Spanish football has been all over the news since the women’s team deservedly won the World Cup against the odds, though one player’s retirement from international duty has nothing to do with what’s happened since that triumph.
Luis Rubiales has been suspended by FIFA after his actions in celebration with the successful Spain Women’s team were widely condemned, but it is a player from the men’s team who has decided that the time is now right to allow someone else to take on the national team mantle in his position.
According to The Athletic (subscription required), former Barcelona man, Jordi Alba, is the latest of the golden generation to retire from the international scene.
Though he wasn’t part of the set up when Spain beat Holland in South Africa in 2010, Alba’s debut not coming until a year later, he did become a European champion in 2012, even scoring a goal in the final against Italy – his first for his country.
Now plying his trade in the USA with Inter Miami, Alba appears to have decided that that trips back to Europe for international fixtures will be too problematic when factoring in the matches he will be playing in MLS and the respective cup competitions.
Whomever comes in as his long-term replacement certainly has their work cut out, for Jordi Alba has been one of the most consistent performers in the left-back role for the past decade.