Year 1991
Despite
the (9-0) win over Albania, Suarez’s position was tenuous and much was riding
on Spain’s upcoming qualifier vs. France in Paris in February.
He
had been forced to enlarge Spain’s player pool in the beginning of the season
due to circumstances.
Regulars
such as Julio Salinas, Francisco Villaroya (now at Real Madrid) and Genar
Andrinua were struggling and for the time being were discarded.
However,
Suarez stated that the door was not closed on them.
While
Manolo was playing regularly at Atletico Madrid, Suarez felt it was not in his
true position.
The
backbone of the team (Zubizaretta, Sanchis, Michel, Martin Vazquez and
Butrageuno) was intact.
The
influence of Roberto (now back at Valencia) was waning.
Young
players like Hierro and Alkorta were now fully integral parts of the team, as
were newcomers such as Amor, Goicoetchea and Carlos (up front).
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Photo
From: France Football, Issue 2342, February 26, 1991
(Luis
Suarez, February 20, 1991, EC Qualifier, France 3-Spain 1)
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For
some time, Spain were having problems in the forward positions.
Julio
Salinas had been unable to complement Butragueno, while Manolo and Moya were
not real center forwards. Carlos appeared (for the time being) to be the
striker that Spain were looking for to fit that mold.
Spain
would start out the year with a friendly vs. Iberian neighbors Portugal at
Castellon on January 16th, 1991.
Portugal
took the lead through Oceano Cruz (37th minute)
before Gabriel Moya (71st minute) tied up the match.
This would be Roberto’s last cap for Spain as he would disappear from
Suarez’s plans.
Suarez would introduce two new debutants: Osasuna’s Martin Dominguez
and Atletico Madrid’s Juan Vizcaino.
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Photo From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 25, February 1991
(Manolo, January 16, 1991, Spain 1-Portugal 1)
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Photo From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 25, February 1991
(Roberto, January 16, 1991, Spain 1-Portugal 1)
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The decisive qualifier vs. France took place at Paris on February 20th,
1991.
France had vastly improved under Michel Platini and had won their first
three matches in the Group.
Before the match, Suarez believed that this was a ”very important match but do
not believe will be decisive, it will be a good match as both teams possess
brilliant individuals”.
He
had to contend with the unavailability of key midfielder Rafael
Martin Vasquez.
Spain started brightly and played well in the early stages. They took
the lead through Bakero in the 10th minute.
However, France struck back just minutes later through Franck Sauzee
(14th minute).
In the second half, France took the lead through Jean-Pierre Papin (58th
minute) and Laurent Blanc (77th minute) completed the scoring for a
(3-1) win.
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Photo From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 26, March 1991
(France’s Bruno Martini making a save, February 20, 1991, EC Qualifier,
France 3-Spain 1)
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Photo From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 26, March 1991
(Jose Maria Bakero and Jean-Phillipe Durand, February 20, 1991, EC
Qualifier, France 3-Spain 1)
|
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Photo From: France Football, Issue 2342, February 26, 1991
(Franck
Sauzee scoring the equalizer, February 20, 1991, EC Qualifier, France 3-Spain
1) |
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Photo From: France Football, Issue 2342, February 26, 1991
(Jean-Pierre Papin scoring, February 20, 1991, EC Qualifier, France
3-Spain 1)
|
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Photo From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 26, March 1991
(Jean-Pierre Papin scoring, February 20, 1991, EC Qualifier, France
3-Spain 1)
|
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Photo From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 26, March 1991
(Laurent Blanc scoring past Andoni Zubizaretta, February 20, 1991, EC
Qualifier, France 3-Spain 1)
|
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Photo From: (Magazine Source unknown) / Contribution From a blog viewer
(special thanks to Jose Luis Carbonell)
(Spain squad, February 20, 1991, EC Qualifier, France 3-Spain 1)
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This loss effectively eliminated Spain from the Euros. Spain once again
lost despite playing well in stages. In fact France Manager Michel Platini felt
that “on pure skill Spain had us beaten”, but it was for naught as Spain lost
again away against a close rival. Platini furthermore added that the score did
not reflect the difference between the teams and that Spain was one of the best
teams that France had played in a while.
Surprisingly, Miguel Soler had earned a recall (after nearly three
years) for this match and came on as a substitute.
The last time Spain had failed to qualify for the Finals of a major
Tournament was for the 1974 World Cup; they had qualified for all competitions
since the 1976 Euros.
Spain were left with two more friendlies to conclude the season.
On March 27th, 1991, they hosted Hungary at Santander. After
the loss vs. France, Spain were a demoralized side and this match confirmed it.
Suarez used the match to try out most of his squad and used many substitutions.
Atletico Madrid’s in-form goalkeeper Abel earned his International debut
(though he gave up three goals).
Jozef Kiprich (42nd minute) gave Hungary the lead, before
Manolo tied up the match (43rd minute) with a penalty kick.
