To begin with, it’s been a long time since I have thought about writing this article. Every single time I would think of commencing with it, something or the other like studies (yeah right!), a movie, a new-found-love for a TV show which would eventually turn into a marathon, video gaming or any random time-consuming-stuff would come up and act as a hindrance. But I have finally been able to set time aside.
Well four months back, the talk of the town was just one thing: the FIFA World Cup. Last time around i.e. four years back, when football fever gripped the whole world for a month, I was in eighth grade and although I did watch most of the matches, I didn’t have any sort of technical analysis or hour-long discussions (rather arguments) with my friends. But this time around, it was a whole different ball game. I followed each and every match (at least I tried to, as much as I could), and with the help of knowledge I had gained over the past four years (and of course, Facebook) I ended up having countless and endless discussions over them.
And as every time, the World Cup proved to be fascinating. A couple of big-guns, especially finalists of the previous WC misfired, badly. Both of them finished at the bottom of their respective groups and hence were knocked out. All-time-favourites Brazil had a great run till the quarters but were shocked by the heavily-organized Dutch, who came back from a deficit to conquer the mighty Samba Boys. Germany outclassed Argentina but their efficiency and technicality wasn’t enough as they slipped to a defeat of the exact same scoreline as that of the Euro Final two years back to the very same team, just a step earlier this time. And unlike the normal happenings, pre-tournament favourites Spain made it to the Final and met a very-defence-minded Netherlands, who made it clear before the match that they were willing to do anything to secure the trophy because this was the third time they had made it to this stage of the tournament without any success. A situation very similar to that of the Champions League Final, wherein Internazionale due to their 45 year long drought were extremely hungry for European success and had gone into the game with a very similar mindset against a team whose coach believed in total football. And the fact that this method had worked in the Italian club’s case and moreover that Holland had players to emulate such conditions, that gave them a very good chance of taking home the WC for the first time. But it was not to be. Spain edged Netherlands with the help of a lone goal in extra time as they had done throughout the knockout stages.
So what made it possible? What was it because of which Spain took the Euro and the prestigious World Cup one after the other? What was it because of which Spain, a team unknown to international success, were crowned champions of two of the world’s most prestigious tournaments? It wasn’t the coach, as many thought to be in Inter Milan’s case and that is because they didn’t even have the same coach. It wasn’t that they had a very superior team or that all the other footballing giants misfired. Netherlands, Germany and Portugal – all were in immense form but were nevertheless thwarted by the Red Fury. So what made them special?
By my opinion, the answer is down to one word – Barcelona. And how would that be? Well when more than half of your team players belong to one club, the chemistry is bound to be unmatchable in any other national side of the world. Six out of Spain’s starting XI, now seven after the recent signing of David Villa, play with each other throughout the year and plus due to their tiki-taka gameplay, they have achieved a level of teamwork which cannot be found anywhere else. Usually national teams get to train two weeks before any major tournament and a day before any kind of tournament qualifiers. But for Spain, it’s like they train every day! Hence, credits to Barcelona’s youth academy, a nation which wasn’t so successful on international circuit before is now a force to reckon with.
Now before you get me wrong, I’m not saying that putting all your national talent in one club can start winning you trophies. The credit also goes down to the ability of the players, their gameplay which instead of relying on their body strength to outmuscle people instead is focused on outclassing the opponent by monopolising the ball. This way, they are able to create innumerable opportunities. They have developed a style of play which requires presence of mind coupled with the knowledge of where your team-mates are, always. Thus their added chemistry acts as a bonus in this possession-dominating-gameplay of theirs. This has been very instrumental against opponents like Germany, Netherlands and Italy; who have a strong defence and are very hard to cut through.
So after two back-to-back international trophies the question beckons, is Spain’s tiki-taka gameplay foolproof? With the amount of ball possession they have in any match, is there virtually no way of outclassing them? The answer is no. If the opponent has a good defence, as the condition is in best teams of the world, their gameplay requires a massive amount of build-up which means it’s slow as they need to push everyone forward. In such cases, quick counter-attacks can be very dangerous. Also a zonal and man-to-man defence-minded team can make matters worse as the options to make a pass become very limited. These were the exact strategies that were used by Inter during their semi-final clash with Barcelona in last year’s Champions League. And they worked. They also almost worked for the Dutch in the WC Final, a match which was four minutes short of a penalty shootout, a point after which the match could easily have gone either way. And had it been that way, I might never have written this article. To think how important a lone goal can be? Or more importantly in today’s physical game, how costly a second yellow card can be?
