Preview

Both Spain and visitors Czechoslovakia were heading into their very first fixture of 1990, with the World Cup just three and a half months away. Alicante in the south eastern part of the country provided the backdrop for Spain’s attempt at gearing up in preparation for Italia ’90, with Estadio José Rico Pérez an intimate venue. The 1982 World Cup had seen three fixtures take place in this very stadium, with Argentina’s only two wins of the tournament occuring here, as well as Poland securing third place with a 3-2 victory over France. Spain were looking to follow up from their excellent home form in the qualification for this year’s World Cup, as they’d won all four of their home ties, scoring 14 and not conceding a single goal in the process. As for the visitors, they too were facing their first official international since securing qualification thanks to that 0-0 draw in Lisbon back in November. Neither team was considered among the favourites ahead of the upcoming global event, but both were solid European teams who could give any team a run for their money on their day. 

Team news Spain

Luis Suárez had overseen a successful World Cup qualifying campaign, and along the way Spain had steamrollered their way past each of their four opponents on home soil. They’d won three matches by 4-0, as well as toppling the Republic of Ireland by two goals to nil. This ensured that they went to Italy as group winners. They would do well building on their qualification and maintaining a positive streak of results, starting with a favourable scoreline against physically strong opponents today. 

Suárez seemed to have a settled team, with no less than nine players starting six or more of their eight qualifiers. Eight from these nine had been selected in today’s starting eleven, with only left-back Manuel Jiménez of Sevilla absent. Jiménez had been featuring regularly at club level, so it would appear that Suárez had wanted to have a closer look at an alternative for that position, rather than the Sevilla man being injured. The same possibly applied for the other full-back position, as Quique Flores of Valencia was also not among the starting eleven. Chendo of Real Madrid was without doubt a capable replacement for the latter, while Real Zaragoza’s 23 year old left-sided player Francisco Villarroya could well slot in for Jiménez. 

Spain had started in a 5-3-2 formation on three occasions during the qualification, with both matches against the Republic of Ireland as well as the away leg against Northern Ireland seeing them numerically reinforced defensively. Based on the starting eleven, it appeared likely that they would be in a similar formation this time around, too. 

Team news Czechoslovakia

Having secured qualification for the World Cup following their scoreless draw in Lisbon back in November, Czechoslovakia head coach Jozef Vengloš would want to see his team build an appetite for the global event in their run of warm-up matches leading up to Italia ’90. Spain away looked a daunting task, but surely not one which they should be facing with fear. Often imposing themselves physically on opponents, Czechoslovakia were a match for any opponent on their day. And they certainly had players capable of getting the ball down and playing, too. 

Like his counterpart in the Spain dug-out, Vengloš also had a settled team, where nine players had started six or more from their eight World Cup qualifiers. Among their eleven men taking to the field for the kick-off, defenders Július Bielik and Vladimír Kinier, as well as forward Milan Luhový, were not among those nine. Kinier had just been brought on twice right at the end of both their qualifiers against Portugal for his solitary qualification minutes, while both Bielik and Luhový were somewhat more familiar having started three and four matches in Czechoslovakia’s World Cup qualification campaign respectively.

Referee

38 year old Swiss official Freddy Philippoz had for a number of seasons been a regular feature at club level domestically, but this was his very first international assignment. 

While the main official was inexperienced at this level, his assistant on the far touchline was quite the opposite. 49 year old André Daina had refereed one match both at the 1984 European Championship and the 1986 World Cup, while he had also been in charge of the ill-fated European Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool in 1985. He was no longer a FIFA licensed referee, but was capable of operating a flag as a linesman at international level. The identity of the second linesman is still unknown to us. 

Venue

Spain had played all four of their home World Cup qualifiers in Seville: Two in Real Betis’ Estadio Benito Villamarín and two in Sevilla’s Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. This game, however, took place in Alicante, where la Roja for the third time took to the field in a home friendly in the Estadio José Rico Pérez, home of third tier (!) club Hércules. They’d previously faced Hungary (1-1 in 1977) and Finland (3-1 in 1985) here, and the latter match had seen goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta, then aged 23, make his international debut as a half time replacement for the legendary Luis Arconada, a switch between the sticks for the Spain national team which would become a permanent change before the end of the qualification for the 1986 World Cup. Emilio Butragueño, on his third international appearance, and midfielder Roberto were the only other players from that Finland friendly who were still in the side. 

