One Extraordinary Photo: Capturing the physicality of the Spain-Uruguay match

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Ricardo Mazalan is AP’s Latin America deputy director of storytelling and photos. He is veteran of World Cups, dating back to France 1998. Mazalan his also worked numerous Olympics.

Why this photo?Spain versus Uruguay was the only group-stage clash between two former World Cup champions and one of the most anticipated matches of the opening round. With Uruguay fighting to keep its World Cup hopes alive, I expected an intense, hard-fought contest and was looking for images that captured not only the action but also the emotion and physicality of the occasion.

A play involving Uruguay’s Agustin Canobbio challenging for the ball with Spain’s Marc Cucurella illustrates how intense the match was. How I made this photoIn many ways, I didn’t make this photograph alone. One of the privileges of covering major sporting events is having your work edited by colleagues whose work you’ve admired for years.

There’s always a certain sense of anticipation when one of the agency’s top photographers or picture editors reviews your work, but it’s especially rewarding when they immediately recognize the same story you saw through the viewfinder. I’ve always thought the relationship between a photographer and an editor is a bit like dancing tango: one senses the moment, the other recognizes and interprets it, and together they tell the story neither could tell alone.Why it worksThe image works because it captures more than a tackle — it captures the spirit of the match.

When Canobbio and Cucurella crashed to the ground early in the first half, I felt the moment summed up the contest that was unfolding. It became a physical battle rather than a display of flowing soccer, and by the final whistle Uruguay had been eliminated and Canobbio sent off. Good sports photos are not always about the winning goal or the decisive save.

Sometimes a single moment reveals the story that is still unfolding.___See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here