By Mohamed Haniff
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DON'T MISS
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In the wake of Spain's latest slip ups on the international friendly front there have been various sectors of the media lamenting the fact that since the all conquering Euro 2008 win; Spain have slowly been regressing. It must be said that I have witnessed many a changing of the guard in the Spanish national team having grown up supporting La Furia Roja, but the current state the World Champions find themselves in is a tricky one; do they grow and truly master their art? Or do they slip into the ever familiar sea of mediocrity.
Representing the two sides of the coin are two vastly different personalities who setup their Spanish sides in two vastly different ways; the fiery Luis Aragones who often set out his stalwarts in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Senna as the lone holding player and the reserved Vicente Del Bosque who plays with both Alonso and Busquets in the centre of midfield. Since the “dour” displays many cried out against at the World Cup, there has been in my mind a misguided feeling of nostalgia towards Luis Aragones and his side. In my opinion the detractors of Don Del Bosque are being quite short sighted and are not analyzing the entire picture on view.
When we take a look at Aragones' reign at the helm of the Spanish national team there are two distinct differences betweeen the man from Hortaleza and his successor Del Bosque. Firstly, prior to Euro 2008 Spain were seen as nothing more than darkhorses, a side which France had comfortably dispatched in the round of 16 two years prior and who failed to get out of their group four years prior at Euro 2004. They had also not won any major honours since Euro 1964, held on home soil and as such there were certainly no expectations for the side heading into the tournament. This meant that teams were far more open against Aragones' side, more willing to take risks; as a result Spain were able to exploit more space on the field.
Under Del Bosque's reign however teams are far more pragmatic in their approach when facing La Furia. Even sides with rich footballing history like England set up their teams with two banks of four protecting the goalkeeper, and hope for the breaks on the counterattack. In this way Spain are not only a victim of their own success, but a victim of the success of Barcelona. In many ways Barcelona's dominance on the continent reflects on the way many teams at the international level view Spain, since the Spanish national team's core consists of a very Barcelona-esque philosophy. Thus Del Bosque is faced with a completely different challenge, it is up to him figure out a way to break down the organized barriers he will come up against. This is where much of the criticism towards Del Bosque comes in, he is often cited as being clueless on a tactical level and more gifted at managing egos; this is a criticism he has faced for his entire coaching career. In my opinion, it is true that Del Bosque is a magician when it comes to managing players and making everyone feel important but is it possible to win a World Cup without any tactical nous?
Beyond the surprise factor which Aragones harnessed at the 2008 European Championships, he also had Senna, a midfielder who was maybe not as gifted as Busquets or Alonso, but was more complete. Senna could not only cover a remarkable amount of ground on the field, but he could also play short or long, and possessed a ferocious shot. Del Bosque doesn't really have a player like this, and in order to compensate he has chosen to field two such players. Busquets has that ability to cover a lot of space on the field, while the innate attribute of being able to play short, intricate passes without dwelling on the ball for too long. Alonso however, brings to the team an unrivaled view of the field, with the ability to play breathtaking long passes, coupled with a hell of a shot as well; and a world class ability to read the game defensively - though he may not be the most mobile or robust.
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| Spain national coach, Vicente del Bosque |
Fielding these two players together has been one of the most critiqued elements of Del Bosque's reign, as many believe this hampers the side attacking ability by forcing them to bench players such as Mata and Fabregas. What then does Del Bosque do about this? I will not pretend to be some form of tactical expert and offer up a solution, as it all depends on the subtle stylistic differences Del Bosque may employ. If he favours to go for a more direct and fast paced team in the final third, then maybe Busquets should be sacrificed, if it’s more patience and possession he is banking on Busquets may be better suited for this game. The other criticism of fielding both of these players is that it forces Xavi, a player who is most suited when observing the game from deeper positions, to play in an almost “false ten” role ahead of them; thus limiting his impact. It is an issue which Del Bosque will certainly have noticed against the English , as Xavi is not really a vertical player suited for a “false ten” role; the highly talented footballer that he is, he will always perform well for the most part, but one gets the feeling that it is not utilizing his full strengths nor the full potential in the Spanish team.
Some have even been calling for Fabregas to replace Xavi as he is a far more vertical and direct player who can open up the play better for the Spanish; but dropping Xavi at this time is an act that is frowned upon more than first degree murder. This is a tough situation that Del Bosque finds himself in, as there is no easy fix, and it will be interesting to see which direction he goes by the time the Euros kick off; though having known Del Bosque the coach for over a decade I don't see radical change being employed.
Another pressing difference between the two reigns is the form of Fernando Torres; the hero in Vienna on the 29th of June 2008, a man who will always be one of my heroes because of this goal, is woefully off the pace at the moment. This means that Spain automatically loses one of their most potent attacking weapons, and it has made their play slightly less direct, as there is very rarely anyone looking to move off the shoulder of the last centreback, with David Villa often shunted out on the left. What does Del Bosque do in this situation, does he give one of the other strikers a chance or go a different route? So far he has chosen the latter utilizing David Silva as a false nine in the same way Messi is utilized for Barcelona, as fantastic of a player as Silva is, unfortunately he is not Messi. In that way Spain often lose a goal scoring reference against the bigger teams, and the biggest challenge for Del Bosque will be finding a way to manufacture the most goal scoring opportunities possible out of a team that is built for possession.
Having grown up seeing the Spanish fail at almost every hurdle, the last three years have been like a dream for me, something that I must admit I never thought I would ever witness as a supporter of Spanish football. I had become comfortable with quarterfinal runs, but these memories will never be forgotten, strange as it may seem, as I am in no way of Spanish descent; but this is the reality for a person who grows up in a culture whereby football is not the number one sport; a topic which could surely warrant an entire article of its own. For now I will just say that in my eyes there hasn't been a regression in the quality of the Spanish team, but I believe that Del Bosque will have to figure out a way in which to bring out the more expansive qualities of Spain. Stretching the field must be the number one priority in order for there to be proper exploitation of space which the Spanish thrive on.
The fortunate thing for Del Bosque is that he has time and a wealth of options to choose from, now all that is left is to figure out a combination which may not necessarily field the best players in the squad but that will bring the most out of the squad. I will leave the decision making and headaches to Don Del Bosque and simply sit back and hopefully enjoy what the boys bring, even if they go home empty handed, the supporters can never be robbed of the memories we have been given.
