Spain's football is technically brilliant, and when they take risks to break down defences

it's exhilarating - their win over Russia in the Euro 2008 was as good an international display as I've ever seen.

My problem with Del Bosque's side at the World Cup was that they negated their wings after losing to Switzerland, dropping Silva, and played with two defensive midfielders, constraining the play into a very small space and completely stifling the match.

Add to that their palpable unwillingness to take any sort of risk with possession - running at people, chipping the ball over a defence or shooting when they weren't pressed into it (something that the Opta stats bore out: no World Cup winner has ever had so few shots on target, or a lower shot/goal rate) - and you had technically brilliant but sterile stuff - the footballing equivalent of a Joe Satriani solo or something.

They seemed to have loosened up again now (although they're playing weaker sides) and put Silva back in the side - maybe that's a result of breaking their "World Cup bottlers" hoodoo?

Posted By: Ottosson Foxtrot, Oct 14, 11:07:27