tmcmurph Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Wow. In a word WOW. I hope you all PVR'd Spain vs Czech U19 game. If you thought that Spain's ascent to world champs will be short lived check out the bunch coming up the ranks. The Spain vs Ireland was a slaughter and at least the Czechs made them work for it but what a team. They are playing their tiki taka extremely well at this level. Be afraid, be very afraid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Is there any world or Euro trophy that Spain doesn't have in their possession now? I guess a bunch of Spaniards flew to Colombia last week to pick-up their FIFA u-20 world cup. What's left after that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Trialist Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Is there any world or Euro trophy that Spain doesn't have in their possession now? I guess a bunch of Spaniards flew to Colombia last week to pick-up their FIFA u-20 world cup. What's left after that? The Spanish women repeated as UEFA u-17 champions this weekend, beating France, and you can imagine how they play. Yeah, sort of like Japan, only not there yet. Previous winner of the yearly tournament was Germany. The press in Spain for the women is a disgrace. REgarding the men's u-19, the players are mostly unknown, only Sarabia and Morata, as former Madrid players, and Deulofeu who is at Barça and a name folks remember as he is from a well-known family of clothiers. But basically, no one in Spain has a clue who the majority are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted August 3, 2011 Author Share Posted August 3, 2011 Regarding the men's u-19, the players are mostly unknown, only Sarabia and Morata, as former Madrid players, and Deulofeu who is at Barça and a name folks remember as he is from a well-known family of clothiers. But basically, no one in Spain has a clue who the majority are. So a team of mostly unheard of players can be pulled together and pull off some of the best tiki taka that you'd ever want to see. Wow, even more so than just from watching the games. That is truly amazing. Even down 0-1 to the Czechs late in the game they stuck to their game. Absolute beautiful to watch at any level but the younger I see Spain doing it the more impressed I am. That is coaching. Too bad the women's team doesn't get the press but I can see that happening with the men's side being THE team to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJT Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Is there any world or Euro trophy that Spain doesn't have in their possession now?This can't be a serious question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 So a team of mostly unheard of players can be pulled together and pull off some of the best tiki taka that you'd ever want to see. Wow, even more so than just from watching the games. That is truly amazing. Even down 0-1 to the Czechs late in the game they stuck to their game. Absolute beautiful to watch at any level but the younger I see Spain doing it the more impressed I am. That is coaching. Yeah, reminds me of Barca/Spain in Euro 2008. Actually what I always found irritating, and its pointed-out every time Barca/Spain lose a big match, is when people say "they have no 'B' plan!" Like what are they supposed to do? Throw on Joey Barton and Peter Crouch, play long ball and score against Chelsea, Inter Milan or whoever? haha... there is NO scenario that exists where it isn't better to stick with their "A" plan. Sorry, just had to rant! This can't be a serious question? Nah, j/k ( I thought the next sentence made that clear) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick10 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 they played great! But i must say the level of competition in that tournament is really bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Trialist Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Yeah, reminds me of Barca/Spain in Euro 2008. Actually what I always found irritating, and its pointed-out every time Barca/Spain lose a big match, is when people say "they have no 'B' plan!" Like what are they supposed to do? Throw on Joey Barton and Peter Crouch, play long ball and score against Chelsea, Inter Milan or whoever? haha... there is NO scenario that exists where it isn't better to stick with their "A" plan. Sorry, just had to rant! Nah, j/k ( I thought the next sentence made that clear) Funny, because I DO think they should have a B plan. Since Spain models itself quite a bit after Barcelona, that means that Barcelona also needs a B plan. You have to have alternatives in attack always, because it is possible for a great system to get bogged down. Happened vs. the Swiss in the WC, they outplayed them and lost on a fine counter attack. So you DO need a plan B, a way to get to the goal when the control game is not working and they have you locked down. You do in fact need a long ball option, and since Spain like Barcelona has abandonned the classic wide winger (Joaquim in his day, Vicente, others), that is an card you have to be able to play, beat the man on the outside and cross in. So I admit I am saying yes, a bit of long ball well-worked. If you saw Barcelona-Chivas last night, in fact the first half Barcelona played like that, and Villa scored once but barely missed another two, him playing with a lot of space and movement up front. The loss was probably a good thing as it showed the vulnerability of Barcelona without Xavi, which means changing the whole system in fact, no one can replace him at FCB or for Spain. When Xavi goes, Spain will change, and the youth sides will probably also adjust to the different system (less control, more direct, more attacking mid options, more time without the ball) that Spain comes up with. I will take that a step further: look at the Barcelona signings, Affelay, Alexis Sanchez, Cesc possibly on the way, and bringing up an amazing Thiago from the B team. All attacking mids, some fast, some with great ball skills, all looking forwards and rarely backwards, all closer to Iniesta, all a clear break with the model Xavi provides. Barcelona will change these upcoming years, and I think we will see Spain shift too, to a more direct attacking style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 As for the plan B part I agree they need it but the U19 squad played the long ball very effectively. Usually it was side to side 50 yard passes to a wide open player who pulled it in with great touch. They did the odd vertical attack effectively just to keep the Czechs honest but not too much. What I think Spain/Barca really need is a long range rocket launcher. Someone who can break open a team that just bunkers down with 9 men behind the ball. Any Roberto Carlos types on the horizon? Xavi is amazing and he will be missed once he goes but that could be 5 years away. Hopefully they will find another one before then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I will take that a step further: look at the Barcelona signings, Affelay, Alexis Sanchez, Cesc possibly on the way, and bringing up an amazing Thiago from the B team. All attacking mids, some fast, some with great ball skills, all looking forwards and rarely backwards, all closer to Iniesta, all a clear break with the model Xavi provides. Barcelona will change these upcoming years, and I think we will see Spain shift too, to a more direct attacking style. Well, depends how they use them I guess. Cesc, like Iniesta, was originally a defensive midfielder. Yet they naturally posses attacking skills as well. That's why they are such useful players to have on your team. If Cesc comes to Barca I think he will just play a more withdrawn position than he does for Arsenal and take-over from Xavi (once Xavi gets older). Meanwhile, Alexis will take over from Pedro (he's a better player than Pedro IMO). I don't see Barca's style of play changing at all TBH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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