Spain - No longer the best in the world

‘They came. They saw. They conquered’. If there is a phrase that perfectly describes the Spanish national team, this is it. Since the last 6 years, La Furia Roja have absolutely dominated world football. A domination that started at Euro 2008, continued into the 2010 World Cup and was evident at the 2012 Euro has now come to an end.

Before their thrashing at the hands of the Brazilians, the last competitive match Spain had lost was to Ottmar Hitzfeld’s Switzerland in the 2010 World Cup. They proceeded to win the tournament without conceding a goal in the knockout stages. The same story was repeated at the 2012 Euros. They dominated all opposition, and without conceding a goal in the knockout stages won the tournament. But in the Confederations Cup finals, Spain were outplayed, outrun and out-muscled by a vibrant Brazilian team.

The Brazilians pressed high and never really let tiki-taka flourish. In this respect, they were similar to the Italians in the semifinal. In the semifinals, Italy were the better team and Spain were lucky to win the penalty shoot-out. Against Italy, Spain only had 54% of the possession, while against Brazil, they claimed a meager 52% of the ball.

These figures are relevant because Spain’s dominance was built on ball retention, and without the ball, they are just as good as your ordinary international team. Unlike Germany or Brazil, the work rate for the Spanish without the ball is pathetic. They hardly cover gaps in midfield and the 4-3-3 formation they used lets them get overrun in midfield. Perhaps the Spanish have forgotten how it feels like to play without the ball.

Del Bosque’s decision to play only one holding midfielder was always a risk and all its negative effects were visible throughout the tournament. It is true that Xavi sees more of the ball and creates better chances, but when Spain lose the ball, there is no retreat from the veteran, and most of the time Busquets alone has to deal with runners in all directions.

Another problem I see for Spain is that they simply do not have a good striker. Yes, Torres won the golden boot again, but four of his goals were against a hapless Tahiti. He simply is not the man who scored the winning goal at the 2008 Euros, and the quicker Del Bosque understands the fact, the better. After his injury troubles, Villa seems to have lost a yard of pace and his sharpness seems blunted; the man who led them to the 2010 world cup seems a spent force. Soldado is a valid option but he thrives more under direct service, which Spain seem incapable of providing.

Defensively, Spain are in shambles. Arbeloa is no longer the defender he once was; his substitution in the finals had a kind of irrevocable finality to it. The centre back pairing of Ramos and Pique were ripped to shreds by Neymar, Fred and Oscar. The problem was not that they were dominated by a well oiled and creative trio of players; the problem is how they got the basics wrong. There was no coherence when it came to marking opposition players and communication of any kind seemed absent.

Both are strong in the air, but were time and again beaten to the ball by Oscar and Neymar. In terms of covering runs, both expected too much of Busquets and against quality opposition in the semis and the finals, Busquets was simply not good enough. On the left hand side of the defence, Alba may be very good going forward, but when it comes to his primary job, which is defending, he is more often than not found wanting.

Now let us come to the greatest strength of the Spanish team, its midfield. They have Iniesta, Mata, Xavi, Xabi, Silva, Navas, Busquets, Martinez and another handful of midfielders who are excellent at what they do. But strangely enough, the magic they are capable of showing was only visible against Tahiti and Uruguay. Had Nigeria taken their chances better, they could have easily overcome the Spanish team.

In simple terms, the Spanish midfield had too much brain and too little brawn. Many cite Xabi’s absence as the reason for Spain’s failure, but when the forward line is below quality and a defence that is torn more easily than a piece of paper, I fail to see how far a midfield can carry a team.

Another problem for the Spanish is that finally a diverse squad has started to break up. The Real Madrid- Barcelona factions are breaking apart and the Basque- Catalan rivalry too is starting to show.

Most importantly, the world now knows that Spain is not unbeatable. Disrupt their rhythm and you can almost feel their angst at not being allowed to play the beautiful game. Teams will not lie down and let Spain roll over them. Spain may still beat average teams, but when it comes to the big boys, I feel that Spain can no longer beat the best in the world.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda