Spain are the reigning
world and European champions, the best international team so far this
century, and possibly the best for twenty years, have spent the
run-up to Sunday's final, their third in three tournaments, defending
their style of play from the charge of being boring.
Regardless of whether
or not they are, the backlash was inevitable. Spain have been the
best side in the world for four years, and there is always a reaction
against success, especially in Britain where the underdog is king,
but this is not just a debate that is taking place in the British
press. Two years ago, tiki-taka football was envied and admired, now
it is seen in some quarters as stifling and negative.
The charges are not
completely without merit, Spain have had 68 percent possession during
Euro 2012, but the fewest attempts on goal of any of the four
semi-finalists. Their style of play creates few chances, instead of
going for a killer blow, they often overlook opportunities to play a
final ball into the box, preferring to pass backwards or sideways and
maintain possession, waiting for a clear-cut chance to come along.
Football watchers tend to value ambition as highly as any other
quality, and this apparent lack of it has contributed to their
alienation.
What the accusation
also shows, are the short memories of many fans and journalists who
watch football. The Spanish are far removed from the long ball teams
that featured heavily in English football in the 80s and early 90s,
teams coached by George Graham, Howard Wilkinson and Graham Taylor,
or even the route one tactics employed by England in the second half
of their quarter-final match with Italy seven days ago. In that
match, England's most frequent pass combination was Hart to Carroll,
and as a result, England's attack was not only highly ineffective,
but also incredibly dull. The excitement in that match for English
fans was that England were involved, not that it was a good game. The
Spanish game involves some of the most skilful footballers in the
world playing a technically demanding brand of passing football,
whilst winning consistently. The only thing that's boring there is
their success. Contrast that with the teams coached by Sam Allardyce,
where long ball tactics, men behind the ball and a reliance on set
pieces are the foundations of his game plan. Describing Spain as
dull, whilst teams like these are in recent living memory seems
forgetful at best, and the football world is in for a shock when
Allardyce's West Ham return to the Premiership next season.
A similar accusation is
often levelled at Jose Mourinho's teams, but his teams still score
plenty of goals, and are playing skilful football with the ball on
the floor, whilst his former charges at Chelsea are alleged to have
parked the bus in the Champions' League last season, but they
outscored Barcelona 3-2 over two legs in the semi-final. Those who
watch the game have been spoiled by 20 years of Champions' League
football, worldwide coverage of the top domestic leagues, and for
English fans, a diet of end-to-end, high scoring football, that has
perhaps diluted appreciation for some of the game's finer arts.
It is true that Spain
have not played in any classic matches so far in Euro 2012, but that
does not mean that they are not a classic team. Pete Sampras was one
of the greatest tennis players of all time, but he was sometimes
labelled as boring because of the relentless and one-sided nature of
many of the big matches he played in, whereas other, less successful
stars, who could not destroy opponents like he could, played in what
are regarded as great finals, because their imperfections allowed for
a closer, more unpredictable result, such as the 2001
Ivanisevic-Rafter
Wimbledon final.
Spain's opponents
should be apportioned with at least half of the blame for any dull
matches, not just because of their inability to challenge the world
champions, but because of their refusal to try. If the quarter and
semi-finals were unexciting, blame the Portuguese and the French for
playing with men behind the ball. Look at what happened when Portugal
began to attack the Spanish in extra time, the game opened up, and
Spain started to play at a greater tempo and with more direct intent
than before.
The argument over the
level of excitement that one can get from watching Spain play, comes
down to what the viewer wants to get from them. Appreciation for the
fine arts of the game, outplaying and dominating an opponent, or
playing in an incident packed and close fixture, filled with
imperfections and mistakes. Both have their merits, but do we really
want a football culture where a team is criticised for playing a
passing game that keep the ball on the floor and relies on skill and
technique?
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