Spain (5-3-2)

Player	Notes	Age	Club
1 Andoni Zubizarreta		28	Barcelona
2 Chendo		28	Real Madrid
3 Alberto Górriz		32	Real Sociedad
4 Genar Andrinúa	sub 63′	25	Atlethic Bilbao
5 Manuel Sanchís		24	Real Madrid
6 Roberto Fernández	sub 54′	27	Barcelona
7 Manolo	sub 80′	25	Atlético Madrid
8 Míchel Gonzáles	sub 63′	26	Real Madrid
9 Emílio Butragueño (c)	sub 63′	26	Real Madrid
10 Rafael Martín Vázquez		24	Real Madrid
11 Francisco Villarroya		23	Real Zaragoza

Substitutes
x
14 Juanito Rodríguez	on 63′	24	Real Zaragoza
15 Rafa Paz	on 63′	24	Sevilla
16 Luis Milla	on 54′	23	Barcelona
17 Miguel Pardeza	on 63′	25	Real Zaragoza
18 Julio Salinas	on 80′	27	Barcelona

Manager: Luis Suárez

Czechoslovakia (5-3-2)

Player	Notes	Age	Club
1 Jan Stejskal		28	Sparta Praha
2 Július Bielik	sub 67′	27	Sparta Praha
3 Miroslav Kadlec		25	TJ Vítkovice
4 Ivan Hašek (c)		26	Sparta Praha
5 Vladimír Kinier	19′	31	Slovan Bratislava
6 Václav Němeček		23	Sparta Praha
7 Michal Bílek	34′	24	Sparta Praha
8 Jozef Chovanec		29	PSV Eindhoven
9 Milan Luhový	sub 58′	27	Dukla Praha
10 Tomáš Skuhravý		24	Sparta Praha
11 Ľubomír Moravčík		24	Plastika Nitra

Substitutes
x
13 Pavel Černý	on 58′	27	Sparta Praha
15 Miloš Belák		25	Plastika Nitra
16 Vladimír Weiss	on 67′	25	Inter Bratislava

Manager: Jozef Vengloš 

Tactical line-up

Match report

First half: 

The visiting Czechoslovakian team get the match under way through their expected forward pairing of Milan Luhový and Tomáš Skuhravý, representing each their Prague club. As we’re looking, the all-white clad visitors play from right to left. The commentators for TV2 Española this evening are José Ángel de la Casa, the voice of Spanish football in this era, and no less than the legendary Alfredo Di Stéfano. This was the former Real Madrid ace’s first ever appearance as the expert summarizer, aged 63. 

The home side intend to take the game to Czechoslovakia right from the word ‘go’. They appear confident, and push the visitors back during the opening sequences. With the crowd right on top of the players in this highly intimate stadium, a splendid atmosphere is created, and one which sees the Spanish team spurred on. After four minutes of play, they even have the ball in the back of the net, although it was rightfully disallowed for offside, but Manolo, who seized on Míchel’s attempted volley from 20 yards to finish inside the post from 14 yards out, had shown his predatory nature. The pair had netted half of the 20 goals which Spain had scored in their Italia ’90 qualification campaign between them.

Czechoslovakia have not come just to make up the numbers, but they struggle to impose themselves on the game early on, as Spain look spirited. The home side’s players are agile and flexible, and they are no strangers to involving their defensive players in build-ups of their attacks. From their three central defenders, the most left-sided of them, Real Madrid’s Manuel Sanchís, with his trademark style of having his shirt trail his shorts, is the more prominent in crossing the halfway line, as he looks to engage with Francisco Villarroya to his left and Rafael Martín Vázquez ahead of him. At times in this early stage of the game, one of the two strikers will also look to shift towards the left-sided channel, and so Czechoslovakia face almost an overload of players in these areas. Their right-back Július Bielik and their right-sided centre-back Vladimír Kinier need to be alert to fend the Spanish off. 

