Which stars will Spain leave out of the side?
Spain's standard 4-2-3-1 shape
The reigning European Champions and the bookmakers’ favourites – this isn’t a position Spain are used to. Usually they are flashy outsiders everyone expects to self-destruct at the knockout stage, but the incredible results Spain have recorded over the past four years shows that this is both a talented and ultra-professional squad.
The stats are incredible. Del Bosque won his first 13 games, Spain overall have lost just once in 48 games, and 33 of their last 34 competitive games have been victories. Carlos Marchena recently set a new world record for the most number of international games unbeaten. He’s now got 52 caps, and has never lost.
They have changed in the two years since their European Championships victory. That win was largely attributed to the fact Spain had a designated holding midfielder, in Marcos Senna, who played a solid, disciplined role in front of the back four, and let the rest of Spain’s midfielders concentrate on creating. But after a poor two seasons at club level, Senna has been dropped from the squad, and Vicente del Bosque has been forced to consider other options in that position.
He seems intent on playing both Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso deep in midfield, which is an unpopular move with many, because it involves playing one less attacking player. The use of this double pivot in midfield means Spain play a slightly different brand of football when they are in possession, keeping the ball deep in midfield more often, whereas at Euro 2008 they tended to play with the ball high up the pitch, especially in wide zones.
A consequence of playing both Busquets and Alonso is that Xavi is pushed into a role higher up the pitch than he is used to, as the central player in a band of three. It’s probably not his best role, but his instant control means he gets a split-second longer to pick out a pass than other players would, and he generally plays quite simple balls to the wide players.
Andres Iniesta plays on the left side and always looks to cut in and link up with the other attackers, whilst David Silva stretches the play slightly more on the right, but again, looks to come inside and play short passes, rather than hitting the byline. Upfront, David Villa plays an all-round forward game – coming short to link up with the midfielders, working the channels, creating space for Iniesta and Silva to exploit, and taking up central positions when the ball is in advanced wide positions.
The result of the movement and passing ability in the final third is something like this, from Spain’s final pre-tournament friendly against Poland:
The forgotten duo
Here is Spain's basic defensive shape - a solid back four with the two holding midfielders in front. The use of both Busquets and Alonso means one can come towards the ball when it is in a wide position, whilst the other can cover the centre
Premiership fans could be forgiven for wondering why Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas look like missing out, but the winning statistics and the goal above should go some way to answering the questions. Villa and Torres are both magnificent players and often link up well, but a theme of their Euro 2008 win was a suspicion that Spain are better off fielding just one forward, and we are in the same situation two years later.
There is basically one less attacking position up for grabs. To include Torres, you would have to take out Iniesta or Silva (and lose width), Xavi (who is undroppable), or one of the two holding players – which would be the popular decision, but not one del Bosque looks like taking. Playing Torres also forces Villa into a different role further away from the goal, and of the two, there’s one clear winner in terms of international scoring ratio – Villa has 38 goals in 58 caps, Torres has 24 in 73.
Including Torres would mean a complete change in style and a switch to a 4-4-2ish shape. That could happen in the group stage where Spain will expect to progress easily, but in the latter stages del Bosque clearly wants to play 4-2-3-1. Including Fabregas in his favoured system would is slightly more imaginable – Xavi could drop back alongside one of the holding players, with Fabregas providing a more direct threat from the centre.
Rotation
Could Spain implement something of a squad rotation system? It sounds ridiculous, but there are a few factors that might make it worthwhile:
This is how the attacking players set out when Spain don't have the ball, a clear line of three. Iniesta and Silva come relatively central, making it difficult to play through them
First, Spain are the only side who can bring genuinely world class players in and out of the side. At least one, probably two, of Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta, Silva, Fabregas, Villa and Torres will miss out every game. (That’s not including Juan Mata, Pedro Rodriguez, Fernando Llorente or Jesus Navas, with the latter probably the closest to breaking into the first team.)
Secondly, many of those problems have had injury problems recently. Torres’ 25 minutes against Poland was his first game in exactly two months. Fabregas has played under 90 minutes since he became injured at home to Barcelona in March. Inista has had injury problems all season, only starting 20 of Barcelona’s 38 league games. Xavi ended the season playing with a potential injury that could have cost him his World Cup place. These four are probably not 100% fit, and to get them playing at their full potential, they may need to be rationed.
