La Furia Roja. The Red Fury.
A long standing nickname of the Spanish national team. What does this name conjure up? Is it that of an assured, stylish passing team? Or is it that of a team that throws everything it has at the opposition? The name was taken based on the way the team played, not the desires of the public. It was a long road from Red Fury to Tiki-Taki.
That road has led to Spain to a point at which the passing, technique and vision are extraordinary. What seems to be falling away is the penetration. The key ability to, quite simply, score more times than the other team. While the ability of Spain to develop sublimely gifted creative midfield players is at a point where the resources in that area are unparalleled, the ability to create goalscoring forwards appears to be in reverse.
A look at the squad Vicente Del Bosque put together for the Euro qualifiers against Finland and France illustrates this. In midfield they could call upon Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Iniesta, Fabregas, Busquets, Cazorla, Isco, David Silva, Mata and Navas. Players of the quality of Mikel Arteta and Michu (though we can argue about whether Michu is a goalscoring midfielder or forward) do not get into the Spanish squad. Arteta is now 31, has been highly regarded in English football since 2005, but has never won a cap for his country. Add to this the number of players coming through and the evidence mounts still further. Thiago, Munian (another about who it could be argued as to whether or not he is a midfielder or forward), Tello, Koke and Cuenca. Add this to their style of play and it is little wonder that they dominate possession statistics. In the game against Finland they enjoyed 82% possession. Yet the final score was 1-1. They created openings but either failed to take the chances or refused to play the more ‘direct’ and penetrative options. Is the issue one of style or of personnel? Spain had 29 attempts on goal. Yet many came from outside the penalty area, what might be described as half chances rather than sitters.
While the resources in midfield are staggering, the striking resources are less impressive. David Villa and Fernando Torres supplied by the midfield players listed should be enough to see off most opponents. Indeed it was for three consecutive tournaments. Villa and Torres of today are not the same players that helped delivered those two European Championships and a World Cup. Villa is still searching for his form and a starting place at Barcelona following his broken leg. When deployed for Spain his position is of an inside left, rather than as an out and out striker. The issues and debates surrounding Torres have filled British newspapers and internet forums for almost two years.
The depth is now being tested. In the last squad the only strikers were Villa and Negredo. Not chosen were Negredo and Llorente (plus Torres). The options are somewhat limited. A look at the top goal scorers in La Liga offers further illustration.
1 – Messi (Argentina) 43
2. Ronald0 (Portugal) 28
3. Falcao (Columbia) 22
4. Negredo (Spain) 15
5. Soldad0 (Spain) 14
6. Castro Martin (Spain) 13
7. Aduritz (Spain) 13
8. Riki (Spain) 12
9. Piti (Spain) 12
10. Vela (Mexico) 12
The two players at the top of the charts are the two players widely considered to be at the top of the world. They would be expected to lead the charts in any league in the world. The top Spanish scorer is seven behind the next player. The options for selection are not players with goal records that demand inclusion in national squads. So where are the next generation of strikers and how will they find them? Why does this matter to me, a coach in England with no affiliation to Spain other than a great admiration?
The development of players in Spain is undoubtedly a high quality operation. La Masia is the envy of the world. Barcelona are not the only side producing technically excellent young footballers. In England we are desperate to get our hands on the session plans and philosophy employed by the Spanish. It is this philosophy that has spawned so many high class midfield players. It is established that technique is the aspect that is the focus for future generations of English footballers. That which it is felt has been lacking for too many years. The Future Game document sets out the plan for these generations. Within it is a section that outlines the attributes that the FA desires future players to have. The outline covers technical, tactical, physical and psychological. The technical aspect is listed below.
Technical –
– Displays versatility and ingenuity to meet the demands of the game.
– Has assured basic techniques and an extensive range of ball skills.
– Excellent passing, receiving and retaining possession skills.
– Creates personal time and space at all times
– Can pass the ball intelligently and efficiently over varying distances.
– Possesses clean ball contact skills when passing, receiving, retaining and travelling with the ball.
– Can operate skillfully at optimum and varying speeds, even in congested areas.
– Recognises opportunities to run with the ball and is effective in doing so.
– Has the ability turn with the ball in a variety of ways.
– Can beat opponents in one versus one situations or by combining play with others.
– Preferably two footed, with some degree of unorthodoxy.
– Highly proficient in limited and instant touch techniques.
– Can defend alone.
– Has the creativity to produced the ‘unexpected’ in the right place at the right time.
