@gt4abl Premier League Special: In the Second of his two part special; Miguel Davisse examines the impact of TV money on the Premier League and how this ultimately affects the development of English Players and the English National Team.

One of the biggest debating points in football grounds and pubs around the country is that the wealth of riches now available to Premier League Clubs, and the introduction of Johnny Foreigner into the English game have affected the English National Side and the development of young English talent.

The signing of the latest English Premier League domestic rights deal has once again reignited this debate. When analysing the impact that Premier League Money has had on the England Team and development of English Talent, it’s difficult to know where exactly to begin.

As original codifiers of the game in 19^th Century, the English saw themselves as the leaders in world football and to a large extent they were. Rather ironically by today’s standards, the early English player prided himself on a dribbling game. He saw defending as unmanly, passing as futile and rejected the thought of taking his time to score goals. The art of attack and scoring goals was led by the forwards in a 2-3-5 formation.  This formation remarkably remained the norm until the 1940’s.

By the time the Hungarians visited Wembley in 1953, England had only ever lost one home international.  The Hungarians were the Olympic Champions and the world’s top ranked side.

England started with the tried and tested WM formation, with two backs, three in midfield and five forwards. The Hungarians played a 2-3-3-2.  This was never before seen by the English.  The Hungarians ran riot winning 6-3.

The tactically inflexible English side could simply not cope with the movement of the front two and the advanced midfielders, who expertly did what we would now refer to as ‘running between the lines.’ The famous image from that game is the goal of Puskas, who dragged the ball back under his foot, leaving the England Captain Billy Wright tackling thin air, before scoring Hungary’s third.

The impact of this defeat was huge.  The FA after years of complacency was jolted into gear. As originators of the game they believed that England would always be technically superior to their rivals from the continent.  Existing coaching techniques and practices were now obviously out of date. The humiliation at Wembley made the FA wake up to this fact and they soon realised they needed to start learning from their European opponents.

In an attempt to avenge the defeat, a rematch was scheduled in Budapest in May 1954. The Hungarians again provided a masterclass, winning 7-1. To this day it is England’s heaviest defeat.

England’s record in World Cup competitions since its inception in 1930 has been largely indifferent.  They did not take part in the 1930, 1934 or 1938 tournaments.  1950-1962 saw a best placed quarter final finish, until a home World Cup in 1966 saw glory for Sir Alf Ramsey’s team.

Since then there have been 12 World Cup tournaments.  England failed to qualify for three of those; made four quarter final appearances and the agonising shoot out defeat to Germany in 1990.

The European Championships have also not proven to be a successful hunting ground for England. Getting to the semi -finals in 1996 is the best result achieved (also a home tournament to pair with the single Word Cup win).  In 13 staging’s, England have failed to qualify five times, four of these prior to the Premier League forming in 1992.

This nod to history is important when looking at the English national team and the impact the Premier League has had upon it.  It is easy to blame the arrival of money and overseas players as being behind the failure of England at major tournaments. 

The dominant Liverpool side of the 80’s featured many players from the ‘home nations’ and Ireland.  Even pre-Premier League, Clubs were looking to supplement their first team playing staff from other countries.  Grobbelaar, Hanson, Lawrenson, McGregor, Dalglish, Souness, Nicol, Whelan and Rush were all non-English players dominating the domestic scene in England’s top division. This influx of talent from outside England –albeit the foreign players in this instance were from the other UK countries and Ireland - led to a thriving English presence in European competition. As Liverpool’s fans will rejoice in telling you, they’ve won it five times.

I see this as being no different to the way the Premier League is now.  If we look at lists of the best ever players to have played in the Premier League we will see names such as; Cantona, Zola, Henry, Bergkamp.  More recently its Drogba, Hazard, Suarez, Aguero.  The English players to make the list would be Shearer, Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes.

The impact of the overseas player on English football over the last 20 years is almost beyond measure.  Since the start of the Premier League in 1992 the amount of foreign players entering the league has risen dramatically year on year.  In the beginning the professionalism, dedication to training and personal fitness was almost never before seen by English players. 

