David Gorman
Staff Writer
With Spain’s win in the 2012 European Championships, following on from victories in the 2008 European Championships and the 2010 World Cup, the natural tendency is to compare them to the great teams of international football history. What Spain have in their favour immediately is that they have become the first international team to win three consecutive major championships. They also benefit from being fresh in our memories. However, it is important not to forget the credentials of teams of yesteryear first before readily handing Spain the ‘best team ever’ tag.
The Magical Magyars of Hungary were the first great team of post-war international football. They were unbeaten from 1950 until 1954, ranked 1st in the world during this time, including a famous hammering of England, 6-3 at Wembley in 1953. Their manager, Gusztav Sebes was an innovator. Their 3-2-3-2 formation with the deep-lying forward was the first of its time; it evolved to a 4-2-4 that was widely used for the next 20 years. The team spine of the Golden Team came from only a handful of clubs, an idea still popular in international football today. Every player should be able to play everywhere, the origin concept of ‘Total Football’. Ferenc Puskas was the talisman on the pitch. The ‘Galloping Major’ was one of football’s first great complete strikers. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary and 514 goals in 529 club matches. A future Real Madrid legend. Unfortunately, he would be injured before the biggest game of his Hungary career, the World Cup final of 1954. There they would be inexplicably beaten by West Germany, a collection of amateurs without a league. They suffered from some poor refereeing decisions but nevertheless failed to cement their place as best team in the world with a World Cup win. There was no climactic moment for the Hungarians, who would never have the same chance to win a World Cup again as the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 caused a break-up of the team.
Just like ‘watching Brazil’ is a phrase regularly used inside football circles and was coined from the 1970 Brazilian team, who are mainstays in the ‘best team ever’ debate. The Brazil 1970 side were the first great football team to be televised throughout the world. Their star player was Pele, a global icon and was sometimes referred to as the ‘King of Football’ for good reason; he was a prolific goalscorer, creator and entertainer. Pele scored 1281 goals in 1363 games, a record which is unlikely to ever be matched, including 77 goals for Brazil in 92 appearances. Pele cemented his legacy with his contributions to this great team. The 1970 World Cup final is the most celebrated match of World Cup history. Brazil blitzed their Italian opponents 4-1 in swashbuckling style. Pele scored two, including a stunning header. But what everyone remembers from the final was the fourth goal, a fantastically sweeping move that involved eight players. Clodoaldo beat four players in his own half before passing to Rivelino, who met a flying Jairzinho on the wing. Jairzinho found Pele, who trapped the ball and as if time stood still, instinctively rolled a perfectly weighted pass to right-back and captain Carlos Alberto to hammer into the bottom corner of the goal. Stunning. All of the Brazilian teams of this era were great but there was something special about this one. They played the game without fear. There would be no easing up in their attacks, they saw attack as the best form of defence and they knew that with their supreme attack, they could score more than anybody also playing an open game. While many major tournaments are now won with strong defences, there was nothing notable about the Brazilian defence. Whether it was the skilful Rivelino, the goalscoring Jairzinho, the astute forward play of Tostao, or the underrated midfield scheming of Clodoaldo and Gerson to assist the dominant Pele, Brazil won games with an adventurous attacking game that is viewed fondly by the neutrals.
Probably the closest in comparison to style to this current Spanish is the Dutch team of 1974. The main difference being Netherlands 1974 had the style befitting of a great side, but not the success. Losing finalists in 1974, losing semi-finalists in 1976 and losing finalists in 1978 the Dutch team of this era were certainly ‘nearly-men’, but their impact has still been profound. Netherlands were probably the most attractive team in Europe in the 1970s. Their manager Rinus Michels evolved the system put in place by the Magyars all those years previously to something the world had not seen before. Every player could play anywhere, all interchangeable, skilful and exciting. Johan Cryuff was not only a leader on the pitch but he oversaw the ‘Total Football’ tactic on the pitch. A visionary, a tactical genius and a talent the likes the Oranje had never seen before, he excited crowds with his astonishing dribbles and trickiness, with moves like the ‘Cryuff Turn’ lighting up the 1974 World Cup. Where did it all go wrong? Like the Hungarians of the past, they succumbed to the Germans in the final, albeit a far stronger German side. However, they sat on their early lead and should have finished the game off, giving a crowning moment to Dutch ‘Total Football’. While they don’t have the honours to match their performances, the outstanding result of the team is to be seen in its impact on the way Spain and Barcelona play football now. Cryuff left his mark on Barcelona after the tournament, introducing his ‘Total Football’ philosophy as both player and as manager and has formed the template for style among the great football teams.
How do Spain compare?
Where Spain have the upper hand on every team in the history of football is ball retention and possession stats. It is achieved with a truly remarkable set of midfield players, all interchangeable as Total Football would have it to be. The forever probing Xavi is without a peer in his domination of midfield possession and Iniesta is the perfect foil, an awesome dribbler while sharing the awareness and vision of his team-mate. We have never seen the likes of it before. The Dutch team on 1974 were confident on the ball without such a complete monopoly on possession. It is impossible to compete with Spain in this respect and in order to defeat the Spanish, you must come up with an alternative plan where you have less control of the football. This tika-taka style, coupled with an aggressive pressing game, suffocates opponents, torments them like a skilled matador toying with his bull. It forces them into mistakes that they would not usually make and limits their attacking potency. In Euro 2012, Spain conceded only one goal on their journey to the championship, allowing only 16 shots on-target, an average of 2.6 per game. With their patient build-up, they have not only perfected the most efficient way to create chances but have also perfected the art of defence. Playing Spain destroys you mentally, it drains your energy and it is as destructive to your chances as it is alluring to watch for the football purists. Additionally, more solid defending players such as Casillas and Ramos than the classic Brazilian and Dutch teams for example mean that Spain stop their opposition from playing their game much more than teams of the past.
What has let Spain down on occasion is not their results, but instead their entertainment value. In this tournament, Spain have divided opinion on whether their style was boring or not. The main criticism has come with their 4-6-0 formation, playing without a striker. The striker has always been one of the main talking points of any football match for a supporter; will he take his chances, what service will he get? The battle with the central defenders is traditionally seen to be one of the key outcomes in whether goals will be scored or not. Spain have played without a striker in the tournament, using Cesc Fabregas as a false number 9. The result has been a number of passive displays by the Spanish team, relying on mistakes from their opponents and substitutions to create openings, while having the possession alluded to earlier, bring matches to tedium. This is a sharp contrast to the extravagant, virtuoso attacking displays of the Dutch and Brazilian teams of the 1970s, who played a riskier game than the Spanish and certainly a more exciting game from the fan’s perspective. Spain, in general, do not score as many goals as the other great teams.
But perhaps, the match that sets Spain apart from their predecessors was the Euro 2012 final on Sunday. They matched their controversial style with real endeavour and panache in attack. They answered their critics with an entertaining showing, worthy of those great teams of the past. They looked to score more, to consolidate their victory and most importantly to win in style. All of a sudden, the problems that had occurred with the forwardless line-up had subsided. The complete fluidity of their attacking play was a joy to watch and a nightmare for an impressive Italian defence, who were left to look helpless. Spain are the pioneers in renewed emphasis on skill rather than power, their composure and patience all products of the coaching of Gusztav Sebes and his Magical Magyars and Rinus Michels and his Total Footballing maestros. There can be little debate that this Spanish team are the defining international team of this era and whether you are a fan of the incessant passing game or not, as European U19 and U21 champions also, they are here to stay.
