5 reasons why Spanish clubs have been very successful in European competitions of late

Real Madrid won their 10th Champions League crown (La Decima) last season – the most by any clubAlthough Bayern Munich and Juventus will have a say in the destination of this year’s Champions League, as will Napoli, Fiorentina and Dnipro in the Europa League, there isn’t too much doubt amongst football connoisseurs that the best football is once again being served up in Spain. Barcelona and Real Madrid lead the way, but the all-round quality of La Liga in terms of technical aspects shines through week after week.It really would be a travesty if one or other of the top European trophies didn’t find their way to a trophy cabinet somewhere on the main part of the Iberian peninsula. Let’s delve just a little bit deeper into why Spanish teams have been so successful in Europe of late.

#1 The world\'s best players are in La Liga

A fairly obvious start point but La Liga really does have an embarrassment of riches as far as playing staff is concerned. Evidently, the best players want to come and play in Spain and when you look at the transfer numbers, it’s quite astonishing as to just how much money has been ploughed into the acquisition of planet football’s best talents.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez are just the start. Throw in Isco and Luka Modric – and we still haven’t got out of Real Madrid’s dressing room yet!

Then there’s Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Ivan Rakitic. That’s just 13 players in total that could grace any football club anywhere in the world. That’s well over a billion pounds worth of talent right there.

Not forgetting the magnificent roll-call of players from the likes of Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, Athletic Club de Bilbao and more. The Premier League may be the best product, but La Liga certainly has the best players.

#2 Style of play

The Premier League is awash with big, robust players whose main tool is their physicality rather than their footballing prowess. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, of course, given that such backbone is required for one of the toughest leagues on world football.

However, look at the grace, guile, creativity and purpose that players in La Liga bring to the table – even those players that have ended up in the Premier League. There isn’t a week that goes by when people aren’t eulogising over the talents of David Silva, Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez et al.

La Liga players are a different breed. Technical brilliance has to form part of their CV, entertainment readily follows as an accepted by product.

Brains, not brawn, is their tool of choice and with their old grey matter working overtime and producing often balletic movement and swiss-watch accuracy, we remain in their thrall.

#3 More emphasis on youth development

English football is so far behind their Spanish contemporaries it’s laughable. The development of youth players in Spain is light years ahead of how English clubs, right back to grass roots level, does things.

Indeed, the emphasis is on the all-round development of the player. Not signing him to an Academy structure as in England for the benefit of the chosen one or two, but to broaden his horizons whilst on the football pitch. To mould a players’ understanding of why his role is important within the group structure, and how the decisions he makes benefit, or not, his team.

The educational side of the game cannot be understated and this is how it has always been in Spain. English football, in particular, needs a change of attitude right at the very top echelons of the game before they can even contemplate being on a level playing field with their Spanish counterparts.

#4 No complacency and a solid work ethic

Whilst Spanish teams in general terms have “skills to pay the bills” for want of a better phrase, very rarely will you catch a La Liga side that approaches a game with any degree of complacency. Name one Spanish team that you have watched that hasn’t had a solid work ethic from the get-go and doesn’t take their foot off of the gas until they genuinely believe the game is all but won.

The way that the top Spanish teams wear you down, from an incessant pressing of the ball to a ferocious appetite for delivery of their best work, is almost unique. General comment on the league, often from those who rarely watch it, is that La Liga can’t be competitive with Real and Barca seemingly winning by 3, 4 or 5 goals most weeks.

On the contrary, it’s because those teams have the desire and willingness to work incredibly hard whatever the opposition, which can’t always be said for the teams from other top European leagues.

#5 Better environment to express yourself

Freedom of expression isn’t a phrase that is often used when talking about football, but it can be applied perfectly well here. Creative players especially are given licence to produce the goods in La Liga and positively encouraged to go out and enjoy themselves. It is an entertainments business after all.

Perhaps that feeling of trust translates into a slightly less rigid structure, albeit within the confines of certain tactical variations where players feel comfortable in expressing their personalities on the pitch. Such equilibrium and balance is bound to engender a positive effect on a player who is then able to freely produce his best work.

To coin a phrase, “It’s not rocket science” but as Johan Cruyff once remarked: “Football is a simple game, but the hardest thing is to play football in a simple way.”

Playing football simply is what Spanish-based players do best. Simplicity is genius.