Coach: Vicente del Bosque
Current
European Champions
One to Watch: Cesc Fabregas
As
we approach the summer of 2012 all of our minds, well most of them at least,
will turn away from the domestic football competitions within our own
countries, towards the International arena for the eagerly awaited European
Championship Finals, to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. At It's All In The
Game, I shall be profiling each of the 16 finalists who will bid to become the
champions of Europe until 2016.
We
continue our team profiles by taking a look at current European and World
Champions, Spain. Spain have a rich history in terms of appearing in major,
international tournaments, appearing thirteen times in the World Cup and eight
times in the European Championships-the latter of which they won back in 1964
when it was known as the European Nations Cup.
However,
over the years Spanish teams had found that success hard to emulate, making
only one appearance in a tournament final over the next 43 years-namely the
final of Euro 84, where they lost to France. This lack of success, in spite of
the wealth of footballing talent that they always had at their disposal, led
them to be thought of as “perennial underachievers” and many in football
believed they might never have won a major tournament again.
In
2006 however, something changed in Spanish football. Having been knocked out of
the World Cup in Germany by a strong French team, coach Luis Aragones, decided
that his team were not physical enough to be able to out muscle opponents. He
turned his attention to a style of play that focussed on controlling games by
dominating possession, using short passes and movement to break through
defences.
This
style of play is known as “tiki taka”, it was first brought to Spain by Johann
Cruyff in his spell as Barcelona boss (1988-96), and has been described by some
as an upgrade to the “total football” made famous by the magnificent Dutch team
of the 1970’s. The impact was almost immediate, and since the adoption of the
“tiki taka” policy, Spain have not only won the 2008 European Championships
under Aragones, but also the 2010 World Cup under current coach del Bosque.
This
time around, for obvious reasons, Spain will travel to Poland and Ukraine as
pre-tournament favourites. Vicente del
Bosque has led them to 28 victories in 30 competitive matches since he took
over before the qualifiers for World Cup 2010, including a 100% record in
qualification for Euro 2012 - seeing them top group 1 on 24 points.
Their
style of football, ability on the ball, speed of thought, movement and the
abundance of talent and quality throughout the squad, make them the team to
beat. In Iker Cassillas they have a goalkeeper, though still young, who has a wealth of experience both with Real
Madrid and with the national side, winning the Golden Glove in South Africa.
In
David Villa they have a clinical, skilful, striker who links up effortlessly
with the midfield to create chances as well as being ruthless in front of goal
himself. Villa was joint top scorer World Cup
2010, top scorer in Euro 2008 and has every chance of scooping that
accolade again this summer.
However
Villa suffered a broken leg earlier this season and has been out of action for
the past six or seven months. He is widely expected to be included in the final
squad, although how fit he will be remains to be seen. Roberto Soldado and
Fernando Llorente, Villa's likely cover, are both accomplished strikers who've
had excellent seasons at Valencia and Athletic Bilbao respectively. Soldado
scored a hat-trick in a friendly against Venezuela earlier this year on his
full debut for Los Rojas whilst Llorente helped guide his club to a UEFA Europa
League final.
Spain
have an embarrassment of footballing riches, especially in midfield, but if
there’s one man in particular who could really make his mark on the tournament
this time, it’s Cesc Fabregas. The former Arsenal man captained his country at
under-17 level and has developed year on year ever since.
Although
playing in England in a position which the Spanish side have had well covered
in recent years has seen him miss out on more action than he would have liked,
his move to Barcelona at the beginning of the season has seen him come into his
own, notching 15 goals in his first La Liga campaign. His return to his home
club has seen the central midfielder/playmaker flourish and has alerted del
Bosque to the qualities that he can bring to the national side.
In
conclusion, Spain are the favourites for a reason and it’s going to take a
monumental effort to prevent them from retaining their title this time around.
Spain are drawn in group c along with Italy, Croatia and Ireland, they face-off
against the Italians first.
Provided
Los Rojas don't contrive to lose against the Azzuri then qualification will be
assured and I'd expect them to top the group. Germany and Holland will be the
biggest threats in Poland/Ukraine but neither can meet Spain until the
semi-final stage. Even then they will have to be at their very best if they are
to succeed in beating the Spanish where so many, including themselves, have
failed before.
By Neil Patterson
Email: neil.b.patterson@gmail.com
Facebook: http://goo.gl/MJce0
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Neil1980
