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Intensity vs tactical football
Yes, this debate could go on for centuries without a clear winner in sight; however, given that the Spanish teams are performing exceedingly well right now, the balance is tilted just that much more in favour of technical, tactical brilliance on the football field.
English football will always be known for its intense game plays – exciting runs, fantastic looking goals, long balls, hard tackles; it is a true test of one’s physical and mental prowess. The game is never over until the final whistle is blown – a case in point being the Leicester City vs Aston Villa game on September 13.
Trailing 0-2 in the 62nd minute, Leicester staged a fairytale comeback into the match to win the game 3-2 at the end of 97 minutes of relentless, determined play.
On the other hand Spanish football, to put it in the words of Spanish football journalist Jordi Quixano of El Pais, is “of a much higher technical standard.” It is all about intelligent gameplay for Spain – short, crisp passes, scintillating dribbles, building a goal from scratch to finish. It is all about team chemistry here.
What this means is that while English football may be the more attractive one to watch, the teams tend to lose steam when pitted against their technically superior Spanish counterparts who always have their strategies well-planned out and a plan B, C and D to back up them up in case plan A fails.
In some well-calculated moves the La Liga teams have been able to thwart their English opponents within the first 70 minutes of the game (Barcelona vs Manchester United – UCL finals of 2009 and 2011), all the while playing beautiful yet intense football, controlling the game through their attack.
English teams have often been guilty of not taking the attack to the opponents, waiting to leap on a chance and score on the counter. A research study carried out on the playing tactics in the English Premier League, La Liga and Italy’s Serie A concluded that teams from the La Liga adopt a positional attack offensive play in comparison to those from EPL that tend to play more often on the counter-attack.
It is their quality that allows Spanish teams to triumph the way they do.
Breeding talent
Where does this quality come from? It can’t be that England has stopped producing players of class and eminence; it is simply that Spain has a much more refined academy system that helps breed young talent of a superior class. Scouts are sent across the country to identify new talent, and a number of tournaments are held that help these youngsters inculcate the Spanish football culture.
Each league team has its own youth academy that is run on the principles of providing holistic football skills to the players. And one needn’t look further than Barcelona to realise that three of the best players in the world – Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi – are products of their youth academy, La Masia.
The English youth academies pale in comparison to the ones in Spain and those in the other European countries such as France, Germany and Italy. The very few notable players of quality produced in England include Jack Wilshere and Raheem Sterling.
Jam-packed schedule
Another factor that goes against the English teams is their claustrophobically tight playing schedule – a burden not shared by the Spanish teams. Not only does the EPL begin earlier than the La Liga – a 2-3 week gap separating their start – the concept of winter break is not something the English are familiar with. While the Spaniards get to rest their feet a while during the festive season, EPL teams are busy competing not just in the Premier League, but in the FA Cup and League Cup as well.
Given the intense, physical play that is demanded in the EPL and with a playing schedule that leaves just enough time for the players to breathe, the level of play needed for the Champions League matches is often seriously lacking. What such a maddening schedule also means is the players are more prone to injuries; thus, fielding your best team in a UCL knockout match isn’t something that is control of the manager most of the times.
While injuries are a universal issue in the world of football, the winter break and more relaxed playing schedule of the La Liga allows its teams to come back for the knockout stages fresh and energised; a fact visible in their results.
These are but a few factors that immediately spring to mind when one looks at the dominance displayed by the Spanish teams in the Champions League, and EPL managers have many a sleepless night to spend as they think of ways to counter this trend. A well-oiled academy system will mean more quality players that can be rotated among the various competitions that EPL teams are involved – saving the best for the Premier League and Champions League.
While a drastic change in the gameplay isn’t possible, emphasis on defence and a more strategic style can only pay rich dividends. Time is running out fast and if the first game week of the Champions League 2015/16 is anything to go by, England may be left with the option of fielding just three teams in this prestigious event in the future.