Thirdly – and crucially – Spain start the tournament last. If they face France in the final, Spain will have seven games in 26 days, France will have seven games in 31 days; that’s quite a sizeable difference, and Spain will also have one day less rest if they reach the final having won the group.
Therefore, it’s entirely possible that Spain won’t have a fixed line-up. The one depicted above should be their notional first XI, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Torres starting here, Fabregas starting there, as del Bosque nurses his troops to the finish line.
The two deep midfielders play slightly different roles in possession - Busquets sits in front of the defence and rarely looks to break forward, whereas Alonso moves higher up the pitch, and often breaks up opposition counter attacks if possession is lost
Conclusion
In a way, del Bosque is in an unenviable position – if Spain do anything else than win the tournament, he will be criticized for his team selection, because however he plays it, he will be leaving a world class talent on the bench.
The lone striker system does look like being Spain’s best chance of victory, as it allows them to dominate the ball in the centre of the pitch, have natural width on both sides, as well as maintain two holding midfielders. No other side has such an emphasis upon possession football, and therefore including another midfielder at the expense of an excellent striker like Fernando Torres makes sense.
The way to attack Spain is down the flanks, and exploiting the space left by the full-backs’ venture forwards. Spain will play a relatively high defensive line, and Puyol can become drawn out of position and caught out for pace.
Win this tournament, and the Spain side of the past four years will go down as one of the best international sides of all time.
Which stars will Spain leave out of the side?
Awesome article. I still think Brasil will take it.
BTW your Australian flag links to the NZ page.
I think this may be to annoy aussies/New Zealanders
Spain are too overconfident though. They’ll get complacent.
I don’t think so. The senior members of the team, like Xavi, Puyol, Casillas, Marchena and Iniesta, are too professional for that. The core of Barca players in the team have shown they don’t suffer from complacency or overconfidence; and the Madrid players, like Albiol and Ramos, are likely to be extremely determined to win a trophy. And Del Bosque wouldn’t allow it. No chance of complacency, in my opinon.
Spain, yeah! I don’t quite understand why Villa cannot play Pedro’s position in front of Xavi in this Spanish side, as he will in Barca’s scheme next season? They can play 4-1-2-3 with Busqets as a holding mid, Xavi and Iniesta as 2’s and Villa, Torres and Silva up front. With Puyol and Pique, I don’t quite see the need for Xabi Alonso (even though he’s a much better passer then Busqets). When defending, Iniesta will be used up too quickly, I think, especially, against Brazil’s counter attack, in the that formation above. Of course, Cesc can slide in there seamlessly (match fitness not withstanding).
Thanks for your work ZM, btw. I managed to waste the last 10 days at work with you pumping out article after article. Are you going to tell us who you got winning the trophy (if everything goes according to your analysis)?
Obviously, two holding midfielders provide more safety than one holding midfielder. If you think this is a waste, Xabi Alonso often goes forward, as mentioned by ZM. I understand that one would miss some players in the main line-up (guess who :>), but football team consists of only 10 outfield players. Trying to play too many creative players may backfire.
But the main reason I see for this is – an extra DM helps in tiki-taka play. More than what you proposed.
“Holding players” would be a more appropriate term for Alonso and Busquets; they are not really destructive players as such.
So many teams at the worldcup have a very similar ‘back six’; four defenders at the back with attacking wing-back and two defensive central midfielders to provide extra cover.
Looking at the line up of spain it looks very similar to the Dutch strategy, 6 defensively minded people at the back with 4 people up front to provide creativity
What would you think is a creative way to deal with this ’six defenders’ strategy that most countries have? Where will be the space to create?
(of course the way the game is played is very much depending on the players and how they work together, spains strategy is ball posession whereas the Dutch have a more opportunistic approach)
labeling sergi busquets & xabi alonso as strictly “defensively-minded” is a bit absurd, don’t you think?
Maybe not for Xabi Alonso, but Busquests certainly. What has Busquets ever done offensively?
It depends on how you interpret the wold offensive. Pretty much everything Busquets does on the pitch is offensive to me.
Seriously though, I don’t think he’s a very good player and he’d be badly exposed playing in lesser teams.
I mean, how hard is it to be the holding midfielder in a team that has 80% of possession in every match they play?
He’s just not good enough to play the role Senna did in 2008, therefore Del Bosque’s tactical adjustment is necessay.