Wenger’s arrival at Arsenal, bringing in continental coaching techniques and imparting his passing philosophy had a major impact on both the Club and its English contingent.  It transformed them from being steady performers but lacking panache under George Graham, to being a trophy winning beautiful Swan in the first decade of his reign.  That his team became only the second ever Invincibles in 2004 is truly one of the greatest achievements in modern English football.  This was built on a mix of a foreign coach, playing with a largely foreign playing staff, mixed with a blend of continental ideas on passing and possession and the traditional English fighting spirit.  There is no doubt that without the arrival of Wenger and the players he brought in from overseas that Arsenal would ever have gone on to achieve that feat. The team that started the most regularly that season featured just two Englishmen; Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole, at the time both England regulars.

They popular theory is the more Englishmen playing in the Premier League, the better the England team will be.  As we have discovered, throughout the history of English football, there has never been a period of great achievement by an England team. The 1966 World Cup win obviously stands out, but in 85 years since the first World Cup was played, one solitary win is hardly something to shout about. The recent greater influx of foreign talent hasn't somehow heralded a decline in the national team’s fortunes.  If anything, I believe that it has raised the bar for young English talent coming through.  The likes of Gerrard and Lampard have had to continue to progress and improve in the light of great foreign players joining their respective Clubs.  In recent years younger players at Chelsea have been able to look to the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole and see first-hand the levels they need to achieve day in day out to play at the top level.  A quota system limiting foreign players in Premier League squads would reduce the competition to these young players and therefore not necessarily increase the quality of the English talent.

My strong opinion is that given time, the Elite Player Performance Plan should bear fruit.  The England Youth Teams are becoming more successful within their age groups and the football being taught in academies is progressive and built on a base of skilled possession football.  Not by chance is this approach also favoured on the continent. The great Ajax and Holland Teams were inspired by the coaching of Rinus Michels and his philosophy of Total Football. This in turn was mastered by Cruyff’s vision of youth coaching at La Masia whilst at FC Barcelona and most recently Pep Guardiola, as a student of Cruyff, developed and allowed the Tika-Taka style to flourish as his 2008-2012 Barcelona team became one of the most lauded Club sides of all time.

It is too simplistic to state that we should impart and impose the philosophy of La Masia onto every youth set up in England.  Firstly it is not practical, and secondly it does not fit the make-up of the traditional English game.  What we should do however is allow this melting pot of ideas from around the globe to continually influence our game.  Fans young and old love watching the stars of today dazzle and delight us with skill and flair.  Boys grow up wanting to be Hazard and Aguero. 

The Premier League TV money that comes from having a thriving successful competition is due to the influx of foreign stars to England.  The investment and progression made in training facilities even in the last ten to fifteen years cannot be ignored.  This is a direct consequence of TV money.

There is a direct link between the rise in wages paid to Premier League footballers and the increase in TV revenues, so I can understand when figures like Sir Alan Sugar, former Tottenham Chairman, says that he fears all the money will just line the pockets of Agents and Players. Some of it will.  Some of it will also go on developing youth players and some will undoubtedly go on buying the future cream of foreign talent.

However all this should be seen as a positive.  The English players of tomorrow will be better from training and learning from the top players of today.  These top players at present are foreign, but at the end of the day the England team is more likely to benefit from youth players being exposed to increased quality and competition at Clubs.

I would much rather have an England set up made of 25 top players who have earned and fought their way to be at the very top due to the level of competition at their Clubs, than a pool of 50 or 100 average players given opportunities by default due to the country of their birth.

The TV money has helped to support and grow our wonderful English Premier League. By default (and some design) it has financed the development of football in this country.  We should welcome it and be grateful for it and see how it can help progress the development of English players and the English Team. 

History shows us from that watershed game at Wembley in 1953 that burying our head in the sand, believing that English is best and not embracing the best practices around us is detrimental to England’s success. We need to welcome the benefit different cultures and influences can have on the England Team and see how the TV money can be a good thing. Ride the crest of the wave, enjoy the influx of the best players to our shores and do all we can to embrace the best League in the World. Even if it is from our living rooms.

