They have something of their own, the Spanish. Nice touch. Attacks that go on rails. Passes that slide through the opponents’ team like a knife in a hot tortilla. But they are not only technically good. Spain also has the EC’s clearest identity. Every championship, Spain plays with a lot of short passes and a belief that good technique should count the most. It is as if the players show up to the EC with a kind of mental chip where the tactical principles have been downloaded and installed. This means a lot in the EC, because it solves international football’s biggest problem. Three methods The problem is that teams need time to practice good attacking play. And on the national team you don’t have time. Good attacking play – à la Spain – requires the right distances between the players, good chemistry, understanding, timing and preferably fixed movements that are drilled in through repetition. Club teams have time to master it, because they train together every day. National team coaches? They see their players a few times a year, and before tournaments they welcome a bunch of worn-out stars who are used to different tactical systems in their clubs. In a few weeks, the coach will put them together into a well-balanced team. It is not easy. Especially if you want to play “good” football. There are three ways to tackle the problem. The first is to give up on the whole thing. Instead, focus on things that can be learned in a short time, such as a solid team structure without the ball, good set pieces and cool penalties. Many teams have won titles like this, among them today’s France, which in turn has inspired Spain’s final opponents England. ON A TRIP: England’s national team manager Gareth Southgate. Photo: Reuters The other method is to use many players from one club who play offensive football, and thus import the ideas and understanding of the game. The Soviet Union used almost the entire team for Dynamo Kiev when they reached the European Championship final in 1988, and Germany borrowed the squad from Bayern Munich when they won the World Cup in 2014. It’s smart, if you have such a club in your home country. But Spain? They don’t get their ideas from one club. In Spain, the playing style permeated the entire country. Revolution People often call it “Tiki-Taka”, a term that roughly refers to ball-possessing football with short passes and high pressure. It has become a characteristic of Spanish football in recent times, both at club level and national team. It is taught in schools, academies and in clubs – and it ensures that Spain produces technicians on an assembly line. How many Spanish midfielders have you seen who are not good on the ball? When Pedri gets injured, they bring in Dani Olmo. If Rodri gets tired, they have Mikel Merino. Spain’s national team has no version of England’s Conor Gallagher, a terrier who is in the national team because he runs and fights and sweats blood. But Spain has not always been so good. MIDFIELD GENERAL: Spain and Manchester City’s Rodri. Here in a duel with Germany’s İlkay Gündoğan. Photo: AFP Spain used to be known as La furia española, a nickname that played on fervor, talk and effort. The coaches were types like Luis Clemente, a Basque fighter who won titles with Athletic Club in the 80s with long passes and pointed elbows. Spain had no clear tactical identity. And they won nothing. But then they employed Luís Aragones, who turned Spain into a more possession-based team. In the European Championship in 2008, he filled the midfield with short playmakers such as Xavi, David Silva and Andrés Iniesta. Spain won the country’s first title in 44 years, and now they had a winning formula. WINNING TEAM: Captain Iker Casillas and Spain could cheer for the EC gold in 2008. Photo: OLIVER LANG / Afp At the same time, Pep Guardiola took over Barcelona, a team that was to revolutionize club football with a more extreme form of ball possession. With stars from Barça, Spain won the World Cup in 2010 and the EC in 2012. Three straight titles should in practice be impossible. – We have played this way for the last three years. This is what we do and it seems to be working, said Xabi Alonso during the World Cup in 2010. So why change anything? Since that triumph, Spain has always been among the teams in the EC and World Cup that have had the best possession of the ball. It was as if the whole country agreed with itself: This is how we should play football. The world’s best The success has inspired new Spanish players to master the same style. Young players are influenced by today’s heroes. A Spanish player who is now 24 years old, was 10 when Spain won the World Cup, and most of the current squad remember the triumph from the European Championship in 2008 – perhaps apart from Lamine Yamal, who had not yet turned one. The same applies to Spain’s women’s national team, which won the World Cup last year. The brilliant playmaker Aitana Bonmatí, who won the Ballon d’Or as the world’s best player, grew up in a town outside Barcelona, learning football by following Guardiola’s Barça. You don’t have to watch Bonmatí play for many minutes to know that her idols were Xavi and Iniesta. New faces In addition, the success gave Spain faith in their style, even when they started to lose. This is Spain’s first final in a major tournament in 12 years. They have struggled to replace the legends who won the three titles, and at times they have rolled a lot of the ball without creating many chances. In the last two editions of the World Cup, they have come out against Russia and Morocco. So of course there will be a debate about the tactics after such losses. Should Spain be so patient with the ball? Should the classic style be combined with other ideas? Here in the EC, Spain has gained several things they have missed before. The big talents Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal have given the team a new kind of speed and creativity along the edges, and coach Luis de la Fuente, who won the European Championship at U19 and U21 level with Spain’s youth teams before taking over the A team in 2022, deserves his part of the credit for making the team more direct. FULL OF SUCCESS: Spain’s national team manager Luis de la Fuente Photo: AFP Spain now alternates between ball-possessing football and lightning-quick attacks along the edges. They can vary the tempo more than ever. But this is still Spanish football. We recognize the style. Although De la Fuente has adjusted the details, the basic ideas are the same as before. No one has attacked with the same flow and chemistry, and no one has scored more goals. Even England’s coach Gareth Southgate says that Spain has been the European Championship’s best team. Effective Spain’s advantage is not only that they have a clear identity, but that this identity has proven – for a long time now – to be the most effective in top-flight football. The major leagues in Europe are packed with teams that play in a similar fashion. Spanish coaches set the standard, from Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) to Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Xabi Alonso (Leverkusen) and Luis Enrique (PSG). All share the same fundamental principles. The teams that do not have a Spanish coach often hire tacticians from other countries who follow similar ideas, such as Erik ten Hag (Manchester United), Enzo Maresca (Chelsea) and Arne Slot (Liverpool). Now Spain again has a national team that really masters this style of play. No one knows if they will beat England in the final. But for the ideas behind Spain’s football, the EC has already been a success. Published 14.07.2024, at 11.08
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