With the Euros around the corner, teams are trying their utmost to figure out their best XI. Some teams find it much harder than the others because of the plethora of talented players they possess.
Spain are one of those teams.
With an embarrassment of riches in their squad, Vicente del Bosque always finds himself in the luxurious kind of quandary. As it is, he had to leave out the likes of Saul Niguez, Isco Alarcon and Diego Costa from his squad. Now, his next headache is to choose the best XI.
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The very first of his dilemma would be to choose between Iker Casillas and David De Gea.
In a pragmatic world such as this, he would most likely choose the former since dropping the captain is not something one would do as there is always a danger of controversy plaguing the team.
However, we would choose to be idealistic in our approach for this article and try to decipher Spain’s best XI in a 4-3-3 formation keeping that in mind…
Goalkeeper
This is Spain’s most difficult question. To go with the captain and legendary Iker Casillas or their best goalkeeper at the moment, David De Gea.
Not a long time ago, this wasn’t a question that needed addressing since the former Real Madrid man was the best in the world. However, since his injury and eventual snubbing from the Blancos’ starting XI by Jose Mourinho, his career has gone severely downhill and he hasn’t really been able to recover ever since.
On the other side of the coin, De Gea’s career has risen leaps and bounds. He has been Manchester United’s best player for the last 4 seasons—that too at a time of dire adversity—and it doesn’t seem like his level will drop anytime soon. Hence, he would and should be the first choice if Spain are to field their best XI.
Defense
If Spain have an Achilles heel, it is their defense. While their attack and midfield is filled with world class players, their defense doesn’t ooze the same aura or fall in the same bracket. However, their first choice backline players are as good as the best you will find in the Euros.
Dani Carvajal’s injury might have deprived Spain of its best right-back, but Hector Bellerin is a more-than-able replacement for the Real Madrid man. Even if he was a player who was called up at the very last moment to replace an injured player, and that both Juanfran and Azpilicueta are more experienced, he should be the first choice simply because his skill set is the closest match to that of Carvajal’s.
In the centre, Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique are the default first choice centre-backs. Both complement each other superbly and were the defensive pillar on which Spain’s glorious 2012 Euro win stood. Pique is coming off the back of an incredible campaign and the Real Madrid captain was the man-of-the-match in the final of the Champions League.
The left-back slot will be occupied by Jordi Alba. There could be a slight tinkering if Del Bosque opts to go with a more defensively balanced line-up, but that seems unlikely since Alba’s furious pace has become a vital part of Spain’s system.
Midfield
This is where Del Bosque always faces the biggest dilemma, especially after Xavi Hernandez and Xabi Alonso’s retirements, respectively. With the absence of the aforementioned two, Spain find a huge gap to fulfill. Thankfully for them, however, they have the players who can do exactly that.
Sergio Busquets remains the indispensable member of the team as his position in front of the defense is unprecedented. It was with him at the base of midfield that Spain’s World Cup and Euro successes were laid on. He remains brilliant as ever and there should be no question about his place in the team.
Ahead of him, Andres Iniesta is another default name. After a patch of stagnating form, he was back with the bang last season and has continued the good work ever since. His magical maneuvers on the pitch is what makes the difference for Spain as he can turn the game on its head with just a single touch.
For the last slot, Koke would be the ideal choice. Even though Thiago Alcantara was touted to be Xavi’s heir apparent, Koke’s rise coupled with Thiago’s constant affairs with injuries has made the Atleti midfielder a regular member of del Bosque’s playing XI.
This 3-man midfield of Busquets, Koke and Iniesta perfectly complements each other as each player is an entirely different type of a midfielder to his partners.
Attack
One of the reasons for Spain’s failure at the World Cup two years ago was their lack of goal-scoring forwards. There was once a time when their frontline of Fernando Torres and David Villa was considered the most terrifying in the international scene. Now, however, it isn’t the case.
Yet, Spain fans can hope.
With the rise of Nolito and Alvaro Morata, they now have two genuine goal-scorers in their roster that perfectly counterpart each other. While Nolito attacks from the left and scores a great many goals after cutting in, Alvaro Morata’s elegance and power in the center shakes defenses to the point of nihil existence.
The Juventus forward also has a knack of scoring the most important of goals and is the complete package with his height and speed.
For the final slot at right-wing, Lucas Vazquez should be the first choice name. However, the most likely player here would be David Silva, but he doesn’t provide the width or the defensive contribution that the Real Madrid man does.
Also, with Nolito cutting inside from the left with his right-foot, the system would become severely narrow with Silva doing the same. Hence, Vazquez seems like the ideal choice as his cunning and street-smartness could be the best assistance for the other two forwards.
Formation
Spain are one of the very few teams that have a set style of play. However, this will be the first tournament in 8 years where they will play without a double-pivot. With the absence of Xabi Alonso, and the lack of a player of his mould, Spain now line up with a single pivot of Busquets who is closely partnered by Koke and Iniesta.
In Spain’s 4-3-3, Bellerin and Alba take the right and left-back slots, respectively. Ramos will hold his ground on the right side of central defense with Pique to his left. In front of them, Sergio Busquets lies as the holding midfielder with Koke and Iniesta in front of them to his right and left, respectively.
Finally, in attack, Morata will take the striker’s spot with Vazquez as the right-winger and Nolito as the left-forward—in what could be Spain’s most devastatingly complementary attacking trio as of yet.