In the first of a Two Part Special, @gt4abl 's Spanish Football Correspondent Miguel Davisse gives his thoughts on the new Premier League TV Rights Deal. In Part One, Miguel discusses the financial details of the deal and the pressing concerns of Pundits and the General Football Fan.

£5.14 Billion. 

Yes, £5.14 Billion

If you haven’t yet heard, the latest Premier League domestic television rights were auctioned and the total paid by BskyB and BT, across the seven available packages for 3 seasons from 2016/17-2018/19, was £5.14billion.

Now this is a lot of money.  It is undeniable; it is, a lot, of money.

Ex-Players, pundits and journalists - not to disclude your typical irate football fan (who also tends to get irate and have opinions on almost anything) - were quick to go onto Social Media and proclaim it ‘obscene, disgusting’ and accused the Clubs of 'money grabbing.'

Firstly, in order to address these concerns and opinions, we must lay out the specifics of the deal.  BT paid £320m per season for their packages. This equates to £7.6m per game. BskyB paid £1.39bn per season, equating to roughly £11.07m per game. 

Without going into too much debate, this can be seen as good negotiating by BT and Sky overpaying, but please remember Sky got the choice slots on Monday Nights and the 4pm Sunday games. As such these are worth more via advertising revenue therefore the amount per game is worth noting but not necessarily representative of over/under payment by either party. 

The 5.14bn was 71% more than the last rights auction, which by Sky’s own admission was £330m above their forecast. For context at the conception of the Premier League in 1992, the five year rights package cost only £191m, but there was vastly less games broadcast and Sky was the only rights holder.  Also given that in 1986 there was no live football on TV, not even a highlights show on television. It shows just how far English football has come in terms of quality and as a spectacle to be worth so much to the domestic market.

Secondly, now that the Business news is over, I shall proceed to address the nonsense that has been floating around this week.

The crux of the whole thing revolves around a few key facts.  

Spoiler alert:  FOOTBALL IS A BUSINESS! 

Whether we as fans and lovers of the most beautiful game like it, football is a business and big business at that. 

The basic concepts of economics are Supply and Demand.  If there is more Demand for a product (more companies bidding for TV rights) and the volume of Supply for that product (Premier League football) stays the same, the price will only ever go up.

A good example of the opposite is petrol prices.  Demand (people filling up their cars) remains fairly constant. Supply has been increased by more Arab oil on the market. Therefore because there is more of the commodity about and the amount people want remains the same, the price goes down. 

This is true of Football.  I do hear those who say that actually the amount paid is too much and is an obscene amount of money…which to an extent I do agree with them. However, I am yet to see an internet naysayer quoting how much money would represent a fair price and explain why.

Accusation One:

 '..but what about the Fat Cat Chairman greasing his palms at the fans expense?'

It is worth noting that again, this is a statement that can be proven to be undoubtedly true in some high profile cases.  No Chelsea fan can seriously argue that Roman Abramovic bought Chelsea Football Club in 2003 due to him being a long-term fan that stood in the Shed End in the dark days of the 80’s.  He bought the club as an investment vehicle and a way of basing himself in Britain. 

However, the argument about ‘real fans’ not being able to afford the price of football, due to the villainous foreign owner is a failed one.  The so called ‘real fans’ dominated the scene in the 70’s and 80’s. This was a period of major football hooligan disasters at Football Stadia leading to the expulsion of English clubs from European Competition.  Do we really want these ‘real fans’ at our grounds in 2015?  I certainly don’t.  The atmosphere really may not be what it was twenty or thirty years ago, but I prefer being able to attend a football match and seeing younger kids walking into the ground.  Seeing Women in football grounds not harassed and intimidated by these ‘real fans’ is a pleasure to see.  The atmosphere may not be the same, but I prefer the safety and inclusiveness of modern football to a few drunken louts chanting obscenities any day.

The last nail in the coffin to that argument is the attendances.  95% of seats available for sale are sold.  If football really was too expensive for the football fan, ground attendance would fall, not increase at it has this season.  Since the financial crash, a large number of established Premier League Clubs have frozen Season Ticket prices to protect their loyal fans from the pressure of inflation and constraint on their household budgets in other areas.  I salute those clubs for doing the right thing.