On six minutes, Czechoslovakia make their first purposeful appearance inside the Spanish defence’s territory, as Bielik stops the unsuspecting Míchel in his tracks, before angling a pass forward for Skuhravý. After a return pass from Moravčík, the burly striker takes aim from 23-24 yards out. His shot, however, doesn’t have sufficient power to trouble Zubizarreta, who claims the ball without any difficulty. It might have been registered as an attempt on goal, but it didn’t ask any questions of the custodian.  

They were a rather direct outfit, the visitors, who would look to hit balls in the forward direction for their two strikers to chase. Skuhravý was the more powerful among them, and he was being attended to by Real Sociedad’s 32 year old centre-back Alberto Górriz. Luhový, the Dukla Prague goal ace, was perhaps not quite as visible as his companion, but he did keep the Spanish defence on their toes. He would typically be attended to either by Roberto, Sanchís or even libero Andrinúa. 

Both teams have begun in a 5-3-2 formation, although with the home side enjoying the majority of the early possession, it could be argued that since their wide players are operating further forward, dubbing their numbers combination 3-5-2 is equally logical. The two sides continue on from their respective qualification campaigns, as they’re both highly recognizeable in terms of playing materiel since then. Chendo is comfortable coming forward from his right-back position, although in the opening ten minutes Spain attack less along that flank than they do opposite. Chendo also has to keep an eye on Ľubomír Moravčík, as Czechoslovakia’s inside left midfield man has a tendency to pull out wide left when they attack. Hašek does the same to the right, but to a lesser extent. In the centre of the pitch, they have the highly dependable Jozef Chovanec directing operations. He may not be the quickest player among these 22, but he’s got great positional awareness, and he pings accurate passes with his left foot. The visitors’ midfield three is a coherent, complementing unit, each member brings to the table a different quality. 

Spain may be the dominant side in the opening 15 minutes, but it is not like Czechoslovakia are in any stretch of the imagination being outplayed. They are compact, and do not allow the hosts much space inside their final third of the pitch, where the defence is marshalling Butragueño and Manolo well. They do slip up somewhat on 14 minutes, when Míchel moves forward with intent and plays his captain in. Butragueño is inside the area, though he needs to quickly check as Bílek appears, a move which sees the Czechoslovakian left-back allow the home side’s number 9 space enough to take aim from 15 yards. His shot is almost from a central position inside the box, but he gets too much on it, and the ball drifts half a yard over the bar to goalkeeper Stejskal’s relief. 

It is a competitive game, and with 19 minutes on the clock Czechoslovakia’s central defender Kinier has his name taken down by the referee following a foul from behind on Butragueño. The Spain skipper feels the pain as he stays down for a few seconds, and the resulting free-kick is fired into the defensive wall by Martín Vázquez from 26-27 yards, only for the ball to be recouped and worked towards the right hand side, from where Chendo eventually has a pop at goal with his weaker left foot from 20 yards. Stejskal, who possibly sees the ball late, claws it away for a Spain left wing corner. 

The way Sanchís moves forward and pushes into midfield when Spain are in possession of the ball adds another dimension to their game, as he becomes a fourth central midfielder. This has the Czechoslovakian bench looking for counter ideas, as they are no longer equal in numbers in the engine room. Vengloš and his staff are not to be tactically outdone, and their response is to mirror what Spain are doing. Rather than have their three centre-backs sit deep, they too let their most left-sided member among the trio move forward when they are on the ball. This is the 23 year old Němeček, a player with an increasing stature within the Czechoslovakian team. When you see their players from afar, he may be difficult to differentiate from Chovanec, but he is somewhat less cultured than the midfield maestro, as he uses his physical prowess to good effect in striding forward and in challenges. He can play, which is just why the manager sees him as good fit for advancing into midfield. Midway through the half, he has an effort on goal from 20 yards which Zubizarreta again deals comfortably with, although it had been a more challenging effort than Skuhravý’s earlier. 

By the half hour mark, it is a good spectacle, where there are few dull points, and the tempo of the game is still rather elevated. Spain are the stronger in possession, but Czechoslovakia are far from push-overs, and certainly contribute to the game being a seeworthy affair. Němeček’s midfield presence is an increasing feature in the visitors’ game, as they continue to try and stifle the hosts’ keep-ball tactics. However, the home side’s midfield three-cum four, with Sanchís continuously moving forward from his central defensive role, is a playful one, where Roberto’s deep role allows Míchel and Martín Vázquez to enjoy more attacking freedom. The latter is typically someone thriving on the ball, and he looks to make things happen with his quick combinations with Sanchís, Villarroya and often also Butragueño. Míchel doesn’t quite have the same frequency in his foot work, but remains productive when he comes deep to make use of the long ball, either down the channel along the right or indeed diagonally. All of this combined with Manolo’s enthusiastic forward style of play, where he never stops to run, gives Spain the edge. 

