Spain's Clash with Italy Is Early Chance for Julen Lopetegui to Set New Tone

Julen Lopetegui won't be looking back. "Football does not stop," the new Spain manager said when presented back in July. "Spanish football is proud of its past, but we will look to the future."

The concept of future is one that's dominated the discussion around La Roja for two years. Ever since the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, where cracks in an empire revealed themselves, there's been an inevitability in the arrival at this point.

The common line has been evolution not revolution, and the picture ahead has been painted bright as they often are. But as the political commentator George Will once said: "The future has a way of arriving unannounced."

As Spain embark on the next step in their World Cup qualifying campaign, that future is Italy. Or perhaps more accurately, Italy could give Spain a future they don't like, one they hadn't seen coming.

Thursday night's clash between the countries in Turin might only be the second game of their qualifying process, but it already looks significant.

Having been drawn together in the most top-heavy group in Europe, this clash is the highest profile of any in the whole campaign, and that matters. Only 13 teams will qualify for the tournament in Russia from nine groups: the group winners and four more from an eight-team playoff round contested over two legs. 

In a group also containing Albania, FYR Macedonia, Israel and Liechtenstein, Spain's pair of clashes with the Italians will likely decide top spot. Miss it, and there are no guarantees one of these heavyweights will make it to Russia. 

There it is, then: unannounced. 

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For Lopetegui, it's fitting that Italy will shape a future that's felt so distant but is suddenly here. Spain's dynasty, after all, began with Italy in the semi-finals of Euro 2008, when a Cesc Fabregas penalty ended the nation's hex with the Azzurri.

Eighty-eight years had passed since Spain's last competitive win over them, a period littered with controversy, ill-feeling, a sense of injustice and painful memories. Fabregas' penalty brought all of that crashing down, releasing La Roja and sending them on their way.

Eight years later, Italy brought Spain full circle, toppling the dynasty in France at Euro 2016. 

That meeting in Paris in June wasn't an exit point for the Spanish; it was a separation point. In the face of Antonio Conte's savvy and relentless side, the defending champions had no time, no clarity, no method and no response. It was the ultimate exhibition of a good thing that had grown stale, highlighting the need for regeneration. Lopetegui is the man tasked with that. 

It was interesting to hear the new Spain manager assess his side's upcoming opponents at a press conference last week. "Italy is the national team most similar to a club," he said. It was an insight into what Lopetegui wants to create for himself: a fiercely tight-knit group defined by togetherness as much as talent. 

In a recent interview with Marca, the Basque spoke of a "commitment [to] being a team, a collective." It's a basic thing to say but important all the same.

For Vicente del Bosque's group in France, it looked like outside noise, distractions, the lingering presence of the Barcelona-Real Madrid divide and the whistles of a complex fanbase had chipped away at its resolve. Tactically, they were exposed, but they also looked something bordering on emotionally spent, too. 

Lopetegui's first task, then, might be more about winning his players over than anything tactical or stylistic. And the early signs are good. 

Opening wins over Belgium and Liechtenstein got this new era off to a quick start, but it's the feeling of being refreshed to a certain extent that stood out more. "Lopetegui has recaptured Spain's competitive spirit," said his predecessor Del Bosque last month. "They needed that and are in good hands." From Del Bosque it was a significant line; both recognition and admission all in one. 

Key to strengthening a sense of spirit for Lopetegui will be his handling of those on the periphery of the squad. At Euro 2016, Del Bosque's use of only 11 players didn't exactly stir motivation outside the star-studded core. But already, his replacement is looking for ways to make others feel needed. His handing of Isco, who is marginalised at Real Madrid but has Lopetegui's public backing, will have gone down well. 

Isco isn't the only youthful face turned to, either. Following on from his spells with the national team at youth level, Lopetegui has opted for Sergi Roberto and Saul Niguez in his squad to face the Italians. That energy and renewal is something that Spain have needed, hinting that the new boss intends to steadily force through a new wave of talent. That also includes Diego Costa. 

The Chelsea striker is undoubtedly the most intriguing member of La Roja. Lethal, aggressive, a one-man wrecking ball/battering ram, Costa has enormous potential in national colours but to this point has been stylistically incompatible with those around him. Watching him in red has been to see a doberman trapped in a cot—restricted and restless, unable to do what comes naturally. 

Lopetegui's intention is to change that. "Tomorrow Diego Costa will play," the manager told a news conference on Wednesday. "We decided we must play our strongest team in a game like this."

If the Brazil-born forward stands as one part of the Basque's strongest side, it's a clear indication that an altered direction is being taken. The template, the emphasis, the tactical philosophy: it's different. 

Earlier this week, Sergio Busquets spoke of that shifting dynamic. "The two [Del Bosque and Lopetegui] have more or less the same system but with Lopetegui we are working more tactically, there is much more emphasis on that," he told Movistar (h/t Marca).   

If the criticism of Del Bosque did become unnecessarily nasty, the basis for it was understandable. As Spain's empire slowed, there was little evidence of tactical sophistication or invention. Opponents knew what they were going to get in an absence of opponent-specific strategies. It became a matter, then, of whether they could stop it, and the Dutch, Chileans, Croatians and Italians could. 

Now it's the Italians again. Thursday's meeting in Turin will present Spain with problems they've been unable to overcome: back threes, wing-backs, twin forwards and intense pressing.

"Italy had a fairly similar style of football from Cesare Prandelli through Conte and [Giampiero] Ventura," said Lopetegui on Wednesday. "There are different details, but the base system is fairly stable, both in defence and attack."

Thus, for Spain, it's an opportunity to show a new side to themselves. Italy ripped them apart tactically in France, and the challenge is to respond to that, to add another dimension alongside the technical brilliance that forms the foundation of who they are. 

There's a lot riding on it, too. A once-distant future that had been pondered for some time is now here, and it's fitting that it's Italy standing in the way. For Lopetegui's new Spain, it's a chance to set a new tone. 

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