No Rain on Spains Parade

Spanish football is getting greedy. They are the current World Cup holders and also have both the European Championship and Under-21 European Championship titles.

It is pretty much on the other end of the scale when compared to the state of English football at the moment. They have some of the best players in the world in their team, and instead of not showing up they actually play well and like a team.

They have been the major European footballing power for the last five years at least. Between November 2006 and June 2010 they went on a 35-game unbeaten run, managing to string 15 wins in a row together during that time too.

Although this run ended in 2010 they still went on to win their first ever World Cup title, conceding only two goals in the entire competition, just a couple of weeks later.

The root of Spain’s domination is said to have come from Luis Aragonés’ decision to start playing more like FC Barcelona, employing the “Tika-Taka” style of play that originated under Johan Cruyff during his time as Barcelona manager.

This style of play, which roughly translates to “Touchy-Touch”, relies on players dominating possession and working the ball through the channels and being patient in their build up. It is definitely an attractive style of football, and even better when you have the players who can pull it off.

The fact that players like Andres Iniesta, David Villa, Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique all play for the Barcelona and that they play “Tika-Taka” there too means that transferring those skills to the national side is easy.

However, it is not just the style of football they play it is also the approach to the game they seem to have. When it isn’t going their way they don’t turn on each other or the fans, they just seem to get on with it and bounce back.

They just seem to be better than everyone else at the moment. Nobody really seems up to scratch or playing to their full potential apart from the Spanish side.

The Under-21’s side victory earlier this month cemented the country’s dominance of football, they are an immovable force. They played with an air of confidence and composure that suggested that they feel as if they could step into the first-team and not feel out of place.

Juan Manuel Mata, Thiago Alcantara, Ander Herrera and Javi Martinez have all been highlighted as players to watch for the future after their impressive performance at the competition.

This flow of world class players that they have coming though is a worrying prospect for the rest of the world. You can’t really see how things can go wrong for them.

Yes it is true that Germany looked promising at the World Cup and that they are a young side too, but Spain managed to stop them in South Africa and the Spanish also look to have better players coming through the ranks.

To put it bluntly, Spain will continue to dominate football for the foreseeable future. 

James Haggis