Czechoslovakia give further evidence of being a compact team which doesn’t allow a whole lot of goalscoring opportunities against. They have players who dutifully go about their defensive work, and they do not stray out of position on a whim, leaving a team mate or the entire collective at risk. Their structure is tight, and this is naturally aided through the fact that their pair of full-backs rarely venture forward. Neither Bielik nor Bílek shuttle across the halfway line, and typically face each their adversary, Villarroya and Chendo respectively, midway inside their own half. In the centre, Kadlec and Kinier also harbour few intentions of contributing in the forward direction. This continues to be Němeček’s task as the first half edges towards its conclusion. Behind them is the steady, secure presence of the blonde Jan Stejskal, who has been called into action on a few occasions, most recently following a Górriz header from inside the box after Míchel’s free-kick from the right hand channel. Villarroya had also been allowed a pop, although the ‘keeper had yet to be duly bothered. Bílek saw a second Czechoslovakian yellow card for an assault from behind on Manolo on 34 minutes. 

Chovanec, who is unable to make much of an impact in central midfield, as Spain continue to swarm around their opponents once Czechoslovakia attempt to move up field, is fortunate to escape another booking approaching the 40 minute mark. When the visitors do gain control of the ball and try to mount anything purposeful, they have a long way to go in order to reach Spain’s defensive territory, and they rarely do so collectively, with balls played in the forward direction for Skuhravý or Luhový usually lost and recouped by the hosts before any danger to the Spanish goal can occur. Andrinúa exemplifies the home side’s defensive discipline, as he remains at the very heart of their defence, with no intentions of moving forward and across the halfway line. The rugged Górriz, in open play, also has no intentions of contributing inside the Czechoslovakian territory. 

It is no surprise that it is the hosts who open the scoring just after the 42 minute point. When they do so, it is through a delightfully crafted move which involves a number of players, as they carve open the visitors with pace and precision in their passing play. Martín Vázquez transports the ball across the halfway line, engages Butragueño, who interacts with Roberto. The latter moves forward, and is rewarded for some constructive positional orientation as Míchel pings a pass off Butragueño’s head and into the direction of the holding midfield man. Quick-thinking Roberto plays Manolo in on one touch, and the lethal striker again shows his prowess inside the area as he controls the ball delicately, taking it down with his left foot, dummies Kadlec, and then rapidly fires a low right-footed shot into the left hand corner, with Stejskal beaten. Suárez on the touchline is extatic, and understandably so. It is a superb opening goal. 

Half time scoreline: Spain 1, Czechoslovakia 0. 

Second half: 

Neither side have made changes during the half time interval, and so reappear with precisely the same playing material. Our tape from the game does not contain the moment of kick-off, but a clock appears and displays that we’re only without the opening 30 seconds, as Sanchís has come forward to shoot wildly several yards wide of target from Butragueño’s lay-off. Míchel, who had been seen more in Martín Vázquez’ inside left midfield role towards the latter stages of the first half, seems to continue where he had left off. However, as the game continues to evolve, even the latter can be seen in these areas, so Míchel’s frequent appearances towards the left hand channel seems like a continued overload approach, possibly to test the resolve of Czechoslovakia’s right hand side of defence. There is no permanent switch of positions between the two Real Madrid midfield aces. 

Czechoslovakia offered little in terms of a collective threat going forward in the opening half, but when Sanchís has a misplaced pass having come past the halfway line with four minutes gone, the visitors mount a swift counter-attack which almost has Luhový in on goal. They work the ball towards the right hand side for Skuhravý, who plays the ball inside for Chovanec to feed Hašek on one touch. The captain then plays his number 9 in, with the Spanish defence for once outplayed due to the pace of the attack, but referee Philippoz sounds his whistle for offside against Němeček, who has made an impressive forward run to the left of Luhový. The ball was played in his direction, and Němeček was indeed off, but Luhový got to the ball and should’ve been allowed to continue in on goal. He would’ve had the opportunity to finish one on one with Zubizarreta. 

