Spain reigned supreme from 2008 to 2012, winning three straight major international tournaments — two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup — before falling on harder times recently.
They failed to get out of their World Cup group in 2014 in Brazil and were knocked out of last year’s Euros by Italy in the last 16.
“We’re coming from a very good era when we almost always won and finally people got used to it and started to underestimate the work we’d done,” said the Real Madrid centre-back.
“But you can’t lose reason, football is like that: sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
“You have to try to keep your identity, your playing philosophy. We’re starting to rediscover that domination.”
It’s not been all doom and gloom for Spain, though, as La Roja are unbeaten in World Cup qualifying since 1993 and lead their current qualifying group for Russia 2018 on goal difference above Italy.
They play Didier Deschamps’s France at the Stade de France on Tuesday where video technology will be used for the first time in France.
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