The
Argentinean winter is proving interesting, few cold days to speak of, with the
temperature generally ranging between 13 – 20 degrees Celsius during the day,
which from what I can gather is in fact warmer than Dublin…and it’s summer
there! Yesterday evening saw the
conclusion of Euro 2012, a bipolar tournament which provided some fantastic
group stage games only for the last 16, the quarter and semi-finals tending to
be drab affairs, while the final ensured the tournament closed on a high
note with Spain retaining their European crown and reaffirming their status as one of the one of the greatest teams seen on the international stage.
I
was hoping for a Spain win as I spent the past nine months there, but, the possession dominating style which Wenger described as ‘retaining possession not
to concede’ had driven me to simply stop watching their matches due to utter
boredom. Thankfully, the final did not disappoint
and watching it via a good quality stream meant that I could enjoy the final
and the excellence of the Spanish play, even though they were abetted
significantly by the withdrawal of Thiago Motta only a matter of minutes
following his introduction in the second half.
From that point on it was a case of damage limitation for the Italians.
It
was a good match, and a perfect finish to the tournament. With the players involved until this stage
of the competition now returning to their respective clubs, it is interesting
when one begins to analyse how different clubs are represented at international
level. Take the champions for instance,
Spain, aside from David Silva (of Manchester City), their starting line-up
represented predominantly Barcelona with six players and Real Madrid with
four. Such dominance demonstrates the
sheer strength of the Spanish league and the success is evidently generated through this
homogeneity of abilities. Del Bosque the coach tends to retain a similar base of
players; Iniesta (player of the tournament), Xavi, Busquets, with each being
brought through the Barcelona academy.
Spain’s
dominance is directly correlated to the adaption of Barcelona’s play since
their recently departed coach Pep Guardiola took over in 2007. Spain’s dominance stems from the inherent
understanding of each other, not just as international colleagues but as team-mates
throughout their playing career at club level.
Few countries could replicate such a feat, as most teams in other
leagues have an equal proportion of natives and foreigners throughout the
team. You might argue that the German
team was represented primarily by Bayern Munich, and this is true, but two
of their most influential players are French (Ribery) and Dutch (Robben)
respectively. While Barcelona have a
Messi, it is evident from Spain’s dominance that this side is capable of magic
without the Argentinian maestro. Del Bosque has the luxury of having a number
of different Barcelona midfielders whom he can call upon to maintain continuity
throughout the team and for me that is crucial to their success.
So
many teams over time have achieved success with players based across different
clubs in different leagues, but could Spain’s supremacy on the international
stage signify a shift in the international football paradigm? Time will tell, but it until teams garner
anything that resembles the understanding that the Spanish players have of one
another, their positions and their role in the team leaves other teams with a lot of catching up to do.
Taking
a brief look at the English set-up is interesting as there are a vast number of
players from a host of different clubs representing the country. Also, there appears to be uncertainty as to
the best system to suit their style and members of the squad. Without one particular club dominating the
first team, like Barcelona, it ultimately remains an incredibly difficult task
trying to bring together this group to play as a unit. With up to six different teams being
represented in the starting line-up it is almost impossible for the manager or
any players to stamp their authority on a particular style. This was also evidenced in the early demise
of the Netherlands, with so many egos and different groupings making cohesion nigh-on impossible.
It
seems that Spain like Barcelona has set the benchmark for international
football, as international managers across the world have to begun to plot their
downfall. The biggest challenge is exemplified in the success of the Catalan giants over the past number
of years. Club coaches have been unable
to break-down Barcelona with groups of players who they train with every day, national
team coaches are tasked with breaking down the technically similar Spanish
side with fewer resources and less time to train the players. An impossible task? Nothing is, but I feel Spain are capable of another unprecedented consecutive World Cup victory.
Finally,
with the end of Euro 2012 the football season remains another month and a half
away, with constant transfer rumours being created by bored football fans, it is already getting
quite tiresome considering the window opened yesterday. As an Arsenal fan, changes are required but
the general consensus is that changes will now happen once the job of moving on over-paid players to clubs who are are not willing to pay similar
wages.
Following a number of years of
what appears to have been a manager with his hands tied financially and a team
perpetually selling its best players, it would be great to see both finally
coming to an end. With £26 million spent
already on two new acquisitions, it seems that the financial constraints are
finally being lifted and it is likely that over the next two weeks we will know
the destiny of Robin van Persie (best player category).
Could
this be a turning point for Arsenal?
Will there be more acquisitions to follow? Will van Persie and Walcott sign new
contracts?
Finally, one has to appreciate the sound economic policies adopted by Wenger and his team, as Arsenal have acquired two players of better quality than Andy Carroll for £10 million
pounds less.
It will be an interesting summer...
