PluriNations League

For days, in institutional meetings or on the street, President Isabel Díaz Ayuso has been repeating that the plurinational state does not exist. It is a statement that denies the reality of the Spanish national team. And she does so with the same forcefulness with which, in 1998, the French far right lamented that the players did not sing La Marseillaise and that the national team accepted players born in Ghana, such as Marcel Desailly. In Spain, the national pedigree has not been discussed with such virulence, perhaps because the anthem lacks lyrics or because of the successes achieved with a football that has managed to distance itself from the patriotic clamor of fury and honor. After the vociferous and vulgar era of Javier Clemente, the contributions of Luis Aragonés, Vicente del Bosque, and Luis Enrique have found in Luis de la Fuente a good interpreter, a continuator of the same score.

The ingredients of the recipe, however, have changed. Today, they respond to a reality in which, through diversity, social, racial, and religious nuances prevail over the simplifying fanaticism of uniformity. A uniformity that, when convenient, has been able to abduct, out of self-interest, Kubalas or Distefanos. Today's Spanish football is fun, dynamic, and vertical, with more aggression than control and more capacity to provoke opponents' mistakes than to develop a successful strategy.

Yesterday, the big match against Portugal brought together more talent than discipline.

In terms of identity, any minimally honest analysis of the national team includes a clear degree of plurinationality. Starting with the coach, a native of La Rioja with a Bilbao footballing soul, Luis de la Fuente leads a team that, due to the transfer policies of the two major powers of La Liga , has had to prioritize Barça 's contributions over those of Madrid. This imbalance has facilitated a margin of centrifugal and peripheral freedom in the team's formation. A team that even accepts, without a frown, spontaneous or administrative adoptions such as those of Huijsen (what a great player!) and Le Normand.

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Following the logic of faits accomplis, the presence of Balde, Lamine Yamal, and Nico Williams belies the unequivocal nationalism that Díaz Ayuso defends, more in words than in deeds. The fact that all three were born here does not preclude the disregard of their parents' ancestry by those who, entrenched in anonymity and ignorance, continue to exploit an unreal Spanish identity that doesn't even recall the precedents of, for example, Donato, Marcos Senna, Ansu Fati, or Engonga.

Yesterday, the big match against Portugal brought together more talent than athletic discipline. This is a crucial element to ensure the spectacle doesn't wither in the hands of excessive strategic caution. And, as an anecdote, it's exciting to see Robert Martínez i Montoliu, Balaguer's son, earn the esteem and respect of a good team. With an unabashed Iberian awareness, Martínez i Montoliu sang the Portuguese anthem, "Heroes of the Sea." This ability to understand the nuances of a diverse Europe is also part of the pedagogy of sports, just like the choice not to sing anthems.