Accusation Two:

'They’re all over paid prima-donas'

I imagine you, reader, are the hard working type.  You try hard and work well to achieve the best you can for yourself and your family.  If you excel at your chosen profession, you get promotions, you may even be headhunted.  You move on to another company. You get further recognition, you’re doing a great job, your company is successful due to the business you are bringing in and they also grow and expand.  You are the star of your company.

Should you therefore be paid as the best person in that organisation? Should your hard work and effort to close those business deals and bring success to the company be rewarded? Absolutely!

Would you turn down that bonus or wage increase your hard work deserves to give it to the lady who cleans your office block in the evening, or to the lady who cooks your breakfast?  I’m not so sure.

Compared to the average fan, players’ wages are astronomical.  However your average fan isn't at the very pinnacle of their profession and one of the best at their job in the world.  And if they are, then I bet you they get paid the going rate for it!

To put this into context, Hedge Fund Managers can get paid hundreds of millions of Dollars a year.  To make further context, LeBron James earned $72.3 million last year.  Tiger Woods who is now 62^nd in the Golf world rankings still earned $61.2 million in 2014.  This makes Wayne Rooney’s $23.4m and 43^rd place in the Forbes Top 100 Paid Sportsmen look distinctly average.

My point in all of this is that although the wages are pretty incomprehensible to the fan that pays his 40 hard earned pounds on a Saturday afternoon, the top players he has paid to support are paid top wages as they are at the top of their profession. The Fan is entitled to his opinion as he pays his ticket money and as such has a certain right to critique their value of performance to wage.  However the Players' hard work, sacrifice and value as a commodity to his club, shouldn't just be based solely against his weekly wage.  Football Clubs are Businesses.  It’s not a nice thing to acknowledge but they are. Football at the top level is not the same as Sunday league.

Clubs all have Football in the Community Schemes, and one of the benefits of Clubs being big Companies are that they generally all have good CSR schemes to drive benefits back into the local communities.  They run after school clubs in schools, they support local good causes. They also support global charities such as the excellent Right To Play. 

A truly brilliant example of what a club can do for it's community is Manchester City’s recent complex and redevelopment of a desolate area of Manchester.  A shining example of the good a football club can do in a community through the increase in football TV  revenues.

To conclude, the modern fan enjoys a great spectacle.  They enjoy this spectacle, in a safe, well maintained Stadium, whilst watching a selection of some of the greatest footballers in the world.  The armchair fan can now also watch this spectacle in HD, and more of it than ever before. 

Who’s for going back to the 80’s, with no TV coverage, run down stadia and hooligans?  ….anyone?

http://www.righttoplay.org.uk/

With El Clasico just around the corner, @GT4ABL sat down to ask their Spanish Football Expert for his opinions on the upcoming Clasico.

So Miguel, with El Clasico nearly upon us, how are you feeling!

I am exited, it's like having two Christmas's a year, one at the Bernabéu and one at the Camp Nou!  It's one of the biggest fixtures in world football and the latest instalment is nearly here!

The biggest talking point pre-match was always going to be around Luis Suarez.  As you predicted on this weeks @GT4ABL podcast , it was announced today that he is starting.  What difference do you think it will make to the Barcelona team and their style of play?

Suarez is world class talent.  He is a player who gives his all for the team and will do what it takes to win.  Sometimes he goes to far and that is what has delayed his début for Barca.  One thing you can guarantee is his work rate and selfless attitude towards his work for the team.  A major consideration for Luis Enrique was his fitness.  We hear all the time of fitness and match sharpness being two different things.  Throwing a player in for his debut, having only played a handful of friendlies and a couple of internationals is a big call, even for someone of his ability and experience.  It all came down to the hunger and desire he has been showing in training.  Players in the dressing room have been saying in interviews this week that he is physically and mentally ready for this game.  He may only last 60 minutes, but it will be an explosive 60 minutes full of passion, running and energy!

 How will they keep Messi happy now with both Suarez and Neymar in the team?