The home side make the first substitution of the evening when Suárez opts to give Barcelona midfield man Luis Milla his third cap. Nine minutes after the restart the 23 year old replaces his team mate at club level Roberto, and it turns out that he slots directly into the role left vacant by his predecessor. 

While the Czechoslovakian visitors have not set the world alight so far, they are by no means entirely inferior to their hosts, and they do enjoy spells of possession. Spain at times look content just sitting back and allowing the away side to come at them, confident that they have enough defensive resolve to keep Czechoslovakia at bay. On 57 minutes, there’s an effort from just outside the penalty area from skipper Ivan Hašek, who connects well on half volley from Němeček’s header down after Bílek had checked and hit a ball into the area from the left with his right foot. Němeček, it must be said, is clearly involved in play further up the field on a more permanent basis by now, and he provides a useful outlet with his ability to make runs from the deep, such as on this occasion, when no opponent had picked him up. Hašek’s shot was decent, but it was always rising, and Zubizarreta saw it all the way as the ball went half a yard over. 

Spain continue to look somewhat laboured in this second half, while the crowd attempts to spur them on with a display of the Mexican wave. It is rather debatable whether what takes place out on the lawn is where those in attendance find inspiration for their endeavours, as Czechoslovakia are clearly in the ascendancy with the game approaching the hour mark. They, too, make their first change of the game when Luhový departs on 58 minutes, with 27 year old Sparta Prague forward Pavel Černý coming on for only his second cap. It is indeed the substitute who will be next to have a pop at goal, when his low free-kick from 25 yard out finds Zubizarreta’s comfortable grasp by the goalkeeper’s left hand post. 

With the home side’s supremo Suárez increasingly displeased along the touchline, we see a rare triple substitution from Spain as they replace libero Andrinúa, roving midfielder Míchel and striker and captain Butragueño with 24 year old Juanito Rodríguez of Real Zaragoza, 24 year old Rafa Paz of Sevilla and 25 year old Miguel Pardeza, also of Zaragoza, respectively on 63 minutes. Paz is indeed a debutant, whereas the other two had both come on for their respective first caps during the two qualifiers against Hungary three and four months earlier. Taking over the captain’s armband for the departing Real Madrid striker is goalkeeper Zubizarreta.

A large quanitity of substitutions rarely serves to improve the quality of a game, and there is no immediate improvement in how Spain portray themselves. They’ve not collectively been on their game since the start of the second half, and reaching the halfway point towards full time they struggle to impose themselves further on the visitors. All four substitutes had slotted into roles previously occupied by the players who had departed, with Rodríguez accepting the libero job behind Górriz and Sanchís at the heart of the defence. Like his predecessor, who had mainly enjoyed a leasurely evening, the Real Zaragoza central defender also concentrates on his defensive duties, and rather lets Sanchís get on with any transporting of the ball across the halfway line, 

Paz has taken over for Míchel as the more right-leaning among their midfield three, with Milla behind him and Martín Vázquez continuedly in the inside left position. It is the latter who has looked the more inspired among the Spanish midfielders since the start of the half, but he’s struggled to find his more advanced team mates appear with the same level of tenacity as his. Czechoslovakia have not found defending a particularly demanding task during the second half. The triple substitution had not rewarded Suárez with any immediate effect. In fact, the game is a bit scrappy at this point, with the visitors also not looking too impressive. 

Yet another substitution takes place on 67 minutes, with right-sided defender Bielik departing to give way for Inter Bratislava wide man Vladimír Weiss, a 25 year old who had started three and come on as a substitute during a further three of Czechoslovakia’s eight qualifiers for Italia ’90. While Bielik had been rather defensively orientated in his right-sided role, Weiss would surely be expected to bring further attacking qualities to the team in their quest for an equalizer.