The technical description brings to my mind the midfield players of Spain. Creative. Able to operate in tight areas. Find and utilise pace. Intelligent passers. Inventive. Before drawing up the Future Game representatives of the FA visited clubs and nations around the world to look at their training methods. Those included Spain and the Netherlands. If one were to pick up coaching books about Spanish and Dutch coaching methods a number of practices have a striking resemblance to those in the Future Game. The Spanish method is essentially the Dutch method translated. Cruyff is Barcelona. Barcelona is Spain. Not entirely the truth but not a long way from it.
If English football was able to produce it’s own generation of Xavis, Iniestas, Alonsos et al through the methods laid out in the Future Game then that would be a tremendous achievement. There can be no doubt that the national game would be improved with a depth of midfield players comparable to that of Spain. This not only requires an improvement in the way players are developed but a change in playing style. The passing based style of European football is taking hold in the Premier League. Younger managers are building on the decade plus of work from Arsene Wenger to embrace modern possession football. Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, Andre Vilas Boas at Tottenham, Michael Laudrup at Swansea, these managers are pushing forward with as philosophy that befits the ethos of the Future Game. This has required some sacrifices. At Liverpool they have effectively sacrificed Andy Carroll, a forward not dissimilar Fernando Llorente. The strengths of Andy Carroll’s game did not tally with Brendan Rodgers ideas of how a striker receives his service. The same could be said of Llorente and Spain. While Carroll has been displaced another English forward has shown signs of being revived, Daniel Sturridge. A player who thrives on passes in feet or just ahead of his feet, rather than delivered to his head.
The argument and debate about a lack of technical ability would not be so resonant. Yet if the Spanish lesson is to be fully learned a different debate is likely to emerge. The list of technical desires does not specifically mention the ability to put the ball in the net. Nor do the tactical, physical or psychological aspects. The debate has already has signs of emerging. If we look at the top goalscorers in the Premier League then the problem is already apparent.
1. Suarez (Uruguay) 22
2. Van Persie (Holland) 19
3. Bale (Wales) 17
4. Michu (Spain) 16
5. Ba (Senegal) 15
6. Benteke (Belgium) 14
7. Lambert (England) 14
8. Berbatov (Bulgaria) 13
9. Lukaku (Belgium) 13
10. Cazorla (Spain) 12
In England only one of the top 10 scorers is English. Just outside of the top 10 are Frank Lampard (12), Wayne Rooney (12) and Theo Walcott (11). No signs of English strikers troubling the scorers. No Carroll. No Sturridge. No Defoe. No Welbeck.
England are attempting to evolve. Less direct. Shorter passing. Proficient in the tightest of areas. I recall that while attending Youth Module 1 and 2 (the offspring of The Future Game) thinking that it was geared to creating players like Wesley Sneijder. Tactically intelligent, technically excellent, with the ability to produce imaginative moments of quality. At that time I wondered about the development of central defenders and centre forwards. The issue will be how to marry to the two. The technical deficiency issue is so prominent that it is the focus of current and future planning. Rightly so. Only once the transformation is complete can England afford to shift focus. The way that football is played in the upper echelons mean that the midfield is more important than ever. Traditionally English football’s strength has been at the top and bottom ends, rather than in the middle. in the last fifteen to twenty years the midfield has become the key area in dominating football matches, thus reducing England’s ability to dominate the vast majority of opponents. Once this problem is fixed, and it is vital it is fixed, then the FA can publish a new document outlining what it will do to find the new generation of goalscorers.
Arguably Spain were at their best during that first tournament victory at the 2008 European Championship. The transformation into the full blown Tiki-Taki team they are now had not been fully realised and elements of their previous existence were still in place. Luis Aragones team were willing to be more direct and willing to risk losing possession for the reward of scoring. As their football evolved and the next generation of players bled through the possession statistics increased and the goal tally went down. Somewhere in between lay a utopia of possession, imagination, creativity and cutting edge. If England’s transformation is successful, somewhere on the journey an English utopia may be found, but the Spanish lessons must be learned and consideration given to what is just over utopia’s horizon.
Spain squad Finland and France – http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-spainsquad
La Liga top scorers – http://www.soccervista.com/topscorer-LIGA_BBVA-2009_2010-827899.html
The Future Game – http://www.thefa.com/st-georges-park/discover/coaching/the-future-game
Prmeir League top scorers – http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/top_scorers/default.stm