Viva Espana!

Seeing Spain dismantle Italy 4-0 in the final of the European Championships was a performance almost as good as Barcelona's annihilation of Manchester United in last year's Champions League final. It was the icing on the cake of an absolutely fantastic tournament and a moment to savour for all Spanish football fans. The tournament was closely fought between all teams and it is hard to recollect a Euro in recent memory where no team went home humiliated by heavy defeats or showed they were out of their depth. Every team in this tournament proved their worth, whether it was the surprising Czechs, Danes and Greeks, or the heavyweights Germany, Spain and Italy. 

The Winners

It was clear to the smart observers out there that Spain was not going full throttle for the first few games, and used their possession game to maybe conserve some energy for the knockout games. Spain won the tournament with the type of football that football purists really appreciate. Apart from the semi final game against Portugal where they struggled to break down the Portuguese defence, mainly due to the great defensive work of Pepe and Contreau, the football they played overall in the tournament was  threatening and pleasing to the eye. 

It was surprising to hear commentators call their game boring, mostly because it consists of so many passes. Just writing that makes me laugh!  For anyone that has ever played the game the successful completion of 3, 5 or maybe 10 passes is considered an achievement. The rhythm and confidence that it gives a team  cannot be described on paper but those that have played the game understand the value and realise that it is the hardest part of the game to achieve other than scoring. It requires the teammates to be intelligent with their positioning, in harmony with their  movement and the perfect technique to successfully complete the pass. In simple terms, it is the essence of the game. 

So it is a surprise to many that when a team comes along and achieves above 20 passes on a consistent basis they are suddenly labelled ‘boring’. For the educated football fans its the games whereby teams struggle to keep the ball for more than 5 seconds that is the boring kind of game. That is a game that shows teams not being up to the required standard of technique and tactical intelligence. 

That Spain was able to consistently perform their tiki taka type of football is not boring. In fact it is the opposition that backs off and retreats to their penalty box that makes the game one dimensional. All credit to Italy and Portugal however for not resorting to those tactics and helping to provide two football spectacles in the semis and final. What Spain was able to show was football at its purest, complete mastery of the ball and the opponent. 

The philosophy is simple and not revolutionary, keep possession and wait for the right moment to strike, for it will surely present itself. It is not possible for a defence to continually plug the gaps and prevent the opposition from scoring for a whole 90 minutes if the attacking team is willing to use the ball smartly and dominate possession. This is the ethos of Spanish and Brazilian football and long may it prosper! 

 

Tactics

On the point of waiting for the right moment to strike, Spain's use of the 'false 9', a system that utilises a centre-forward who can drop into midfield, take his markers with him and create space behind them, was criticised by lots of sections of the football media. Although it is not my preferred system, Barcelona who are the experts of this system with the mercurial Messi, have showed the devastating effect it can have if the players and in particularly the midfielders/wingers are able to manoeuvre into the right positions and execute the right runs into the box. As most of Spain's players come from the Barcelona school they have been able to transfer this tactic onto the international stage. 

Italy's return to the the 3-5-2 system and the midfield diamond was another tactical system that shone in the tournament. England played with a very organised and rigid 4-4-2, defending deep with the two banks of four as described in the English press. Germany made good use of the 4-2-3-1 system showing their usual bewildering speed and interchange in the attacking third, particularly in their last two games. Portugal employed a strict 4-3-3, relying on their wingers to provide attacking thrust and the Russians likewise. Greece showed the art of the counterattack lives on in Greek football from 2004 although they did show more adventure than usual, and the French showed attacking flair in the final third with their version of the 4-3-3 but resorted to negative 4-5-1 tactics in the quarter final.

 

Talking Points 

One of the highlights of the tournament was Andrea Pirlo's cheeky penalty in the shootout against England that was executed to perfection and with his usual class that he showed throughout the tournament. In my mind he was the player of the tournament, even though his usually effective game was drowned out in the final by the bevvy of Spanish midfield maestros. 

The Dutch showed that the art of in-house fighting lives on in the Dutch camp. Until the Dutch can finally produce players with lesser egos they will always be an unpredictable side in tournaments. The Greeks on the other hand showed fighting spirit and determination to show their worth. The Germans defence was found out against top class opposition as previously predicted and the Portuguese showed their over-reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo, a role that he enjoys a bit too much. Unfortunately for him he once again failed to deliver when the big game arrived. Balotelli of Italy displayed an immaturity and unsporting behaviour that may prove self-destructive in the future. Goal of the tournament goes to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's strike against France.

 

Best XI

                   Casillas

Torosidis Pepe   Ramos Alba

   Xavi       Pirlo         Iniesta

Silva         Fabregas   Ronaldo 

Emerging talent 

                   Hart

Debuchy  Bonucci Hummels Strinic

Cabaye  Montolivo  Kroos

Dzagoev Mandzukic  Reus