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!
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
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