He’s not as good a defender as Senna was in 2008, but Busquets is an amazing player and he’s a big reason for Barça’s success the last two seasons. You obviously severely underestimate his role on the team. The DM at Barça has to be the primary outlet for balls from defense and is responsible for holding the center when the CBs track out wide to cover for the marauding FBs. Granted he’s not physically strong like Yaya Toure but, positionally he’s excellent and he puts relentless pressure on the ball. His passing is also superb, one of the best in the world from his position.
Playing him alongside Xabi Alonso is not really an ultra defensive move in my opinion, as neither is really a purely defensive player, but rather hybrids. Xabi is more like a poor man’s Xavi but with goals in his boot.
Oh come on! Busquets is not overtly defensive: he is a technically adept young midfielder who is learning the ropes in the holding role.
Alonso is also technically gifted, if a bit different in the sense that his long-range passing is superior to that of most players and not just Busquets, who is excellent at intricate passing in tight areas; which makes him such a good partner to Xavi and Iniesta.
Also, Puyol and Pique can play fairly high up the field. If a team parks the bus against Spain, Pique could provide a low-profile option. It’s not really the that defensive minded.
Not really; neither of Spain’s holding midfielders are destroyers, and that’s a crucial difference.
Why is that people assume “holding midfielder” = tenacious, technically-limited guard dog?
Gattuso is a defensive midfielder, a busybody destroyer and yet he harldy ever holds his position.
This clip of Spain vs Poland is ridiculous. It looks like PES played on the easiest setting.
Poland just went there to get a big beating. These guys aren’t even in training and are just enjoying their holidays in SA
As were Hungary, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Tanzania to name a few of the other opposing teams on friendly matches against Germany, Brazil, Netherlands. Is not wise to match up against world cup’s sides before the tournament so that is what you got left. As it happens, Poland is the better team of all named before. If any of these matches were a loss, it would be a huge concern for the press and fans. If you do just perfect (W 6-0), you’ve got people saying it was to an untrained side, on holidays which where on their way to get defeated.
South Korea’s in the world cup though
Just mentioning it. These matches don’t have much value other than to give the home public a nice opportunity to say goodbye to the supporters
The match was played in Murcia, Spain.
If Spain are going to set up as suggested and have to rotate players in and out is there not a high probability they will end up with a different system? It is not that unlikely they will meet Brazil in the 2nd Round and Italy in the QF, I can easily imagine Alonso being replaced by Torres for at least one of these games.
Spain are clearly the best team in the world in terms of personnel and results but could very possibly struggle against Brazil in the 2nd round by persisting with this system. Brazil will probably play a high pressing game, if Xavi is starved of time and space they will need an alternative plan which would probably mean more advanced wing play or a more direct approach, in this instance they would be crackers not to play Torres. However if they are not meaningfully tested in the group stage they could well persist with the formation at the top of the article.
The 7 day difference is also very significant. It is strange to think that Spain couldn’t have asked for a more difficult draw despite their group being relatively straightforward.
Honestly, I think that Del Bosque wants Xabi, Busquets and Xavi on the field at the same time precisely to counter high pressing opponent. All three are world class distributors and if they are triangulating in front of the defense I can’t imagine a team that could effectively press them.
Where Spain has the advantage over other teams is that the Spain has an aweomse chemistry between the players. Look at the squad, you have 6 Barca players, 3 Madrid players, one Villareal and Valencia player. This is one of the main reasons why Fabregas and Torres wont start.
Villa isn’t a Barcelona player yet.
Well, he is.
But still, World Cup is not the tournament where players should play on uncomfortable/untrained positions.
Hmm, I would consider it two Valencia players and 5 Barca players. Somehow I think that Silva and Villa will act as more of a cohesive unit than Iniesta and Villa on the other side. Villa hasn’t done anything at Barca yet other than hold up a jersey to have pictures taken.
When I saw the diagram above I mentally made logical groups of players where each player was next to a teammate (other than Capdevilla). Puyol-Pique-Busquets is the defensive group, Alonzo-Ramos is the right defensive wing, Xavi-Iniesta is the left attacking group and Villa-Silva is the right sided attack.
Insightful analysis, as ever. With respect to your observation about Spain having to potentially play 7 games in 26 days, I would suggest that the other facet to this is that starting their group games later allows players who are sufferring niggling injuries, or returning from protracted layoffs – the likes of Torres, Fabregas, Iniesta and Xavi – more time to recover.
Another significant characteristic of this Spain team, that distinguishes it from the Euro 2008 squad, is that the likes of Navas (pace, width and crossing) and Llorente (strength in the air, focal point for attack) offer a different dimension to the attacking play, should alterations to the framework be required.
