Viva España

And so it ended, not with a bang but with a whimper. A side that truly transcended the boundaries of what an international football team could be in my lifetime. Defeat to Chile, following on from that hammering by the Dutch saw the holders knocked out of a tournament not even twenty four hours after Russia and South Korea were playing their opening game.

There were shades of the old Spain in there. Not many of them, I'll admit. The game had long gone but world class players don't forget how to play football, regardless of the circumstances. For all that's been levelled at them for being over elaborate and sterile at times, it wasn't as though there were a multitude of chances to waste. A side that just six years ago could cut through anyone had no edge to speak of and in spite of having the winners of the Champions League and Europa League domestically, failed to have any of their top players make a mark when it mattered.

Casilas' performance will be something that forces his hand and makes him a better player (moving away from his beloved Madrid might not be the worst idea) and Chelsea might just have saved themselves some money in purchasing Diego Costa right now. Although no goals and plenty of unsportsmanlike conduct would suggest he's already well suited to Mourinho.

Ultimately, the style of play that took them to the top of the world isn't broken. More that for it to be effective, a team needs to be hungry. Spain have gorged themselves in recent years and as such, fell prey to a Holland team that while deceptively short on quality was devastating on the counter. From there, they were always playing catch up and it was a game they never looked like winning.

I had thought that the Confederations Cup defeat, specifically the manner of it would be enough of a warning. Twelve months to prepare and come back stronger. Given the resources at their disposal, I would still have them down as favourites for Euro 2016 and hope that maybe now they'll go back to the drawing board. It took them a long time as a nation to get it right but when they did, it was a thing of beauty. Here's hoping it doesn't take that long again.