Emil Lorincz (54th minute) gave Hungary the lead and Jozef
Kiprich (75th minute) scored Hungary’s third goal.
Carlos pulled a goal back (83rd minute) before Emil Lorincz
scored his second and Hungary’s fourth (88th minute) in a (4-2) away
win for them.
Afterwards Suarez assumed responsibility for the defeat for his
tactics.
Spain’s next friendly was vs. Romania at Caceres on April 17th,
1991.
Suarez included many new caps in what was to be his final match in
charge.
It seemed like an act of desperation to inject new players hoping to
get a reaction from his team.
Roberto Solozabal, Juan Carlos, Fernando Giner, Luis Enrique and
Ziganda earned their first caps.
The new changes brought no dividends and Spain suffered another loss
(0-2).
Spain had been better in the first half, but once Romania scored, the
fragile side surrendered.
Romania scored through Ion Timofte (46th minute), Gavril
Balint (56th minute) to inflict Suarez’s third straight loss as
Manager (twice at home).
It was crisis time and his fate was sealed.
Two days after this match he was summoned by the Federation President
Angel Villar to discuss his future.
Spain appeared on a free-fall and it was no surprise when Luis Suarez
was dismissed as National Team Manager on April 30th, 1991.
His reign had started on a positive note as he had introduced new
players to a team in decline and had re-invigorated their fortunes.
His
past as the Under-21 Manager made him familiar with virtually all the players
in the system and he knew their qualities.
He
inherited the ‘El Quinta del Buitre’ at its height and his demise paralleled
the gradual decline of this Generation.
In
fact his last season in charge was also when Real Madrid were going through one
of their bleakest seasons. This final season also coincided with Barcelona’s
rise in dominance domestically, but even the Barceloan contingent could not
mask Spain’s slide.
Suarez’s
post-1990 World Cup rebuilding forced him to throw in the deep end too many
players that perhaps should have been introduced gradually. However,
circumstances had forced a hasty introduction.
It
must be remembered that for these Euros only one team per Group qualified,
perhaps if two teams qualified (as they would from next edition onwards), the
planning and reactions would be different and not as dramatic. The loss in the
Fall of 1990 vs. Czechoslovakia effectively created a state where the smallest
mistake onwards was deadly. In other circumstances perhaps they would have been
able to work in more serenity and adjust tactics (play for a draw at Paris,
etc..)
Suarez
would also be remembered for some of his outbursts, such as his sending off vs.
Northern Ireland in 1989. In addition, a seemingly harmless pre-match question
in 1990 about his assessment of Tottenham Hotspur’s Spanish midfielder Nayim
brought a violent reaction.
He
would lament how he did not have more striker options other than Butragueno and
Manolo, and the only tall striker at his disposal was Julio Salinas. He
believed Spain were limited in that department as most clubs employed foreign
strikers such as the Mexican Hugo Sanchez and the Austrian Toni Polster, among
others.
He
retired from management afterwards but did take interim posts. He stepped into
the breach at his former club Internazionale Milano in 1992 and again in 1995,
as well as at Albacete in 1994.
After
his dismissal Vicente Miera would be appointed as Interim Manager for the
(1991/92) season, before Javier Clemente was appointed as Spain’s new Manager
in the Fall of 1992.
For
More Detail, see:
References:
Todo\
Sobre La Seleccion Espanola, Felix Martialay, 2006
World
Soccer, April 1990
World
Soccer, April 1991
World
Soccer, July 1990
El
Grafico Number 3602, 1988
Diario
Avisos 14 diciembre, 1989
Foot
Magazine, Issue 102, April 1990
France
Football, Issue 2236, February 14, 1989
France
Football, Issue 2271, October 17, 1989
France
Football, Issue 2333, December 25, 1990
France
Football, Issue 2342, February 26, 1991
Onze-Mondial,
Europe 1-Coupe Du Monde Italia 90
Onze-Mondial,
Hors Serie 3, 1990
Onze-Mondial,
Issue 18, July 1990
Onze-Mondial,
Issue 25, February 1991
Onze-Mondial,
Issue 26, March 1991
MARCA_1988-10-13
MARCA_1988-11-17
MARCA_1988-12-22
MARCA_1988-12-29
MARCA_1989-01-23
MARCA_1989-02-09
MARCA_1989-03-24
MARCA_1989-04-27
MARCA_1989-09-21
MARCA_1989-10-12
MARCA_1989-11-16
MARCA_1989-12-14
MARCA_1990-02-22
MARCA_1990-03-29
MARCA_1990-04-11
MARCA_1990-04-12
MARCA_1990-05-27
MARCA_1990-06-18
MARCA_1990-09-13
MARCA_1990-10-11
MARCA_1990-11-15
MARCA_1990-12-20
MARCA_1991-03-28
MARCA_1991-04-18
¡Bravo! Todo el trabajo que siempre quise hacer y nunca me decidí a realizar. Congratulations.
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