I have my reservations about Busquets’ ball-winning abilities as compared to Senna’s proficiency in this regard, but it must be recognised that he acquitted himself very well this season for Barcelona, despite the agitation for the more robust Yaya Toure to take his place.
Spain under del Bosque were able to get around the Villa-Torres difficulties in the latter part of qualifying better than they did at Euro 2008 I think, with Villa playing more out wide compared to the front two in 2008. It’s strange to think when Euro 2008 was the big success, but I reckon Spain’s frontline with Villa and Torres looked more fluid in WC 2006 and the latter stage of 2010 qualifying than it did while playing Villa and Torres in more of a 4-4-2 in 2008. In WC 2006 and late 2009, Spain were playing more of a front three.
The trouble is that Torres himself still isn’t really, really firing with Villa around; he much prefers having plenty of space up front to himself and his teammates passing to him early with the focus of the attack being on him. Maybe it’ll change in South Africa.
Going to be very interesting seeing how del Bosque manages the line-up.
I think it’s worth noting how incredible Marcos Senna was in the Euro 2008. It’s been a long time since I saw a defensive midfielder have that good a tournament. The flair players are all amazing, but Senna essentially did the work of 2 players in that tournament; he was positionally perfect (bailed out Ramos more times than I could count), he tackled brilliantly, and he was pretty handy on the ball. It seems to me that Spain are replacing one player with two.
I know Senna didn’t make the squad and if he had there’s little chance he would have been flawless – as he was in Euro 2008 – if he had made it, but it’ll be interesting to see if Spain can compensate with Busquets and Alonso. I’m not sure the balance will be quite as perfect as it was, and I think they’ll be susceptible to counterattacks (see their match against USA in the Confederations Cup). Perhaps they’ve fixed a lot of things since then (I think they tried the old diamond 4-4-2 in that match), but they missed Senna’s supreme positioning. It’ll be interesting.
Agree on Senna, to me he was the best player in the Spanish side of maestros in 2008.
ZM, thanks for all these excellent articles, it’s the best waste of time I’ve had in ages
Spain’s main point of strenght is movment,I know that Brasil also have a formation which have a lot of movements but Spain play with no definite formation,when they dont have the ball it is more the 4-2-3-1 on the diagram,but when in possesion Silvan-Iniesta always drops to the midfield so that Spain have 5 midfielders Busquetes(who usually stays to protect the back 4)-Xavi-Xabi Alonso-Silva-Iniesta so Spain will play most of their matches having more than 60% possesion,Silva and Iniesta also swap their positions a lot during the match,For me Del Bosque should drop Alonso for Cesc Fabregas but still play with 4-2-3-1 by playing Xavi in the Alonso role of deep-ly play maker,he played that role with Barca when Iniesta,PEdro,Messi-Ibra were on the same pitch,it can get the best out of him,Cesc Fabregas play the AMF role in 4-2-3-1 with Arsenal and it worked very well(although I think that his best position is like that of Xavi),Villa should be chosen ahead of Torres,Torres,Pedro,Alonso,NAvas and Pedro can be super subs.If Spain win the Wc(I dont beleive they will do)it will be thanks to dynamic Movements of the 5 midfielders.
Given the veritable wealth of attacking options in reserve, and the imperative for Del Bosque to use his 3 substitutions judiciously, I think that he is likely to bring on three out of Torres, Pedro, Navas and Fabregas regularly – though not in any particular order of preference; it will obviously be contingent on the requirements of the match situation. Llorente will be summoned only in exceptional circumstances.
Also, if Iniesta is unlikely to recover from his thigh injury in time for the first match, will Pedro replace him in the line-up, or will Del Bosque switch Silva to the left flank and opt for Navas from the start? I think the former is more likely.
To follow on your Iniesta topic, i do think that Del Bosque has a flexibility here choosing Navas or Pedro. Both are quick and run along the line but there’s a difference between these two.
Navas plays more of a winger role, staying wide and beating his marker and supplying crosses but Pedro, although he does cross on occasion, tends to drift to the middle and find an angle to shoot for goal.
So, if Del Bosque wants to exploit that right flank and stay as wide as possible and play with crosses then Navas is a better option. If he wants to keep the fluidity of the midfield and have more direct approach to goal then Pedro is the one to go.