In approaching the 75 minute mark, the home side are in the ascendancy, and are producing their best spell since the half-time interval. Considering they have a host of new players following those four substitutions, they settle impressively quickly, and produce a couple of fine moves, where various of the newcomers contribute. Milla, the first of the four to be introduced, patrols the rear of the Spanish midfield with authority, and isn’t afraid to ask to be given the ball from team mates. Sanchís, rarely seen making forward ventures since the break, provides Milla with the ball, and in turn, the Barcelona holding midfielder seeks out debutant Paz to his advanced right. This particular move on 72 minutes sees the Sevilla man dart forward and play Pardeza in, with the forward in turn releasing Martín Vázquez, who bursts into the area from the left. With Czechoslovakian newcomer Weiss clearly less defensively capable than his predecessor Bielik, Martín Vázquez is allowed to shoot on goal, albeit from an angle, and Stejskal is alert and pushes the effort wide for a left wing corner. The same mercurial Real Madrid midfielder had a few minutes earlier hit a free-kick from the left hand channel into the area via Hašek, to find Manolo without a guardian six yards out. However, the solitary goalscorer so far could only head it straight at the visiting goalkeeper. 

Czechoslovakia appear to have lost their shape towards the latter stages of the game, with midfield pressing distinctly less effective than earlier, and with Němeček switching between defence and midfield, players seem to be less tactically aware. Has this confused them more than anything? Chovanec is rarely capable of being the commanding midfield presence which he needs to be in order for Czechoslovakia to click, while Hašek seems to be pressing individually when Spain are in possession rather than as a cog in a collective effort. Then there’s Moravčík, whose main contribution is on the ball rather than giving chase. Instead of working as a coherent unit, their midfield is all over the shop. Up top, Černý, smaller in stature than Luhový whom he had replaced, prefers making runs in the channels, leaving Skuhravý to battle it out with the Spanish central defence. Paz shoots just over with his left foot from 20 yards on 79 minutes in the next effort goalwards. 

There’s a fifth and final substitution for Spain with ten minutes remaining, as Suárez opts to bring on powerful striker Julio Salinas of Barcelona for goalscorer Manolo. The 27 year old enters for his 25th appearance for la Roja. Manolo had done well, and had run himself into the ground. It was understandable that he’d tired prior to his being substituted. Salinas would provide something different up top, perhaps with less mobility than the player whom he’d replaced, but then again he would be capable of holding the ball up should they decide to go direct. Having a slender lead to protect, the home side would begin to sit deeper. Forward bursts would typically come through the still enigmatic Martín Vázquez, whose engine was still running. He’d put in an excellent shift, and had certainly stood out as the home side had made all those second half substitutions, causing plenty of trouble from that inside left midfield role. 

With the home side increasingly interested in protecting what they’ve got, Czechoslovakia naturally see more of the ball in the final few minutes of the game. Play takes place inside the Spanish half of the pitch, but their five man strong defence keeps marshalling the visitors’ attacking troops, and Zubizarreta is left without work, despite that quest for a leveller. Most of the home side’s substitutes leave favourable impressions, in particular the calm Rodríguez from the spare man in defence role, but also Paz in the inside right midfield role. They’re comfortable on the ball, and aren’t forced into any mistakes. 

There is one situation towards the very end of the game, on 89 minutes, when Moravčík has a moment of inspiration, coming inside from the left, trying to play a one-two with Weiss. The substitute’s pass back does reach Czechoslovakia’s inside left midfield man, who tumbles to the ground and claims to have been felled by Spain right-back Chendo inside the area. He sits down and looks perplexed at the referee not rewarding him with a penalty. Judging from the footage, Moravčík could possibly have had a cause, but no other visiting player seemed duly bothered and weren’t protesting Mr Philippoz’ non-decision. 

With around 15 seconds past regulation time having been played, the referee signals an end to the game. Spain claim a win in both teams’ first performance of 1990. Chovanec can be seen throwing the ball away, as he clearly feels that more time should’ve been added on. They were looking to mount another effort from inside the home side’s half of the pitch, but rather than be displeased with Mr Philippoz’ decision to blow his whistle for full time, Chovanec should look to his team’s inability to duly worry the Spanish defence. Ultimately, the 1-0 win was a deserved one. The home side had even mustered one final attempt right before time was up, with Paz being played down to the touchline by Milla, though when Pardeza connected with his low cross towards the near post, Kadlec managed to divert the ball away for a corner. 

Final score: Spain 1, Czechoslovakia 0.