Messi and Neymar have worked much better together this season.  Last year it all looked a bit disjointed.  Some of it was to do with Messi not being happy with the coaching of Tata Martino, and some was down to Neymar getting used to not being the main man and they often tried to play in the same spaces on the pitch.  Now they are adjusting and the introduction of Suarez will actually enable Messi to perform better.  The work rate of Suarez will allow Messi to rest in games.  He will be able to perform in a similar role to the one under Guardiola where he plays off the front, with Suarez providing that Eto'o type foil at number 9.

Speaking of Messi, that Ronaldo is looking a bit tasty isn't he!

Yeah, he certainly is!  Ronaldo is in sensational form at present, as is the whole Madrid team.  Since their 4-2 humbling at Sociedad earlier in the season (note:where they were 2-0 up) they haven't looked back. Ronaldo has been on wonderful goalscoring form.  His goal the other night against Liverpool epitomised the way they have been playing and the difference James Rodriguez is having now he is beginning to adapt. James is having to learn to perform in the Di Maria role, working of the front, fitting in to a defensive formation where needed.  This is a big change from his free role at Monaco, and also the demands of playing with a perfectionist like CR7.

How will the absence of Gareth Bale hurt Madrid's chances of breaching a defence yet to concede in La Liga?

I think it will help them in some ways.  Of course, missing a player of that immense quality and skill will hurt any team, but it is allowing Isco a run in the team.  He is a very good player in the kind of Juan Mata / David Silva mould.  He is too having to learn the defensive side of the game, but provides the cover to allow Ronaldo the freedom to roam about and appear in spaces to receive the ball.  Madrid will score, I'm sure of that, Barca's defence has only had one real test which was away at PSG in the Champions League and they failed that test conceding three goals.  Pique is off form, although improving, and that means a central defensive partnership of Mascherano and summer signing Mathieu.  Even without Bale, Karim Benzema and Ronaldo should be able to find spaces through the Barca backline.

Overall then Miguel it's shaping up to be a good one, score prediction please....

2-2 for me.  Barcelona are undefeated in the league and are yet to concede so they will approach the away Clasico with confidence.  Madrid too arrive at this fixture in a good vein of form, scoring goals and looking strong, especially in midfield and up top.  Last years 4-3 was difficult to top, but I'm expecting an exiting game with goals.

Cheers Miguel!

Gracias, always a pleasure.

A time to look back…and forward. A Review of the La Liga Season

A time to look back…and forward.

 

When sitting down to analyse this years’ edition of La Liga, I was unsure where to begin.  Do we look at the dethroning of the traditional Clasico superpowers?   Do we look at the triumph of hard work and spirit as demonstrated by the excellent Simeone and his Atletico side?  Do we – and this is could well be the follow up to Graham Hunters excellent book Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World – review the struggles of FC Barcelona following Pep’s departure and the end of tika-taka. 

As suggested in previous dispatches, this very much looks to be the end of an era for Barcelona, with Tata Martino having confirmed his expected departure from the club with ex-player and former Celta Vigo manager, Luis Enrique set to take over the reins in the summer.

This La Liga season has been one for the underdog.  One of tactical nous and organisation over flowing beauty and grace.  Atleti’s winning spirit and die hard attitude, embodied by the aforementioned Diego Simeone, hasn’t always been one for the purists but has been one for the connoisseurs of courage, determination and hard work.  It has been one for serial loanee, Diego Costa, to finally show in true Ian Wright style, that sometimes it’s ok to show up late for the party.  It has taken Costa until the age of 25 to show his promise and boy has he taken his chance well.  Having seen himself behind Sergio Aguero, Diego Forlan, and more recently Falcao in the Atletico pecking order, he has taken his chance to prove himself after persuading Simeone that he was the man for the job.  35 goals in 42 games later, Diego Costa has repaid his bosses faith.  He shares many characteristics with his Manager; he plays with a fire in his belly and has the knack of winding up his opponents.  He is also not afraid of confrontation, as Sergio Ramos and John Terry will tell you.  Sly off the ball nudges, a bit of discreet treading on the toes, Costa has learned his trade as a Centre Forward and is coveted by some of Europe’s top clubs, as well as having chosen to represent Spain in this summer’s FIFA World Cup ahead of his native Brazil. 

