Last Friday, just after 11 pm, Andres Iniesta walked into Stade de Nice’s press conference room, elected man of the match by a Uefa committee after Spain’s comfortable 3-0 win against Turkey. Timidly, he sat down in his blue Spain t-shirt, projecting a benign composure. For all, he could have been one of the many volunteers helping out with the organisation of Euro 2016.

Had Spain improved after their opening game against the Czech Republic? Do Spain and Iniesta need to take their responsibility by winning the tournament after a disappointing 2014 World Cup? Those were the main questions from the floor for Iniesta. With measure, he replied.

“As the tournament goes on, we must keep improving,” the 32-year-old said. “Today, I’d give both our players and fans [a mark] of 10/10.” Typically, Iniesta praised his teammates, but not himself. Yet his delightful performance had been at the heart of Spain’s grand return to football of an otherworldly level, punctuated by utter control and joy.

Omnipresent

Spain’s third goal was an eulogy of their own game. In the build-up, all of Spain’s outfield players touched the ball, with the exception of Gerard Pique – reminiscent of Argentina’s elaborate goal against Serbia at the 2006 World Cup. Then, Iniesta orchestrated for Alvaro Morata to tap in his second goal of the game to give La Roja an unassailable 3-0 lead. Throughout the game, Iniesta was omnipresent, teasing the Turks. He controlled the play, offering vertigo and directness to Spain’s game, even as both newbies Nolito and Morata responded well.

Iniesta, however, didn’t attain his sumptuous level of the game against the Czech Republic. The central Europeans erected a defensive bulwark, but, while Spain put on a labored and mundane siege against the Czechs, Iniesta floated and fleeted. He began on the left side of a midfield three and remained in his zone to venture into the Czech half, from where he funneled the Spanish attack. He pierced the Czech lines.

Iniesta touched the ball 107 times and passed 93 times with a completion rate of 91%. That rate remained as high as 85% in the final third. In the 87th minute, the Czechs failed to clear a corner and Iniesta, left in too much space by Pavel Kaderablek, delivered an inch-perfect cross for Pique to head home the winner.

Age just a number

At 32, Iniesta is "world heritage", as FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique once proclaimed after another mesmerising performance from the diminutive Spaniard. He hypnotises both opponents and fans. Unassumingly, he glides across the field to meticulously dissect and demolish opponents with defense-splitting passes, the product of his cerebral vision, split-second decision-making and beguiling perfection in execution.

Under Iniesta, Spain’s renewed purpose begged the second question from the press floor. In Brazil, the Spanish armada crumbled after an unforgiving 5-1 defeat against Holland. At the end of a four-year cycle, the Spaniards were too old and suspect to complacency. The Dutch didn’t defend deep and pressed high up – a risky, but successful, strategy as the midfield trio of Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso and Xavi were overrun.

The latter two retired after the World Cup and, today, Spain’s equilibrium and thrust depends on Iniesta. The FC Barcelona captain gives his team a technical identity and more. For too long, coach Vicente Del Bosque has stood accused of not forging a new identity in the post-Luis-Aragones era. Is Spain really the brainchild of Del Bosque, or rather a meek imitation of Aragone’s all-conquering 2008-2012 team? Spain are a team in flux, but if their game clicks they may be unstoppable.

Croatia may be the ringmaster in this debate as Group D concludes. They will severely test La Roja’s recalibrated midfield. Luca Modric, who plays for Real Madrid, is their deep-lying midfield maestro. He is a glider, who combines refinement with insight. While Modric excelled against Turkey, his fitness remains a grave concern for the game against Spain. Whoever wins, will top the group, but the result will be a measure of Spain’s progress and how far into the tournament Iniesta can lead them.