Spain's weaknesses: Predictable Spain

Spain's weaknesses: Predictable Spain: Spain was humiliatingly beaten 4-1 by a smarter Dutch side, on their way to being eliminated from the 2014 football World Cup held in Brazil...

Predictable Spain

Spain was humiliatingly beaten 4-1 by a smarter Dutch side, on their way to being eliminated from the 2014 football World Cup held in Brazil. It was rather shocking to some but this was of very little surprise to me. This is a team that the world has been watching because they really play beautiful football. They have technically gifted players who are very comfortable on the ball and they have a characteristic way of making exquisite passes in small spaces. With the core of this team coming out of the famous Catalan club, Barcelona, there's no wonder tiki-taka has found it's way into the Spanish team. This is beautiful to watch but it makes them very predictable.

They rarely take a shot outside the 18-yard box. Instead, they try to pass their way into the box. Any smart coach can prepare for this. The simple thing to do is "park the bus." Chelsea FC in the 2012 Champions League semifinal, with their present coach showed how to defend against this type of attack. With four defenders across the box who keep their positions there's very little chance of a breakthrough. It works every time. Have the four defenders stationed in the box across the face of the goal and have them move as a unit and this Spanish Team will run out of options.

Their attack is somewhat one dimensional. This makes them predictable. A team only needs to sit deep, hold their positions and Spain/Barcelona will run out of options. Reduce their ability to pass inside the box and you remove their sting. Holland did this quite expertly against Spain as did FC Bayern Munich against FC Barcelona in 2013.

It's not as simple as it sounds, but if you're able to concentrate, hold your positions it is possible to frustrate either of these teams. The ideal thing is: soak up all the pressure and hit them on the counter. Take your chances when they are presented.

Until they begin to vary the attack, smart teams will continue to exploit this particular weakness - predictability. They need to attack down the flanks and have a go from outside the box in addition to the customary walking the ball into the box. With these variations in attack they will pull teams apart. Really, the defender would be confused as to weather to move to block a shot or sit deep and wait for a deluge. I think with this adjustment both the Spanish and Barcelona football teams could improve, if only slightly.

You're free to disagree.

The Weakness in Tika-taka

The Spanish football team plays beautiful football all year round. They dominate possession and consistently make short, snappy passes that dissects opposing teams. This brand of football has seen them win every championship except the Confederations Cup. In the recently concluded competition they were thoroughly exploited and beaten 3-0 by a smarter Brazilian outfit.

The Brazil team did not necessarily played better football. However, they were able to take advantage of the weaknesses in the Spanish style of play. The Spanish team tends to defend high up the pitch. Therefore, more players are in the offensive third than are in the defensive third. Added to this is the fact that both wide players are most times caught high up the pitch. This leads to holes in the defence because there are fewer defenders to deal with a quick counter attack.

The constant high line of the entire team means that they will always be vulnerable to counter attacking moves. The absence of the full backs to provide cover only results in the two central defenders being pulled out of position. With the movement of the central defenders gaps now appear in the middle through which the opposing attackers can pounce.

Most of the counter attacking moves by the Brazilian team came down the flanks. The ball is spread wide to a waiting player who is typical quick feet. He then attacks the space on either flank which pulls out the central defender, then plays the ball inside or have a go at the goal. This happened in the semi-final match against Italy as well. The quick counter attack came through the flank players.

This is a weakness that can be fixed. Hopefully the Spanish coaching staff (Barcelona as well) will recognize and fix this problem.