Teams of the Decade #7: Spain 2008
The first-choice line-up...
It’s hard to place this Spain team on a list which attempts to focus upon tactical innovations as much as success and pretty football – on one hand, the side was so wonderfully fluid and dynamic it was difficult to categorise them into a set formation, on the other it became increasingly clear that their first-choice system, with two strikers, wasn’t working for them.
They’re the obvious star players, but to highlight Xavi and Andres Iniesta’s roles perhaps overlooks the reason why this Spain side were successful. Spain have never been lacking in players like the Barcelona duo – the Valencia partnership of Ruben Baraja and David Albelda, if less spectacular players, were equally effective in the centre of midfield. Juan Carlos Valeron was another player who is the equal of his nearest equivalent, David Silva, in this side. The reason Luis Aragones’ side won Euro 2008 was, of course, the use of a designated holding player in front of the defence. In many ways, Aragones leant from the Barcelona side which failed because it attempted to fit three similar players into the centre of midfield; Xavi, Iniesta and Deco. The need for a more physical, holding player was apparent, and Barcelona’s midfield worked better when first Edmilson and then Yaya Toure filled the position. To emphasise the increased defensive solidarity because of the holding player is obvious, but the key was that it let Xavi and Iniesta go and play.
...and the one which worked better
And of course, a pretty identical thing happened with this Spain side. Although the formation was different to the one used by Barcelona, the use of Marcos Senna meant that Xavi and Iniesta were freed to go forward and create. Their ability to keep possession, to find the forwards and to float around the pitch without losing their defensive shape was magnificent. Spain produce ball-playing central midfielders like no other country, but they’ve always struggled to produce a disciplined, physical player like Senna, a Brazilian by birth.
As mentioned in the introduction, however, there remains a suspicion that Spain function better with only one frontman. They struggled against Italy at the quarter-final stage with both Fernando Torres and David Villa, failing to score. The semi-final against Russia was particularly telling – their awful first-half display with two up top was brought to a close by Villa’s injury. He was replaced by Fabregas, creating a 4-5-1, and Spain went onto win 3-0. The final, where Spain were still without Villa, was a solid if unspectacular dismissal of Germany, thanks to a Torres goal.
It might seem ridiculous to state that the loss of Villa (who won the tournament’s Golden Boot award) helped Spain, but they were without question more effective with just one striker.
Credit should go to the back five, who conceded just two goals in the tournament, none in the knock-out stages. The eagnerness to attack from both Capdevilla and Ramos drew the opposition midfield out of position, opened up space for Xavi and Iniesta, and meant that the relative lack of width on one side (David Silva tended to float from wing to wing) was always solved from forward runs from full-back.
Spain were a tremendously popular side, and fully deserved to win the competition. Their best football came in the 3-0 semi-final win against Russia, producing three superb goals. Worth a watch, if you don’t mind unnecessary Spanish music.
Teams of the Decade #7: Spain 2008
I know it weren’t the point of the formation but in the defensive phase it started as a 4-4-2 which should be the intended layout in graphical form. Villa tends to drift left also. They had Iniesta on the right and Silva left at the start of the tournament but found it more effective and fluid to play them on the opposite side. The tika-taka football was fantastic to watch, Senna was the glue, the full-backs just kept on bombing forward and Fabregas was a great super-sub, coming on for what would now be blasphemy, Xavi.
The new Del-Bosque version is set up in a assymetric 4-1-3-2 with sometimes a winger (either Riera, Mata or Carzola) on one of the sides.
Brain makes a good point in slightly altering your initial formation
I too found it to be more of a 4-4-2 (or 4-1-3-2) with Senna holding, Xavi slightly ahead (though not in the hole) and on either side were Silva and Iniesta who, curiously, were not played on their inverted ´wrong foot´ until the semi-final, that is to say that left-footed Silva started from the left and right-footed Andres started on the right.
When Fabregas came in for Villa it appeared to me that the shape was more 4-1-4-1 verging on 4-2-3-1 with Silva and Iniesta given freedom to switch flanks at will, and Fabregas playing much closer to Xavi centrally. I think that the lone striker would have been even better had he been Villa.
Del Bosque announced when he took the job that he was inheriting what he saw as a 4-1-3-2 shape and that he would only add minor variations to that by tweaking the system.
I just wanted to add a note on Del Bosque’s variations of the formation since taking over.
On the basis of what I saw from both the Confederations Cup and the WC Qualifying stage, Spain also use the option of a 4-3-3 (often switching to it midway through the game with or without recourse to substitutions) whereby Torres stays central, Villa pulls wide left and Silva is moved up to outside-right. The back-ups to this 4-3-3 are Mata playing outside-left, Navas at outside-right and Villa or Negredo playing centrally. The biggest advantage this affords is giving Iniesta more central positioning (alongside Xavi or Cesc and with a holder).
The other variation I have seen (against England in February 2009)has been a 4-2-2-2 with Alonso and Senna as twin holders, Xavi and Iniesta ahead.
Fair critiques of the formations both, and interesting what you have to say about the way Spain have played under Del Bosque, Roberticus.
I must admit I haven’t seen much of Spain in qualifying for the World Cup, but I think playing Villa and Torres in the same team might be a bit of a problem against better defences at the World Cup, they don’t seem to function as they do at club level when fielded alongside each other.
You’re absolutely right. It’s a variation that will depend on the opponent. Villa and Torres are both mobile strikers who like to utilize space across the box and even outside it, drifting from left to right at will. When they were paired together at the EUROS they often got in each others way and space, almost to the point of neutralizing one another.
On the other hand, it’s a luxury problem. What National team wouldn’t want to have options like Villa, Fabregas and Mata on the bench?
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