Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla has insisted "tiki-taka" football is not dead, despite his national team's fall from grace at this summer's World Cup finals.
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Barcelona and Spain's free-flowing attacking style dominated the game in an era that saw Champions League titles flow for the Catalan club and major international tournaments won by the Spanish national team.
Yet the slide in fortunes for Barca and the group-stage exit for Vicente del Bosque's Spain side at Brazil 2014 led many observers to suggest the Spanish tactics of speedy passing football has been neutralised, but Arsenal star Cazorla begs to differ.
"If you lose, that doesn't mean the style is dead," Cazorla told the Arsenal website. "It's not that everything looks beautiful when you win or ugly when you lose.
"In my opinion 'tiki-taka' is crucial for football. I identify myself with the style because it was playing this way how Spain achieved success. Everyone says this was the best football played by a national side for ages."
Cazorla seemed to take some enjoyment from his World Cup debut in Brazil, even though the adventure ended all too quickly for defending champions Spain.
"Being in a World Cup for the first time was a unique experience," he said. "I was lucky enough to play in a World Cup and that's something I will tell my children in the future.
"It's true that it wasn't the best one for us. Spain wanted to win, to perform well, but nowadays any rival can beat you. For some reason we were outscored by Netherlands and Chile and that's why we were eliminated.
"The experience will be mine forever. It was unique for me to live that experience and I hope to play for Spain for many years."