to the national team, even ahead of Alvaro Morata. Borja has scored the most goals for a Spanish born player in La Liga this season with 8 goals. Iago Aspas for his part has scored 7 goals this season, while Morata has only found the back of the net 5 times.
Now if we wanted to be fair to Morata all of his goals have come off regular play. Meanwhile, Borja Iglesias has scored 3 of his 8 goals from the spot. So that kind of evens out, but this way of thinking would leave Iago Aspas as the best goal scorer having found the back of the net 6 times in regular play and once from the spot.
Why Luis Enrique Decided To Only Take Morata?
It’s clear that Luis Enrique believes that his style of play is more heavily predicated on ball possession, and potentially getting players from the midfield or the wings to find shots on goal. That’s one of the reasons why he’s taking plenty of players that can play on the wing to the World Cup, and only Morata to play up front. In that style of play though, someone like Iago Aspas can provide a different type of number 9. He’s certainly not the tall striker that wants to go toe to toe with the center back on a high ball like Morata or Borja would be. He could, though, be a player that participates a lot more in the team’s regular play, and that could go well for a team like Spain that wants to keep possession of the ball for as long as possible.
“I’m The Best Manager On The Face Of The Earth”
After announcing his 26-man roster Luis Enrique had potentially one of the most memorable press conference moments out of any of the managers that will be headed to Qatar. He mentioned that he had no doubts about the players that he had chosen to take part in the tournament, and that he was the best manager on the face of the earth. Then, he would essentially walk back those comments saying that his statement was naturally not founded in reality, but that he believed that, and he had to make sure that players thought as highly of themselves as well. Luis Enrique, may not have any doubts now, but what’s going to happen if Morata goes down, or he needs to make a change at that spot at any point during the tournament?
