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.