Their last day title win at the Camp Nou is already historic with Atletico Madrid being the only away team ever to have won the title at Barcelona.  This last day performance was the season encapsulated in 90 minutes.  Barcelona, play well and go 1-0 up through an excellent Alexis Sanchez goal.  Atleti equalise through a Diego Godin header from a corner. 1-1. Atletico defend stoutly – albeit with some slices of good fortune – and win their first title since the double winning side of 1996.  Cue big celebrations in central Madrid with a parade to rival that of Arsenals hours before in London after the North London club picked up their first trophy in nine years.   The big job now is to prevent La Decima for arch rivals Real.  The Champions League Final in Lisbon is the first European Cup final between two clubs from the same city - and although Costa and the very influential Arda Turan are doubts - it will prove to be a titanic contest.

It is yet to be seen if Atletico can stop Real Madrid from winning a record breaking 10^th European Cup success, or whether they can withstand the almost inevitable departure of Costa to Chelsea, but one thing is for sure, this was a Liga title thoroughly deserved by Los Colchoneros.  Their legions of fans hanging on every word from Simeone in his press conferences, their obeying his every wish inside the daunting Vicente Calderon Stadium, the players battling for every ball, playing their hardest until the very last kick on match day 38 in the Camp Nou, this was a real collaborative effort, a victory for all associated with the club, and in this age of Billionaire owners, this made Atletico’s achievements this season feel very special indeed.

Is This The End? A Review of Spain's 2014 World Cup

Is this the end?

29^th June 2008.

Marcos Senna picks up the ball on the halfway line and plays a first time ball to Xavi who is on the half turn.  Xavi traps the ball with his left before playing a first time ball with his right dissecting the German defence.  Fernando Torres sprints through, out muscling Philipp Lahm before dinking the ball over Jens Lehman in the far corner of the net.

11^th July 2010

Jesus Navas - on a substitute - is passed the ball midway inside his own half and begins to run.  He takes it past four Dutch players before one of them nicks it away from him. Unfortunately for the Dutch it’s straight to Iniesta who instinctively backheels the ball to Fabregas who plays a first time ball to another sub, the tired looking Torres.  Torres’s attempted pass from left wing to the right hand edge of the box is too short and knocked away poorly by the centre half.   The ball falls to Fabregas who has continued his run; he thinks about the shot momentarily but squares a pass to Andres Iniesta who has taken up the position outside the covering defender. His first touch sends the ball a little higher than normal; it seems to take an age to come back down.  Iniesta is set.  Body position and balance perfectly coiled awaiting the ball to drop.  Stekelenburg starts to come off his line to close the angle, Iniesta waiting for Sir Isaac Newton’s theory to take hold and bring the ball back down to earth, the time is right; he releases his right leg and strikes the ball hard and downwards.

A nation erupts.  Iniesta’s first thought is to remove his shirt revealing a tribute to his friend the Español player who had died earlier in the year…. ‘ Dani Jarque – Siempre Con Nosotros’.

1^st July 2012

The Italians are still in shock.  Still stunned by the mauling they have received from the Spanish.  Spain fans singing songs and serenade El Nino after his first and Spain’s third seal the title for La Roja.  As per the rest of the preceding 87 minutes, the Italians give Sergio Busquets the freedom of the centre circle to receive and pick his pass.  Torres – as for his goal a couple of minutes earlier – peels away left from his centre back to receive the ball.  Busquets recognises the movement and provides an inch perfect delivery.  Mata runs in behind Torres from left to right pulling away a defender.  Torres unselfishly draws the goalkeeper and squares to Mata to tuck away the record fourth goal.

 

The story of the modern Spain starts in 2008 with Luis Aragones in charge of La Selección de fútbol de España.  In 2004 when he took over the National team, they were still playing in the ‘La Furia Roja’ style of play.  Direct, aggressive, with wingers and Raul as the centre piece up top. 

