Is Spain\\\'s elimination end for tiki-taka?

Spain's elimination from World Cup by Chile not only spelt the end for one of the greatest national teams, but also threatened the demise of an entire footballing philosophy. South American side Chile ended Spain’s long reign as the kings of international football on Wednesday, elbowing the defending champions out of the 2014 version of the FIFA World Cup handing the European team a shocking 0-2 defeat in Rio de Janeiro. On a day when King Juan Carlos tearfully sealed his abdication after a 4-decade reign, Spain’s footballers were booted from their own throne in 90 minutes. Chile’s Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aranguiz administered the killer blows as Spain’s trophy-laden era was brought to a shattering end at the Maracana Stadium. Chile’s win sees them qualify for the last 16 from Group B along with the Netherlands, who thrashed Spain 5-1 in their opening match last week. Spain’s early departure will send shockwaves through football after an unprecedented period of success that saw them win the 2010 World Cup as well as back-to-back European Championships in 2008 and 2012. Spain’s intricate passing style, dubbed ‘tiki-taka’, swept all before it for the best part of six years, but the sight of Andres Iniesta and Xabi Alonso being harried out of their stride by Jorge Sampaoli’s hard-working Chile in Brazil on Wednesday felt like the end of an era. Argentina legend Diego Maradona is among those who believe that tiki-taka has become a tactical relic, but can an approach that has become so widespread be invalidated by the result of just one game? As Spain midfielder David Silva asked British newspaper The Independent before the tournament: ‘Why would we change? We’ve done very well with this style. There's no need to change it.’ Where Spain led with tiki-taka, winning Euro 2008, so Barcelona followed, dominating the European club game between 2008 and 2011 under Pep Guardiola, who subsequently installed the same playing philosophy at Bayern Munich, according to AFP.