There seems to be an agreement over the best way to play against Spain; pack the midfield to suffocate the creative dictators, narrow your shape to force the play out wide, use wingers as auxiliary full backs, hope the Spanish have an off day and when a chance comes – pray that it’s taken.
That seems to be the common consensus because that is how every team lines up against them, albeit with some tweaks here and there. Laurent Blanc’s France were the latest to follow this pattern, abandoning their usual style and shape which brought them into the tournament without a defeat in 21 games. Florent Malouda replaced Samir Nasri to provide more discipline and structure in midfield (although surely Alou Diarra would have been better equipped) and Anthony Reveillere was brought in to play behind Mathieu Debuchy on the right, in an attempt to limit the damage from Jordi Alba.
The result was the same we’ve seen time and time again. You can try and suffocate Xavi all you like but he only needs a fraction of space to operate in and he’ll find it. Get close to Iniesta but he’ll glide away from you, while Xabi Alonso will always somehow find himself as the free man. From the offset the result was inevitable as Spain dominated possession and France never looked like troubling Iker Casillas. Despite playing with two right-backs, the goal still came from Jordi Alba and Laurent Blanc’s best laid plans to stop Spain ended in a meek submission.
Einstein famously said the definition of insanity was repeating the same thing over and over and expecting different results, yet this is what we’ve seen for the last six years. Spain have not even conceded a goal in a knockout game of a major competition since Zinedine Zidane’s strike for France in 2006, so surely we have reached the point where a team needs to break the mould and try something different. It would be foolish to not pay any respect to this Spain side; they are one of the best international sides we’ve ever seen, but this can still be done without abandoning your own strengths and principles.
Next in line to try and end the Spanish procession to the final are Portugal, who play with a counter attacking system naturally suited to the possession based style of Spain. Tactical adjustments have to be made, but for Portugal to be successful they must stick to their own beliefs.
The group stage victory over the Netherlands should provide a blueprint to their approach against Spain. The midfield trio of Veloso, Meireles and Moutinho can afford to sit a little deeper and operate as a more compact unit, but Paulo Bento has to be brave and keep with his front three. The temptation to use Ronaldo as a lone striker where he’ll become isolated should be avoided and either Hugo Almeida or Helder Postiga should be retained, tasked with occupying the Spanish centre-backs.
Alvaro Arbeloa has received a lot of criticism in Spain – some of it harsh – but he is the weakest link in the team. Give Ronaldo the freedom to isolate and attack him and, since David Silva doesn’t like to defend, this should drag Sergio Busquests out of position to cover. Nani should be encouraged to play on the front foot and push Jordi Alba back, preventing those marauding runs and so neutralising that threat. If Portugal can affect Spain’s shape they may be able to affect their rhythm and unsettle them, for too long Spain have been able to play as they please.
Portugal have the weapons in their armoury to trouble Spain but they must utilise them. Follow the mistakes of those in the past and, as Einstein told us, you’d be insane to expect a different result.
Teams are showing the Spaniards too much respect IMHO. WHile it is true that no other international team in the world could match them for possession, merely switching to a defensive formation is certainly not the answer. As Roberto Martinez pointed out in the post match show yesterday, the spanish are so adept at keeping possession and making the other team chase shadows that by the time you reach the 30 minute mark the other team is mentally tired. The French played right into Spanish hands last night.
While I agree that the pacy, counter-attacking style that Portugal employ seems best suited to cause the Spanish some problems, I fear that their midfield trio of Veloso, Meireles and Moutinho will see very little of the ball. Moutinho for me, has been the main man for Portugal (aside from the one man wrecking crew, CR7 of course) and a lot of the counter attacks are started by him. If the Spanish nullify his impact on the game by not letting him have the ball, their whole game plan might not be as effective IMHO. Plus we all know how Ronaldo can get when things don’t go his way or he does not see much of the ball. We have seen it in the El Classico’s time and time again.
From what I have seen of the Euros so far, the only team capable of halting the relentless march of La Furia Roja are the Germans who are pretty good at keeping possession and they have pace in abundance. Something which the Spanish seem to lack at present.
Far too much respect is being shown to Spain to the point where teams simply play into their hands, like France did as you say. Tactical adjustments need to be made to counter the specific strengths of your opponents but teams should not be abandoning their entire style, otherwise the battle is half lost.
I agree with your point about Moutinho – he has been vital in making their system work and will most likely be unable to exert any influence due to lack of possession. Portugal will have to alter their style slightly and get the ball into the feet of Ronaldo, Nani and Postiga/Almeida earlier than they have been. If they can do, that trio will certainly cause problems.
Spain are still favorites for the tie but Portugal have a chance, if they give themselves a chance.
They definitely do have a chance especially with it being a one off game. Ronaldo will undoubtedly be fired up for it and he would love to put one over Messi by leading his team to an international trophy, something Messi has yet to accomplish. Not to forget, he would love to put one over his Real teammates also.
It is also worth noting that Spain have yet to hit top gear at the Euros. Whether this is due to fatigue (the fact that all but two of the Spanish first XI are either from Real or Barca – teams which played more matches than most) or the fact that teams become ultra defensive when playing against them is hard to say. I am also not a big fan of the 4-6-0 formation with Fabregas as a false 9 – it helps them play keep ball but without a focal point for their attack they seem to lack penetration in the final third.
Pretty good time for the Portugese to be playing them IMO.
P.s: For the life of me I can’t fathom how Torres was picked over Soldado for the Euros.
I’m not sure whether Spain simply haven’t needed to hit top gear. So far they’ve not really been pushed and the quarter final was made comfortable by France’s lack of ambition. ‘m not sure if there ever is a good time to play Spain but they do miss David Villa.
Del Bosque just doesn’t rate Soldado’s all round game highly, he’s a good finisher but his link up play isn’t as good. I actually quite like fabregas there out of the options they have
The thing that struck me in the Italy and Croatia matches was that the Spanish struggled on the flanks when passes were made early into space for players to run onto and for midfielders to be brave provide support. France were too slow doing this and undermined by shocking performances from ribery and benzema up front.
Agreed and that is where Ronaldo and Nani, if utilised properly, can really cause Spain problems. I just fear Bento may go with Ronaldo as a lone striker and lose that threat, playing into Spain’s hands.
And yes, Benzema and Ribery were disappointing. In fact I’ve rarely been impressed with Ribery