Aragones realised that the future of the game was in passing and ball retention.  He dispensed with the great Raul and embraced a new generation with David Villa and Fernando Torres leading the line. Both had the same nickname of ‘the kid’.   ‘El Guaje’ for Asturian Villa and the more well-known’ El Nino’ for the Castilian Torres.  Players like Xavi Hernandez and Xabi Alonso were given pivotal roles in this new side and the small more technical players flourished.

The Spanish class of 2008 won the European championships in this new style.

Starting XI in the final: GK 1 Iker Casillas (c), RB 15 Sergio Ramos , CB 4 Carlos Marchena , CB 5 Carles Puyol , LB 11 Joan Capdevila , DM 19 Marcos Senna , RM 6 Andrés Iniesta , CM 8 Xavi , CM 10 Cesc Fàbregas  Substituted off 63' , LM 21 David Silva  Substituted off 66' , CF 9 Fernando Torres Substituted off 78'

Substitutions: MF 14 Xabi Alonso Substituted in 63’, MF 12 Santi Cazorla Substituted in 66’, FW 17 Dani Güiza Substituted in 78'.

This line up, save a few older players, is still very familiar to us now.

After the 2008 European Championships it was announced that Vicente Del Bosque was to succeed Aragones.  He wisely decided that evolution rather than revolution was the best policy.  This coincided with Guardiola’s promotion to First Team Coach at FC Barcelona and Aragones/Del Bosque’s short passing style at International level was being implemented at Club level by the disciples of Cruyff.  This coincidence dovetailed well.

Spain’s success continued, under Del Bosque they won 10 straight matches – a record for a debuting International Coach – their first loss coming against the USA in the semi-finals of the Confederations cup.

Their journey to the World Cup Victory in South Africa was an intense one.  Spain entered as huge favourites for the tournament, and although confident, they felt the weight of expectation from back home.  Andres Iniesta had missed large parts of the season through injury and was going into the tournament suffering with a form of depression.  Fernando Torres, the talisman of previous years and the scorer of the winning goal at the previous Euro’s, was off form and also had a recurring hamstring injury.  They were both included in Del Bosque’s squad.  Spain lost their first game to Switzerland 0-1, they bounced back with a David Villa inspired 2-0 win over Chile, from there on the rest is history.   

In the following European Championships, Spain cruised to success and capped a wonderful tournament with a record 4-0 victory over Italy.  The highlight being a stunning goal from Jordi Alba, which was the Spanish style and football beauty encapsulated in one flowing move.  Started and finished by the full back Alba.

 It’s worth noting how Del Bosque is loyal to his players.  In his time as coach he has only selected 37 players to represent the country.  To put that into context, England have used 57 players between the beginning on the 2012-13 season and the end of the 2013-14 season.  Judging by the evidence of the World Cup Campaign in 2014, you could reasonably make a case for it being a weakness.

 

 13^th June 2014

Robben sees the play before it develops and begins his run.  The through ball is slightly over hit giving Sergio Ramos a five yard head start.  Robben beats him to the ball, Ramos - looking like he is wearing lead boots – trying to keep up.  As Robben enters the penalty area he checks back, leaving the advancing Casillas stranded out of his goal.  He takes a moment to compose himself before firing the ball past the covering Ramos and Azpilicueta into the top corner. Holland 5 – Spain 1.

Seven of the starting XI for Spain in the 2010 World Cup Final, started that match against Holland in the first group match in 2014.  The four missing were Puyol (retired), Capdevilla (not selected), David Villa and Pedro were on the bench.

Spain get a penalty – Alonso makes it 1-0 for the World Cup holders.  From there it was as good as it got.  David Silva missed a guilt edged chance to make it 2-0, chipping over the keeper but just wide, had that gone in it may have been a different story; alternatively it may have just delayed the inevitable.

From the moment RvP’s excellent header went in just before the break, to the thorough beating the Spanish took in the second half, they looked lost and out of ideas. 