Indeed; I wasn’t suggesting that Pedro and Navas are like-for-like replacements. The rationale for picking Pedro is that, as you correctly note, he is quite adept at drifting in-field to shoot or augment the attack in the box with Villa by taking up intelligent positions. In addition, he is also able to peridocally swap sides with Silva. I don’t think Pedro will be as inventive, or crucial, in the build-up play as Iniesta, but his propensity to close down the full-back to recover position (a trait cultivated at Barca) will no doubt prove useful.
Navas, as I intimated earlier, offers the genuine width and crossing ability, by virtue of taking up positions on the right-hand touchline. I don’t see him starting too many games, because his inclination to stretch the play may not be conducive to creating space for Ramos’ overlapping runs from deep. He will more likely be given 25-30 minute cameos to torment tiring left-backs, and get those proverbial “balls into the box”.
Yup, agree. I think Navas is more useful if Torres or even Llorente is there to get those aerial shots.
Edit: I did, ofcourse, mean Pedro’s closing down of the fullback/spare centre-back aids in recovering possession and not “position” as I inadvertently and incorrectly wrote. Bloody iPhone!
Part of his thinking surrounding this could be that most of the stadiums are at altitude. Playing the same attackers for 90 minutes will be harder than usual.
Too bad Casillas isn’t a good passer, he hoofs the ball if he sees trouble and his long balls are inaccurate. Reina and Valdes might suit this passing-masters side more properly.
I’m also worried about the LB. Capdevila is experiencied and a starter for me too, but he looks like the weakest man in the starting XI. Right-footed Arbeloa, solid defender, hard-worker yet not very threatening when going forward and lacking vission, might start more than a game at LB (like against France), when facing powerful wingers.
As you say, playing both Alonso and Busquets is an unpopular choice. Here in Spain, press (>.<) doesn't seem to rate a pure holding, (let's say) Mascherano-type player, they just want good passers as CMs and 2 strikers. As soon as Del Bosque loses a game, press will automatically remark this.
Wonderful site, have read all WC posts, greetings from Spain.
I’m not sure I would replace Capdevila with Arbeloa. I like the stability he brings our side (we need role players as well!) and Arbeloa has not shown me too much this season at RM or in the friendly matches.
Un abrazo de Tenerife
Excellent analysis. I do think Capdevilla and possibly Ramos are dodgy enough and are the weakest links and that is certianly an argument for keeping Alonso and Busquets as holding Midfielders, letting Busquets doing the ‘donkey work’and letting Alonso roam…Would love to see Cesc and Xavi though just for pure creative purposes. The only good thing is that if Iniestea is injured as fourfourtwo suggest, Torres could surely play narrower on the left and slot in just behind Villa. The beauty of Torres is that he is a complete striker who can play well as an out and out striker or as one who has to come deep for posession.
Nicely put together piece.
Xavi, for me, should be deployed in one of the pivot central midfield roles in place of either alonso or busquets, with fabregras played in that more attacking central role, the role he works wonders in for Arsenal.
Would make far more sense, i would guess busquets may get dropped against lesser opponents for a more attcking trio of alonso, xavi and cesc.
Against the bigger boys, in the knockout rounds, there may be more scope to play a tighter game with Fabregras dropped to the bench.
Xavi is sharp enough to play the more advanced role, but is a far better player in a deeper, controlled role.
He is a general and needs to see more of the pitch to get the best out of him.
I totally agree with you. I’m not convinced of Xavi playing that high in the pitch, he likes the deeper role and linking the defense with the forwards. This role (CAM) is somewhat making him do more runs back and forth and can tire him more.
Is Xabi Alonso less defensive than Busquets? Clearly Xabi is superior in technique and distribution but i haven’t seen him doing the dirty business.
I am a Barca fan but I am not yet convinced of Busquets with such a responsibility, he tends to loose his head and try some fancy tricks or passes that could lead to serious consequences.
Xabi Alonso is not a great defensive player. In the clásico in Madrid he was left as the lone defensive midfielder and he got eaten alive, granted it was against Barcelona’s midfield. To me Alonso is more or a Xavi-like player, not nearly as gifted in controlling a match (who is?), but still world class distributor and a stronger physical presence in the midfield and a far better outside shot.
but if alonso was playing as the deepest midfielder for spain, it wouldnt be in a diamond. he would have xavi ever so slightly ahead, but almost alongside him. defensive responsibility could be shared between them, there’s no need for busquets as well, who i don’t see as positionally better than either of them.
i disagree that alonso is a xavi like player, i think he’s more carrick-esque. only he is strong and can tackle – there’s no need for a specialist DM alongside him if he’s got xavi and another central midfielder to help out as well
I think it is necessary for a specialist DM due to the fact that Xavi is not the greatest defensive player, he presses a lot but is not a hard tackler and he usually plays alongside a midfielder who goes further to the final third. In order for Xavi to operate to perfection he needs someone to watch his back so he can focus more on distribution.
