Spain kicks off its campaign against Italy today to defend its Euro title. As reigning World and European champions, Spain has pleothra of talent to do that. However, the fact that no country has ever defended their Euro title stacks the odds very much against a Spanish triumph. The absence of David Villa makes it even more hard to achieve. Yes, there have been a few positives for Spain – Torres has regained some form; Llorente has become a well rounded striker last season under coach Bielsa. But, neither of them offers the unique blend of qualities that Villa does. Villa is a kind of striker who could gel with the Spanish passing game and yet, produce some astonishing strikes single handedly when required. Spain will miss Villa. Period.
Del bosque, no doubt, would have pondered over which formation to use against Italy. Below are some of formations that could be in his mind.
Strategy #1
Taking into account Llorente’s propensity for playing as a traditional striker for his club and Torres form in EPL, the Spain’s foremost tactic will be to employ English methods, which involves Full backs in attacking roles. Llorente, who is very good in the air with headers and volleys, will particularly be effective in this setup. In addition to this, both Albi and Arbeola can deliver decent balls into the six yard box and this will make the formation more lethal. This threat will also divert the attention of opposition full backs away from Iniesta and Silva, who could then use their creativity to create opportunities from center part of the pitch.
Because both the full backs play much higher on the field, a cover is needed for the defence. Hence, Alonso has to play the role of defensive midfielder rather than his usual role of a deep-laying playmaker. So, when defending, he and Busquets can slot just in front of the two CBs to provide extra cover. In the process, the formation effectively becomes 4-5-1 when defending.
Strategy #2
The other strategy that Spain can employ is a ‘Barca’esque formation. Given Spain’s strength in midfield, it makes sense to replace the lone striker with one of the midfielders. Much like Barca play around Messi, Spain have utilize False 9 role to keep the opposition guessing. In such a case, somebody has to fill in the shoes of Messi to play ‘False 9’ role. Considering his dribbling and shooting skills, Silva is the most favoured player for this role.
Switching over to Barca style of attack involves its own set of risks. The attack becomes one-dimensional in trying to find an opening in the opposition defence. So as to stretch the defence, Del Bosque has to deploy a genuine winger- Navas or Pedro – on the right side. Alba can come forward to provide width on the left hand side. Arbeola can stay back for defensive duties.
Just like he has done this season at Barcelona, Xavi will play in an advanced role; Alonso will take over the job of playmaking in the midfield. When the opposition counterattacks, Pique will move to the left and Busquets will slot into the CB position. It’s the same as what Barca does, only now Spain will attack through the left flank rather than right.
Another option for Del Bosque in the same setup is to play Fabregas in a ‘False Ten’ role. Fabregas has donned this role with some effectiveness since moving to Camp Nou. So, we can expect him to do the same for his country. But, this strategy will require the removal of one of the plamakers – Xavi or Alonso; the move which might leave Spain vulnerable in midfield and defence.
Simple explanations below, just in case you din’t realize what these false numbers were -
False 9: The striker who is given a free run and frequently drops deep in the field to pick up the ball.
Eg: Messi at Barcelona.
False 10: This role is played by the playmaker that plays in the hole behind a striker. When the ‘False 9’ falls back to midfield area, the CBs, who are man-marking him, tend to follow him higher up the pitch, thus positioning themselves out of place. This allows the playmaker (the false 10) to exploit the empty spaces in the penalty area behind these out-of-position defenders by getting into good goal-scoring positions.
The other advantage of this strategy is frequent exchange of positions between False 10 and False 9. This frequent exchange will further confound the problems for defenders.
Watch this video – Move to 1:20. It clearly shows how these two positions work in tandem to beguile the defenders. Fabregas playing the role of False 9 drops back into midfield taking a defender along with him. This allows Messi (False 10) to exploit the space behind that defender.
Strategy #3
Alvaro Negredo was a surprise inclusion in the final 23-member squad. The reason stated by the coach for selecting Negredo ahead of Valencia’s Soldado was that Negredo brings variety into the forward line; he gets involved in the play unlike Torres and Llorente. So, another alternative for Del bosque is to test this variety by deploying two strikers – Negredo at the centre and Torres on the right. Negredo can play as hold up striker by linking in the plays with Iniesta and Fab/Cazorla ( either one of them can play in the hole behind the striker) and Torres, with his pace, can hope to latch on to the through balls starting his runs from right hand side.
The formation will specially be endorsed by people who criticize Del bosque for playing both Xavi and Alonso. They argue that both are the same kind of players and have similar playmaking style. So, one of them has to be sacrificed in the midfield to provide for more creativity and effectiveness at the front. The remaining one can control the midfield.
But, questions marks prevail over Negredo’s capability at this level and thus the effectiveness of this formation.
Subs : Roles of players who aren’t mentioned in the above formations.
Juanfran for Arbeola
Albiol for one of CB positions
Javi Martinez for Busquets
Mata for Silva