Blinders & Blunders: Spanish Football
Spain vs. Switzerland. The first game for either side at the World Cup. A Gelson Fernandes goal sees the European Champions fall to a 1-0 defeat. The critics had a field day. Some blame the tactical decisions made by Del Bosque, others blame the lack of fitness for key players (Torres & Iniesta) and some even blame Casillias’ Girlfriend! But did Spain panic, did they hell! Did they suddenly change the way they played the game? Of course not. Were there calls of infighting, arguments with managers and players a la France & England? Quite simply no. Spain were the team with the plan, and if it didn’t work, it wouldn’t be for the lack of trying.
From game one they played the only way the knew how. The kept the ball on the deck. They passed and moved and they worked for each other. The central defensive partnership remained strong throughout, they didn’t force games and when one of their players came in for bad press (Capdevilla) they stuck by him. But 
perhaps above all this, when it was blatantly obvious one of their key players, their superstars wasn’t fit and was struggling, they didn;t keep playing him. They rested him. It was a big decision, it was a bold one, but in knock out football their are no passengers. Instead, Pedro came in, full on energy and running and helped Spain progress. Other nations failed to do this, but Spain and Del Bosque made the right choices. When they didn’t have the ball, they defended as a team, and when they did, they kept it for prolonged periods. Everyone was on the same page and as a result, everyone got what they wanted. Of course, they have some very gifted footballers, the likes of Xavi and Villa are truely some of the best in the world, but their egos managed to entwine. In a template for how to work a World Cup Squad and build a national team, the template is now European, and the template is Spanish.
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