I imagine if Iniesta is indeed going to miss the first game then we could see Silva be on the left and Navas on the right, with Xavi creating, Xabi passing and Busquets destroying. The inverted wingers trend is great but I don’t think anybody doubts Navas is at his (utterly devastating) best from the right.
Only alternative I could imagine to that would be Villa playing behind Torres from a left (centralish) position as part of a contorted diamond. But then Capdevila isn’t exactly the man to exploit the remaining space down the flank…
One thing youk could do to this side is to reduce the defence to 3 people and add an extra defender, playing in a more 3-4-1-2 system or 3-5-2.
Then you’ll fit all the “world class” players that they have.
Casillas
Ramos | Pique | Puyol
Iniesta | Xavi | Xabi | Silva
Fabregas
Villa | Torres
This way you would could have the width that is needed for this spanish posession playing side when at the same time playing two forwards with a #10 role behind them.
No offense but that’s about the most imbalanced, suicidal Spanish team one can possibly come up with.
Heh, true but it might work when one goal behind in 80th minute.
Yeah, this is pretty dumb. The opposite of tactically astute. Brazil sort of tried to do something similar four years ago in Germany, cramming Kaka, Ronaldinho, Adriano, and Ronaldo into their starting XI. And we all know what happened.
That’s plain suicidal. Well, so is this Argentina side but just imagine the possibilities *shudder*:
Romero
Burdisso | Demechiles | Otamendi
Mascherano
Tevez | Aguero
Messi | Milito | Higuain | Di Maria
Agree with Brett.
I think we all already know that it’s the matter of putting the right players for the system to work, rather than slotting all the technically best/popular players into the team.
Wonderful article as always, ZM. It’s a joy to read your site.
Thanks for another great article.
Can any other national squad in history match Spain’s depth in talent? The list is simply astonishing. I know Argentina has some absurd striking options but Spain could probably rotate anyone in each of the bands without losing their quality.
You mention a squad rotation system and as a Brazil fan I wish Dunga would implement one! Why not start Bastos and Ramires on the left against North Korea but Gilberto and a d-mid against the Ivory Coast? Ramires on the right against them but Elano on the right against Portugal?
To me if a major team like Spain or Brazil do end up using such an approach (and win with it) that would be the greatest tactical highlight of the tournament. For now I expect Dunga to stubbornly stick to his starting line-up, not that it’s bad, it’s just that I wish he would take that next step.
Iniesta was ridiculous in the Poland game before he went off. I predict that if he can get healthy and stay healthy, and if Spain as a whole play well, this will be a star-making tournament for him. Very, very few players have his close control and vision.
He is already a star, having demonstrated the full array of his talents during Euro 2008 and Barcelona’s domestic dominance and extremely impressive European record over the past few seasons.
I was fortunate enough to encounter him all the way back in 2003 when I happened to stumble across the under-23 FIFA World Cup equivalent when he had to take over the captaincy after Melli foolishly got sent off in the final against Brazil after 4 minutes (!!). Incidentally, this is where I first watched Dani Alves (whom I loathe in all honesty) as well. I was immediately struck by his maturity on the ball and ludicrous ability to move, pass and dribble. I am not sure there are many players who possess such a variety of differing qualities in abundance. Messi may be a pacier dribbler with a fiercer shot, and Xavi may be slightly better overall at picking out that killer through ball, but Iniesta combines everything you want in an attacking player. His ability to turn on a sixpence or to glide his way out of trouble in possession is often nothing short of marvellous. By the by, Spain managed to hold off a very talented Brazil side during that tournament until the 87th minute when Fernandinho scored the only goal of the game (only to be sent off himself in the final minute of normal time). I have no idea where he plays now. Andres Iniesta that day more or less single-handedly kept Spain in contention, and I still remember thinking – the lad will be an absolute sensation.
I remember that game vividly, it took place in Abu Dhabi in Zayed Sports City. I also remember seeing an extremely young Cesc Fabregas on the pitch. Great memories.
very nice piece, though one marginal ‘thing’: the name capdevila is spelled with only one l. i also noticed the wrong spelling of this name in another article on this website (don’t remember which one it was).
