The favourites are determined to win their crucial game against Chile tonight playing in their usual attractive manner
How fragile the consensus turned out to be. It should never have come to this. Not only were Spain favourites, they were also presented as football's enlightened ones. They were supposed to go into tonight's final group game against Chile with qualification already secured in style. Instead the 2008 European champions face them in the middle of a debate they thought long forgotten, fearing they could go the same way as both of the 2006 World Cup finalists: home.
The formula is simple. Spain have to top the group and avoid Brazil. With Switzerland facing Honduras, the likelihood is that they have to win to progress at all. They must beat an impressive Chile side which has won its opening two games and is led by a coach, Marcelo Bielsa, who inspires as much respect as he does curiosity. The question now is: how will Spain play? How, in fact, should they play?
It is a question that no one expected to be asking. It may also be a false one, even faintly ridiculous. Vicente del Bosque and his players have remained steadfast and the evidence points to a Spanish side that is largely functioning well. Yet the question won't go away. "If we had beaten Switzerland no one would be talking about this," Andrés Iniesta says. But Spain did not beat Switzerland.
Winning Euro 2008 did not just change Spain's history, it changed their future too, removing a dead weight. It reinforced a football identity previously lacking and proved that the aesthetic could be effective. There was a newfound, unwavering conviction about tiki-taka – the nonsensical phrase that roughly means touch-touch and defines Spain's technical, ball-playing approach.
That, at least, was the theory. But defeat against Switzerland and the performance against Honduras changed things with striking speed. A debate that appeared, in David Villa's words, to have been "buried" has been rekindled. Criticism has emerged, not least from the former coach, Luis Aragonés. After Spain's defeat by Switzerland, he complained that the selección lacked competitiveness. Worse, he said their failures had been "coming for a long time". After beating Honduras he said: "Spain don't inspire confidence."
Del Bosque said "there aren't two Spains" and many were critical of Aragonés's opportunism but the national debate was served. It has focused largely on two players, two positions: Sergio Busquets, the extra central midfielder where Spain had only one, and Jesús Navas, the wide man in a team previously without wingers. There have been debates, too about Cesc Fábregas and Fernando Torres, hinging mainly on whether to play an extra striker or an extra midfielder.
In short, the model is being questioned, attacked from both sides. So is the coach for committing 'treason' against it.
"I'm a football romantic," said the midfielder, Xavi. "I like attractive, attacking, beautiful football. When you win like that the satisfaction is double. Switzerland won by just looking to deactivate us. They were happy with the draw but got a win. I don't know what it is like to win like that." The problem is that Switzerland got the win at all, provoking fears that they had offered a plan for Spain's remaining opponents. A competitive edge, a little directness, pace, spark. Yet after beating Honduras, the debate swung the other way. Now they were too direct.
One front cover declared: "We won! (But this doesn't look like Spain)". An editorial bemoaned "little reward for such a significant renunciation of our style". "There was tiki, sure, but where was the taka?" one columnist asked. Another went further: "Spain must look in the mirror."
"I haven't renounced our style," Del Bosque protested. "I can't see the differences some are talking about. I try but I just can't. Besides, there's not only one way of winning – football is full of caveats." In his defence Spain have had more shots and corners than any other side, Alonso and Xavi have completed more passes, and Navas has delivered more crosses than anyone. The coach says the only thing that concerns him is Spain's finishing.
Not that he will leave out Torres, despite his wayward shooting against Honduras. Technique, talent and statistics apart, there is a curious parallel between Torres and Emile Heskey – players whose value can be judged in the performances of others as much as their own. Torres has 24 in 34 for Liverpool but did not score for Spain during qualification. Del Bosque, though, notes how his presence frees up David Villa, coming in from the left, and they will play together with Iniesta in what will essentially be a 4-3-3. There was a spirited defence too of Busquets and Spain's midfield shape will remain the same, with the Barcelona player alongside Alonso and Xavi. "If I was a footballer I would like to be like Busquets," says del Bosque.
Amid the concern there is also a glimmer of Spanish hope in their opponents' identity. Chile are a good side who might still be a good rival, a high-pressure side who could cause problems for Spain's less technical players like Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevila and, to a lesser extent, Busquets. But they are also an attacking side that, unlike Switzerland, Spain believe will leave spaces. "We will not change our style because a result would suit us. We die by our principles," Claudio Bravo says. Chile's captain could hardly have chosen his words better. That is precisely the issue at stake – for both sides.
Source: The Guardian