The Spain midfielder is sitting in a back room at Barcelona’s Joan Gamper training ground trying to pinpoint the moment he knew he was a world champion. In those final minutes of the game it’s impossible, impossible, but when the referee blows, the thought enters your head: ‘Have we done it?’ ‘Are we …?’ There, you feel it a little bit. When you lift the cup, a little bit more.
And then when you see the families, when I see the reaction from my brother, my partner, my dad. I’m not one to cry, but …” But then Olmo knew, felt it: Spain were world champions. It was 19 July in New Jersey and it was real: Spain had beaten Argentina and nothing would be the same again.
You realise when you’re [applauded] at other grounds, but we’ll truly realise with time. It’s like you’ve entered another dimension, a very select group. As a kid, I held 2010 up there. [Andrés] Iniesta, Xavi, [Sergio] Busquets, Xabi Alonso, [David] Villa … legends.
We held on to the past, longed for that generation, how happy they made us. Now it’s like, ‘You’re there, too.’” So now it’s time to, well, to get back to work, another generation to emulate. Twenty-three days after victory in the US, Olmo was back where he sits now, another session complete, another European season about to start.
His club coach was waiting. What did Hansi Flick say? Eight of Spain’s 26-man squad were Barcelona players and although Maria’s son Ferran has departed for Paris Saint German, Rodri has joined from Manchester City.
What they have done with their country can infuse club success, Olmo believes, just as what they do with their club infused success with the country. Winning the World Cup changes your life; it can also reinforce an idea, and while Olmo analyses the differences between Spain and Barcelona, Flick and Luis de la Fuente, this is the triumph of an idea, continuity and commitment. Whether you play a lot or a little, you’re a team.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