The depth that Spain have is just amazing, del Bosque is spoiled for choice.
However if they come up against Brazil they’ll find it very difficult because as shown in a 4-2-3-1 the 3 in this case Silva and iniesta will try and cut on the inside and make it a bit narrow which makes it very difficult to play through them also considering xabi and busquets behind them, and thus fullbacks will give them their width,this however will make them very vulnerable against a counter attacking team like Brasil who rely upon robinho as the outlet,note that he plays a wider role than many forwards thus it makes the numerical advantage in the center a bit irrelevant.hence the role of Sergio Busquets and how he plays will be crucial to what Spain achieve, because he is the spare man in midfield who will help keep possession by playing the simple passes and being available for the ball also defensively he will be vital if Spain don’t want to concede on the break.
If spain do win it then sergio busquets name wont’t probably feature in the eye-catching headlines so popular these days but he will have had a lion’s share in spain’s conquest!
Nikhil,
Del Bosque has already hit upon an alternative arrangement for when Villa and Torres start together, and that doesn’t involve them playing as a strike partnership.
Against Belgium, Villa played outside-left, with Torres central and Silva outside-right.
The Torres/Villa selection issue draws all the attention but I think that Villa is better than Torres and 4-4-2 does not suit Spain. Villa will not be forced wide to work the channels in a 4-3-3 like he did in 2006 and there is no way Torres could do it. Torres is a good player but his lack of flexibility means he’s only first reserve in this squad.
I think the real selection issue for Spain is one or two holding midfielders? Alonso and Busquets sit back forcing Xavi forward hence a 4-2-3-1 as shown above. Drop one of the two holders for Fabragas and you have two central midfielders to help the forwards. It is now a Barca style 4-3-3.
I don’t know if Spain’s 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 is best. I can see the logic in Alonso and Busquets together because neither of them is as good at the job as Senna was in 2008 and you need them both to do that holding job. 4-3-3 puts Fabragas on the pitch and allows Xavi to play further back, but is either of Alonso or Busquets good enough to hold on his own?
I do not envy the coach. If Spain don’t win the thing, it’ll be very very easy to blame him for not having the best side on the pitch. If Spain do win the thing, they’ll just say he’s lucky to have inherited a very good side that had proven in 2008 it was one of the world’s best.
It’s shame because win or loose I think Del Bosque is a great coach who was treated very poorly by Real Madrid.
not quite sure what a busquets-alonso partnership gives del bosque over an alonso-xavi pairing. it forces xavi further up field which is not where he should be stating from, and generally restricts the team’s options. i understand that neither alonso nor busquets can perform a holding role like senna did, but why not just get alonso and xavi to share this responsibility? xavi is positionally excellent, and plays deep alongside busquets for barca in their 4-2-4 formation. he likes to dictate play from deep rather than start higher up,
my team would be as follows:
____________Casillas_______
Ramos_ _ Pique_ _ Puyol_ _ Capdevilla
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Alonso
_ _ _ _ _ _ Xavi_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Iniesta
_ _ _Silva_ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Pedro_ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Villa_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
i know this won’t happen because iniesta is going to start wide left, but if he did start central he could drift out there when pedro made darting off the ball runs inside. having pedro starting means greater penetration, and he would create more space for the likes of villa and iniesta. also, with iniesta in the middle, he would be closer to xavi, and those two can keep the ball allday long knowing alonso is sitting behind them if they do lose it , or waiting to shoot from distance if there are no forward options.
to me this system seems slightly more offensive, suits each individual player better, and is more versatile. pedro can make a 4-4-2 with iniesta moving into the space, giving villa more license to roam, perhaps into the right hand channel when silva cuts inside. while neither pedro nor busquets are as talented as players like fabregas and torres, i respect del bosque’s decision to leave them out for the good of the team. i just think it would be better for the team if he went with pedro rather than busquets. very little defensive solidity is lost without the latter, but so many more attacking options are gained by playing the former.
Nice. But I’d prefer:
____________Casillas_______
Ramos_ _ Pique_ _ Puyol_ _ Capdevila
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Alonso
_ _ _ _ _ _ Xavi_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Cesc________________
_ _ _Silva_ __ _ _ _ _ Iniesta——
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Villa_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
I don’t think Pedro is ready to start, but he will be useful coming off the bench.
