Spain are one of the favorites at the World Cup since their Euro triumph.
What an opening three days of the World Cup! It has given us nothing less than the drama expected. What with the noise of the vuvuzelas, the hype around Maradona and his squad, Green’s blunder and Australia being mauled by Germany yesterday, we might forget that the most exciting teams of the tournament – Netherlands, Brazil and Spain are yet to play their first match.
So far we have seen 16 teams, and the next three days will acquaint us with the other 16 as well. I can’t wait for Spain to take the field and show us if they are really worth all the expectations.
Why is Spain one of the favorites? Their results speak for themselves – Del Bosque have led Spain to victory in an incredible 33 of their last 34 games – and they have lost just once in his 48 games in charge. Ever since their Euro victory two years ago, Spain seem to have shed their ‘Chokers’ tag at the big tournaments, and look like a highly professional unit.
In fact, Spain have so many amazing players in their squad, that it’s hard to see which ones the manager actually names in their starting eleven.
Two years ago, Spain’s run to glory was largely attributed to the presence of Marcos Senna in mid-field, just ahead of the defense. This time, though, he is not a part of the squad, and Del Bosque might make the highly unpopular choice of playing both Alonso and Busquets deep in midfield.
This of course, alters the style of play, with Spain being forced to play a man less upfront. Xavi might have to play the link between defensive and offensive, connecting the midfield passes to Iniesta on the left, David Silva on the right, or Villa/Torres up ahead.
Vicente Del Bosque has an extremely talented squad at his disposal.
The majority of Spanish fans (and EPL fans) will want either Alonso or Busquets to be dropped to accommodate Fabregas in midfield, or Torres in attack, but I doubt Del Bosque will do that. Nor will he risk losing width by taking out Iniesta or Silva. And on the question of whether Torres should play instead of Villa, their international stats speak for themselves – Villa has scored 38 goals in 58 games, whereas Torres has scored 24 in 73.
Why would Spain adopt a player-rotation policy?
Firstly, Spain’s players have injured over the course of the season. Fabregas has played less than 80 minutes since his injury against Barcelona. Torres and Iniesta have plagued by injuries all season. Xavi was doubt a for the World Cup.
Secondly, Del Bosque has the pleasant but important headache of leaving out at least two world-class players on the bench every game. With Fabregas and Torres (and even Jesus Navas) on the bench, he runs the risk of being blamed for his team selection should Spain lose a game. It is only logical that he should field different line-ups for different games. It’ll also keep his opposition managers guessing his tactics till the last second.
Torres and Fabregas look most likely to start on the bench.
Most imporantly, Spain begin their tournament on 16th June, as the last side of the tournament. Which means, should Spain reach the finals along with France, who played on the first day of the tournament, Spain would have played an equal number games in five days lesser. It makes sense to keep players fresh by benching them at crucial stages.
Either way, Del Bosque is certainly in an enviable position by having such an amazing array of talent at his disposal. Should Spain go on to win this World Cup, their domination of the sport for the last four years will have proved themselves to be one of the top sides in history as well.
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