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Sam Borden, ESPN Senior Writer
When Sergio Camello scored for Spain in the 10th minute of extra time in the men’s Olympic final on Friday, France coach Thierry Henry turned from his place on the sideline and tried to walk back to his bench. But there was a problem.
A flood of Spanish players and staff had poured off their bench and were rushing towards Camello, sprinting through France’s technical area and forcing Henry to try, in vain, to slip through the Spanish siege. Eventually, the French legend just slumped his shoulders, endured the bumps and bristles, and waited as La Roja won 5-3 to pick up their gold medal.
Henry’s experience is, in many ways, what the entire soccer universe is going through right now. Spain’s dominance — across ages and genders and tournaments of all kinds — is complete and total, leaving the rest of the soccer world to wonder just how long this all might last.
The list of Spanish titles is getting comically long. As just a sampling, consider that Spain’s men’s teams have won: this year’s Olympics and European Championship, as well as last year’s Nations League. Their women’s team won last year’s World Cup and this year’s Nations League, while their under-19 teams — on both the men’s and women’s side — won both of this summer’s European Championships.
It is a staggering résumé, even more so when you consider that the success isn’t confined to the senior level. This Olympic men’s tournament, as mostly an under-23 competition, was just another reminder that Spain’s talent pipeline is deep.
While some squads here used their three permitted overage players to bring the highest of top-line players — like, say, bronze medalists Morocco rostering Achraf Hakimi, who might be the best right back in the world — Spain was more modest. Juan Miranda, Sergio Gómez and Abel Ruiz are stout, to be sure, but not spectacular.
Rather, the fire in this Spanish squad came from its on-the-rise stars. Just look at what happened Friday: Barcelona’s Fermín López (21 years old) and Villarreal’s Álex Baena (23) are the only two players on the Olympic team to have also won the Euros, and they combined to score three of the five Spanish goals against France, with substitute Camello, also 23, finishing the job with his pair.
Soccer fans may feel like this phenomenon is familiar. Indeed, the men’s team had a sustained period of dominance in the late 2000s and early 2010s, sandwiching a World Cup title in 2010 with Euros wins in 2008 and 2012. That version of La Roja toyed with its opponents, stringing passes together by the hundreds and grinding games to dust.
This is different, in part because of how it stretches beyond simply one program but also because of how Spain is doing it. From a personnel perspective, it is impossible to ignore the continuity Spain has sought in its coaching: Luis de la Fuente, who led the senior team to the Euros, was a longtime youth national team coach, winning U19 and U21 Euros with Spain before moving up to the highest level.
Santi Denia, who managed the Olympic team to gold, has a similar background. He is currently the Spanish U21 coach, and previously spent eight years as the U17 coach and four years as the U19 coach.
That familiarity with the larger pool of Spanish players allows for incredible institutional memory, as well as true comfort with a larger playing philosophy. While those earlier Spanish teams were known for the relentless, short-passing tiki-taka style, the current iterations don’t always dominate the ball — France actually had 55% of possession in the Olympic final — but focus more on clearly defined roles and responsibilities, as well as expert execution and precision.
That was on display against France, as the host country had more early chances (and took the first lead), only to have Spain score on what felt like each of their first three significant forays into attack.
Their finishing was sublime. Baena cut an inch-perfect pass across the penalty area that Lopez first-timed expertly into the corner for the first Spanish goal before pouncing on a rebound moments later to push Spain in front. Baena’s dipping free kick — swooping over the wall and diving down just so — provided the third. Camello’s finishing was similarly precise, as he coolly chipped on-rushing France goalkeeper Guillaume Restes to put Spain in front in extra time before doing it again on the break just before full-time to seal it.
Afterward, Henry gathered his players together in a circle on the field before everyone went inside to change into their official Olympic medal ceremony tracksuits. Henry won so much as a player for club and country but has yet to find any significant success as a coach.
His future is one of the lingering subplots from this Olympics, and where he goes next — to work under Didier Deschamps? To coach another national team like the United States? Somewhere else? It’s a question that will surely play itself out over the next days and weeks. Wherever he ends up, though, Henry will likely have to reckon with some version of the problem he faced on Friday evening: How to avoid a Spanish surge that shows no signs of stopping.
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