Del Bosque sat, his analytical mind looking on trying to solve the puzzle.   His theory of evolution was crumbling before him.   Suddenly the otherwise ever reliable Casillas looked indecisive and nervous, Ramos and Pique looked a shade of the central defensive pairing that had only conceded 5 goals throughout the 2012 European Championships and the entire World Cup qualifying period, and here they were shipping five in one game.  Xavi, the pass master and the heartbeat of the Spanish midfield was reduced to clipping balls out wide to create some space, as opposed to using the tika-taka style beloved of him and the other Barcelona alumni.

In the second game against Chile it was more of the same.  Xavi and Pique this time dropped to the bench with Javi Martinez and Pedro favoured.  Unfortunately it was to no avail.  Again they looked shaky at the back, Casillas arguably at fault for both Chile goals.  In attack the impotent Diego Costa continued to look out of place.  Unfit and not used to the style of the Spanish side, he failed to adapt to the movement and intelligence needed to operate at the top level.  Consistently spinning off of his defender and going in behind, as he had done with Atletico, forced the midfield generals of Busquets and Alonso, as well as the architects of Iniesta and Silva, to look long to find him.  Playing the ball into spaces for him to run into as opposed to the false number nine approach favoured in the past.  This lack of joining up play left gaping holes between the lines of the Spanish side.  The defence, after being exposed the pace and skilful running of Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben in the first group game, meant that the usually composed and dominant Sergio Ramos was sitting deeper than usual.  This drop of ten yards meant that they were further away from their midfield, therefore reducing the capacity for short, sharp passing and movement that had been the trademark of the past six years.  With Costa running in behind and not seeing any of the ball – he lost all three areal duels in the second game – and not seeing any of the goal either - posting 0 shots on target in the two matches -meant that the Chileans were able to exploit the gaps in the Spanish ranks, albeit not to the same ruthless extent as the Dutch.

In the last game, Del Bosque thankfully dispensed with Costa and gave David Villa a start in what would be his final International game.  Villa scored, Spain out passed a poor Australia side, also out of the tournament, and did show a glimpse of their old selves running out winners three goals to nil. Torres getting himself on the score sheet as did Juan Mata.

As for what happens next depends largely on whether Vicente Del Bosque feels he has the appetite to see through a new crop of youngsters and emerging talent, of which there is plenty.  Guys like Isco, Muniain, Illarramendi, Negredo and Navas all missed out on making the squad for the World Cup, so filling the places of likely retirees Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Villa and possibly Casillas, shouldn’t leave too much of a gaping hole in the terms of quality or big game experience.  This would likely see a continuation of the possession style of play much lauded and admired around the world.  Although, as we have seen in the past two Champions Leagues, slightly more direct styles of play, with quick wide forwards ala Real Madrid, have become fashionable again.  Football is cyclical and as such it will take a strong coach to maintain a philosophy and to stay faithful to it.  There is no danger of Spain losing an entire golden generation as England have seen recently; more they need to have a refreshment of newer blood entering the fray, bringing youthful exuberance and a hunger to win. 

The Players Parliament with Xavi as the Tika Taka Prime Minister, Home Secretary Iniesta and Defence Secretary Busquets have been able to incorporate a coalition from Madrid, with Alonso as Foreign Minister and Casillas as Chief Diplomat.  This has been a successful demonstration to a generation of young Spaniards that traditional regional interests and politics can be put aside when it comes to the National team which has not always been the case.  This will be a legacy of Del Bosque and this era of great success, not the exit of the World Cup at the group stage. 

Overall I feel that we should be thankful to what Spain have given us from 2008 – 2014.  They have shown that having a philosophy and an identity is a really strong way to create a team and to be successful.  With the notable exception of Costa, who has only recently entered the International scene having taken time to decide to represent Spain over his native Brazil, any one of the squad knows what is needed to play in that style, regardless of whether they came up through La Masia at Barcelona or one of the other big Spanish Club academies.  Their players grace our Premier League and we as football lovers are better for it.  We appreciate their technical excellence and only wish that we had one of Fabregas, Mata, Cazorla or David Silva at our disposal for England. 

Spain will reflect and rise again.  We can all be thankful to have witnessed an era of greatness and dominance made possible by playing wonderful football in the right way.  Gracias La Roja, Viva Espana!