Euro 2016: Gerard Pique Lifts the Clouds over Spain, the Country He Divides

Gerard Pique rose, nodded home and then trotted over toward the advertising hoardings, a look of defiance spread across his face. Quickly on his back was him; right in his gaze deliriously roaring for him was them.

The public slanging match? Forgotten. 

The whistles? Gone. 

The shaming? Shelved. For now, anyway. 

These have been 12 strange, senseless and contradictory months that have surrounded Pique on the international stage, and in a way, much of it continued on Monday. With time running out in Spain's Euro 2016 opener against the Czech Republic in Toulouse, a sense of desperation steadily grew around La Roja.

As 70 minutes ticked by, the scoreboard read 0-0 despite their domination. As 80 arrived, it hadn't changed. By 85, ditto.

As tales go, this was a familiar one for Vicente del Bosque's men. But then: Pique. 

On 86:19, Andres Iniesta lifted in a perfectly weighted cross from the left. Pique, thrown forward along with centre-back partner Sergio Ramos in a manner that highlighted the stakes, took two quick steps to meet it. His header was a glancing one and came from close range, but in the circumstances, it was colossal. 

Beating Petr Cech, finally, Pique had rescued Spain. This was their release or the lifting of a cloud, and immediately the Barcelona defender went straight toward the Spanish support at that end of the ground.

There, jumping on his back, was Ramos—the same Ramos with whom he'd shared little barbs in public throughout last season and with whom he's often had a difficult relationship. Rushing down the stairs of the stadium, fans full of glee charged as close as they could toward him—fans who are part of a wider support base in which many have relentlessly made Pique a target for public fury. 

He had done it; of all people, him.

So what now?

For Pique, it's not yet clear what this means for him in a red shirt—though, sadly, it's very likely little will change—but for Spain, this was more than a goal and more than a victory. 

It was a tonic. 

For two years since the country's implosion at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, a certain negativity has consistently lingered around Spain, and heading into the side's opener in Toulouse, one sensed it was ready to intensify.

On Friday, the allegations against David De Gea came against a backdrop of a "same old" loss to 137th-ranked Georgia, the bewilderment over Del Bosque's reluctance to definitively promote De Gea over Iker Casillas, frustrations for the manager's loyalties and squad selections, the whistling of Pique all around Spain despite the team's pleas for it to stop, and a feeling of held-back evolution.

As such, a loss to a limited Czech side would have brought a savage reaction and the setting-in of intense pessimism toward the team. A draw would have done much the same. But a win would calm things—not completely, but just enough.

A win is exactly what Spain got, and it didn't matter how. 

For large periods in Toulouse on Monday, Del Bosque's men put together the most familiar of performances, and not necessarily in a good way. Against the Czechs, they had 72 percent of the possession, per FourFourTwo's Stats Zone, completed more than 600 passes to 177 and took 18 shots to six, and yet, as is often the case with this side, it didn't always amount to much. 

Despite the team's dominance in general play, clear-cut chances were few: Alvaro Morata went close twice in the first half; David Silva shot wide from outside the box; Thiago Alcantara missed a golden opportunity to shoot and was expertly tackled inside the area.

That was about it. 

This was again a case of endless Spanish possession but little end product—the same old, basically. 

Until Pique. 

"We tried not to become desperate," said the outstanding Iniesta, as reported by Jordi Gil of Sport. "We have already played many similar games to today's and it was a question of carrying on until the goal came and being very alert at the back to not be surprised by the opposition. The goal came and we have got our first win."

It's a win that means a great deal for Spain. The three points gained have put them in a strong position to progress ahead of the testing encounters with Croatia and Turkey, but it's emotionally where this might be most significant. This quells the waiting storm. It softens the residual pain of Brazil. It allows them to get on with it—a chance to build into the tournament. 

"The three points we have gained will give us a lot of tranquility," added Iniesta, before remarking on Pique: "If we look for external connotations then Gerard's goal is important."

As Pique stared defiantly and almost fiercely into the Spanish crowd on Tuesday, it wasn't difficult to identify the message. The reaction from those in the stands also reflected just how ridiculous and counter-productive this situation has been. 

Right around Spain, the Barcelona defender has been targeted by crowds, whistled and jeered with absurd regularity and intensity. It happened in Leon. It happened in Oviedo. In Alicante. In Logrono. In Madrid. Everywhere, essentially. 

The underlying conditions for it are clear. Pique is a Catalan for starters, and he supports his region's push for a referendum on independence from Spain. Evidently, that grates with many Spaniards, despite his insistence over his commitment to the national team. 

"If I play for Spain it's because the truth is I feel I should play," he told Papel (h/t Sport) earlier this year. "Firstly because we have a national team which is great, and secondly, because right now I'm Spanish. So, I feel I should be there and help my teammates."

Yet, what has seemingly heightened the ill-feeling toward him has been wildly irrational. When Barcelona celebrated the capture of their 2014-15 league title, the outspoken Pique told fans at the Camp Nou: "Thanks to all and thanks to Kevin Roldan, it all started with you."

Roldan is a singer who attended the 30th birthday party of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo last February, and whose leaked photos from the event caused tension at Madrid given that it was held in the hours immediately after Real's 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Atletico Madrid. 

Pique's joke was that Barcelona's rise and Madrid's downfall began there. Since, Spaniards around the country have taken objection, despite the obvious contradiction: Roldan is Colombian; Ronaldo is Portuguese. 

So they've whistled him. And then whistled him some more. And then some more. 

Until he saved them, and lifted the cloud. 

"Gracias, Pique," said Tuesday's cover of AS. Gracias, indeed.