Our
Premier Soccer League season has closed now and the only soccer activity
keeping us busy except Premier Soccer League transfer of players is none other than
spectacular Euro 2012. This article has emanated after unnecessarily criticism
directed towards the Coach of Spain Vicente Del Bosque.
Here
is the breakdown of the infamous Spanish tactical system of the 4-6-0. Some
empirical evidence information’s were used to rationalize the Science of this
4-6-0 system.
Vicente
Del Bosque is the orchestrator of this odd system 4-6-0 famously known as “The
False Nine system” which is taking EURO 2012 by storm in Ukraine and Poland. Vicente
Del Bosque is the coach who prefers the “if it ain't broke, don't fix it”
approach, which already brought positive results for Spanish side this far.
Vicente
inspires loyalty, the players like him, they follow his instructions, he's
developed an identity for Spain's play, which is slightly different from his
predecessor's Luis Aragones, and he has always been 100 percent open about this
ideology. The world champions have completed a four-year metamorphosis to a
passing juggernaut–2,100 passes in this tournament–that centres around playing
tiki-taka, a style of short, one-and-two-touch passes that aims to bring the
ball into the final third so that a brilliant player can do something good with
it.
The
aim of this Spanish 4-6-0 tactical system is to have superiority in the
midfield so that they could have possession and arrive higher up the pitch. The
Del Bosque’s philosophy is associated with a highly organized and effective
defensive tactic that focuses on taming the opponent’s attacks and in turn
preventing any credible goal scoring opportunities. La Furia Roja looked set to
take the rule book of formations and simply tear it up, by announcing a team
that seemingly was set up to play a 4-6-0 formation.
Del
Bosque chooses to pack his team with creative midfielders, in a system which
can be vaguely described as 4-6-0, in the bid to try and keep possession to
pull opponents out of shape. The cherry on top is that Spain doesn't play the
horrifying "kick and rush" that's all too common among too many side
that participated in the EURO 2012.
However,
Del Bosque is facing intense criticism for his decision to deploy Cesc Fabregas
as a false No.9 and leave Fernando Torres on the bench for the match against
France and Italy. Spain always had a No.9, which is David Silva that played as
a striker. He is different from Torres, because he gets between the lines more,
but when they are attacking he is a centre forward.
The
lack of natural number nines might not traditionally be attributed to attacking
football but Euro 2012 has so far proved the opposite. And despite the nuances
of Spain and Italy’s style, it’s so far the benchmark for the game of the
tournament. With no David Villa to call- and far too many good creative players
in the squad, it simply made sense to play 4-6-0. Spain doesn’t play like they
do because they’re trying to win a beauty contest. They do so because it’s what
they do best, and better than anyone else. They are as ruthlessly pragmatic as
they are addicted to winning.
The
idea of Del Bosque playing with no reference point up top is hardly something
new but I still remember Luciano Spalletti, then at Roma, for pioneering the
idea of striker-less system. In 2005/06, he moved towards a scheme that was
widely described as a 4-6-0 (though perhaps it’s more accurate to see it is a
4-1-4-1). Francesco Totti, was not a number 9 but he served as the reference
point for a fluid attack, allowing the more attack minded midfielders to push
on as Totti dropped deep to create space which delivered positive results.
The
4-6-0 system with a false 9 also became synonymous with Barcelona under Pep
Guardiola. It’s hard to imagine that there’s every been a player suited to this
role than Lionel Messi. Spain don’t have a Lionel Messi type of player But this
doesn’t mean experimentation with strikerless systems is wrong.
From
what I can see, Del Bosque is doing a damn fine job for Spain and the success
of EURO 2012 is imminent.
Is
Del Bosque going to test this false 9 system against Portugal or he will revert
to normal 4- 5-1 with Fernando Torres coming in for Cesc Fabregas? Del Bosque
is going to keep us guessing, though this writer suspects it will be the former
not the latter. Personally, this writer would do the former.
By Owen Mundalamo
Executive President:
Football Food for Thought
