Barcelona – Spain cruised into the Euro 2020 finals by winning
their last two matches 12-0 on aggregate and securing top spot and
seeding for the tournament. But there was only recrimination for "La
Roja" in Spanish media on Tuesday.
"Spain cannot be a circus" read Marca's front page after a bizarre
Monday night in Madrid following the 5-0 victory over Romania.
Coach Robert Moreno should have been celebrating safely guiding the
side through qualifying unbeaten but instead he appeared to be on the
brink of leaving his job.
That was confirmed in Madrid on Tuesday as he departed from the job
he took on a permanent basis last June with former coach Luis Enrique
returning.
Spanish radio Cope reported on Monday that he was on his way out and
that, even more dramatically, it would be Luis Enrique who would
replace him.
Reporters waited for confirmation of this on Monday at Atletico
Madrid's Metropolitano Stadium but there was no word from Moreno.
Of his own volition he had chosen not to speak and did not attend the
post-match press conference.
Marca, among others, reported that he had said a tearful goodbye to
the players in the dressing room at the end of the match and then
made for home.
The president of Spain's Football Federation (RFEF) also declined to
make an immediate comment. Luis Rubiales was heavily criticized on
Tuesday for his handling of the matter.
Spain made a spectacle of themselves in 2018 when they sacked Julen
Lopetegui on the eve of the Russia World Cup because he had
negotiated his departure from the job so that he could take over as
Real Madrid coach after the tournament.
The next change Rubiales had to make was also a difficult one for
completely different reasons.
Luis Enrique had been appointed after the Russia World Cup but he
felt he could no longer do the job when his young daughter Xana fell
ill and subsequently died, aged nine, from bone cancer.
Luis Enrique had coached seven games and won five since taking over.
Moreno, who was his assistant before tragedy struck, came in and
changed very little.
His record was played nine, won seven, and with a very impressive
plus-25 goal difference.
What perplexed most reporters who follow the Spain team on Tuesday
was the apparent contradiction between Luis Enrique returning to his
job and his friend and former assistant Moreno apparently being upset
at no longer being the number one.
Moreno had said on various occasions that he would welcome Luis
Enrique's return.
Former coach, and Luis Enrique biographer Lluis Lainz told Marca on
Tuesday that Luis Enrique had personally requested to Rubiales that
Moreno not be his number two.