I’d prefer Busquets of Alonso if I were going to risk a single DM. Alonso is only slightly more effective as a DM as Xavi would be. Sergio is underrated.
And yeah, Cesc over Pedro for now.
I like Busquets a lot, I’ve seen most of his matches, but Alonso has had a better season, and I think he is the overrated one when it comes to defensive discipline. Alright, so he can’t really tackle, but his positiioning has been really good when playing solo as holding midfielder.
“Secondly, many of those problems have had injury problems recently.”
I disagree very strongly with your characterisation of “Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta, Silva, Fabregas, Villa and Torres” as problems! I think they’re more like solutions!
He probably meant ‘players’ and not problems. Put that down to oversight.
What I don’t quite understand is why they don’t simply play Barcelona’s first choice central midfield of Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta with a front 3 of Silva Villa & Navas/Pedro. That midfield trio don’t really need any extra players like Alonso to monopolise possession (they do it well enough for Barca). Is it because of concerns about the full backs who aren’t as strong as at Barca?
Perhaps it’s political;
Del Bosque will not want to be accused of building a side around Barcelona to the detriment of Real Madrid and other clubs.
In terms of team morale, is it wise to have 7-8 starters for a national team all drawn from one club?
Somehow, I think Busquets having such a prominent role in the side is a mistake. It’s really hard to see where he fits in. Sure he’s good enough playing for a Barcelona side who dominates so often that they rarely have to do any defending at all. I can’t remember him having a good game when Barcelona are under the cosh a little bit.
I think Sergio Ramos might be a better solution. Spain really lack somebody who can be aggressive, play the simple ball, has the football brain to nip problems as they arise and impose himself on the game in a physical way. World class players in the holding players are seldom youngsters, and that has to do with the fact that the defensive midfielder’s game is a lot more tactical and mental than other positions. At the moment, Busquets isn’t the solution to that problem.
Hey guys. Just started reading these articles. Very interesting! What do you guys think, which team is better: Barca or Spain?
Real Madrid, of course.
Del Bosque’s single greatest asset is the fact that Torres is coming back from an injury and so he can use that as the excuse to keep him on the bench until the 60th minute.
Also, having watched Spain’s three friendlies, it seems to me that Busquets is the only one concretely sticking to a defensive midfield role, with Xabi Alonso bridging the Gap between Xavi and Busquets and basically taking the role of “alternate Xavi” when Xavi is man-marked out of the game. For most of the first and last friendlies they were effectively either 4-1-4-1 or 4-1-2-3, although, granted, that is their attacking shape.
Also, watching Pedro press high up the pitch was a treat, and he might just be Del Bosque’s go to sub on the right.
What about Javi Martinez as the defensive midfielder instead of both Busquets and Alonso? Most of the defenders can play that role as well, with both Carlos Marchena and Raul Albiol being accomplished destroyers.
Also does a centre-back (Albiol?) playing as the left-back to cover Pique when he goes forward, sound stupid?
Spain do not play 2 holding midfielders. One thing is that Alonso retreats to make a line with Busquets in defensive phase, another thing is that he sits in front of the back four at all phases of play. That is something he patently does not do for this team. He is an interior midfielder (a position that doesn’t suit him at all), but he is smart enough to realize in what situations his presence is needed deeper in order to successfully work the ball out of the back.
Xabi Alonso should be the sole DM of this team, putting him as an interior midfielder, which often leaves him playing with his back to goal, takes away his true talent as a player who can distribute from deep and organize his teammates in front of him. Del Bosque is typically allergic to making tough decisions, so no change will be made until a bad result is suffered. Ideally, Busquets should make way for Xabi Alonso to have the DM position and than Fabregas, who is a much much superior interior mid can take that position and give more fluidity/forward link to the play.
Carlos,
It can be reduced to this: if Alonso plays as a secondary pivot, he needs another more defensive player alongside him (like Mascherano) when facing top teams.
Busquets is more suited to playing alone.
I still prefer Alonso’s attributes though.
I have nowhere else to ask, so I’ll ask in this post: Any chance of having open threads during the games?
I hope it’s ok to post this. I thought readers here would be interested in an article I wrote, going into detail on different formations Spain have used in qualifying and how Villa, Torres, Xabi Alonso and Busquets fit within those. Here’s a link: http://analyticalfootball.blogspot.com/2010/06/world-cup-preview-spain-part-3.html.
I love the blog and have been an avid reader since I discovered it.