P.S.: Everything expressed above is a matter of opinion. I would love your views. If you have anything to say, please comment below.
Well four months back, the talk of the town was just one thing: the FIFA World Cup. Last time around i.e. four years back, when football fever gripped the whole world for a month, I was in eighth grade and although I did watch most of the matches, I didn’t have any sort of technical analysis or hour-long discussions (rather arguments) with my friends. But this time around, it was a whole different ball game. I followed each and every match (at least I tried to, as much as I could), and with the help of knowledge I had gained over the past four years (and of course, Facebook) I ended up having countless and endless discussions over them.
And as every time, the World Cup proved to be fascinating. A couple of big-guns, especially finalists of the previous WC misfired, badly. Both of them finished at the bottom of their respective groups and hence were knocked out. All-time-favourites Brazil had a great run till the quarters but were shocked by the heavily-organized Dutch, who came back from a deficit to conquer the mighty Samba Boys. Germany outclassed Argentina but their efficiency and technicality wasn’t enough as they slipped to a defeat of the exact same scoreline as that of the Euro Final two years back to the very same team, just a step earlier this time. And unlike the normal happenings, pre-tournament favourites Spain made it to the Final and met a very-defence-minded Netherlands, who made it clear before the match that they were willing to do anything to secure the trophy because this was the third time they had made it to this stage of the tournament without any success. A situation very similar to that of the Champions League Final, wherein Internazionale due to their 45 year long drought were extremely hungry for European success and had gone into the game with a very similar mindset against a team whose coach believed in total football. And the fact that this method had worked in the Italian club’s case and moreover that Holland had players to emulate such conditions, that gave them a very good chance of taking home the WC for the first time. But it was not to be. Spain edged Netherlands with the help of a lone goal in extra time as they had done throughout the knockout stages.
So what made it possible? What was it because of which Spain took the Euro and the prestigious World Cup one after the other? What was it because of which Spain, a team unknown to international success, were crowned champions of two of the world’s most prestigious tournaments? It wasn’t the coach, as many thought to be in Inter Milan’s case and that is because they didn’t even have the same coach. It wasn’t that they had a very superior team or that all the other footballing giants misfired. Netherlands, Germany and Portugal – all were in immense form but were nevertheless thwarted by the Red Fury. So what made them special?
By my opinion, the answer is down to one word – Barcelona. And how would that be? Well when more than half of your team players belong to one club, the chemistry is bound to be unmatchable in any other national side of the world. Six out of Spain’s starting XI, now seven after the recent signing of David Villa, play with each other throughout the year and plus due to their tiki-taka gameplay, they have achieved a level of teamwork which cannot be found anywhere else. Usually national teams get to train two weeks before any major tournament and a day before any kind of tournament qualifiers. But for Spain, it’s like they train every day! Hence, credits to Barcelona’s youth academy, a nation which wasn’t so successful on international circuit before is now a force to reckon with.
Now before you get me wrong, I’m not saying that putting all your national talent in one club can start winning you trophies. The credit also goes down to the ability of the players, their gameplay which instead of relying on their body strength to outmuscle people instead is focused on outclassing the opponent by monopolising the ball. This way, they are able to create innumerable opportunities. They have developed a style of play which requires presence of mind coupled with the knowledge of where your team-mates are, always. Thus their added chemistry acts as a bonus in this possession-dominating-gameplay of theirs. This has been very instrumental against opponents like Germany, Netherlands and Italy; who have a strong defence and are very hard to cut through.
So after two back-to-back international trophies the question beckons, is Spain’s tiki-taka gameplay foolproof? With the amount of ball possession they have in any match, is there virtually no way of outclassing them? The answer is no. If the opponent has a good defence, as the condition is in best teams of the world, their gameplay requires a massive amount of build-up which means it’s slow as they need to push everyone forward. In such cases, quick counter-attacks can be very dangerous. Also a zonal and man-to-man defence-minded team can make matters worse as the options to make a pass become very limited. These were the exact strategies that were used by Inter during their semi-final clash with Barcelona in last year’s Champions League. And they worked. They also almost worked for the Dutch in the WC Final, a match which was four minutes short of a penalty shootout, a point after which the match could easily have gone either way. And had it been that way, I might never have written this article. To think how important a lone goal can be? Or more importantly in today’s physical game, how costly a second yellow card can be?
P.S.: Everything expressed above is a matter of opinion. I would love your views. If you have anything to say, please comment below.
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