One of Beñat's great talents as a footballer has always been knowing when to keep the passes simple and when to try something a little more extravagant, so you could say his first 45 minutes as an international offered a perfect demonstration to the world of what he's all about. Coming on for Spain at half-time of their friendly against Serbia, with the score at 0-0 and not much having happened in the previous half, he spent most of the time hovering around the centre-circle making neat little triangles with David Silva and Santi Cazorla. But then, on 64 minutes, with his one and only long pass of the game, he knocked a perfect 30-yard ball from deep in his own half to find Jesus Navas in space on the right-wing, allowing the little Sevillista to cross with his first touch for Atlético Madrid striker Adrián to head home easily. Once the scorer had been congratulated, the whole team sought out the real architect of the goal.
Of course, Beñat is still not Xavi, and he'll almost certainly be allowed to go off on his holidays once the Barcelona players join the squad, but he definitely did enough today to suggest it won't be his last time with La Roja.
