The Descent Into Middle Age

Spain were "pedestrian, inevitable and increasingly bloated in the middle," not at all dissimilar to  the current pathology of the American baby boomer.


Sometimes a win just isn't good enough. If you are the best in the world, you're supposed to do it with Liberace's flair and the jaw-dropping brilliance of Bobby Fisher - you're supposed to do it, well, like Germany. 

You mean you didn't enjoy the build up?

No longer rosy cheeked wonders riding a wave of exquisite passing and fine finishing, the Seleccion have lost their cutting edge, firmly in middle age and nearing over the hill status by the minute (or, so they are in the minds of their critics). 


Alas, David Villa is out and Fernando Torres no longer provides the attacking edge necessary to bring Spain's tiki-taka to its efficacious end. Villa's absence in particular has largely been overlooked this tournament, but it is in my mind the most auspicious. The leading scorer in Espana's 2008 Euro campaign, Villa's exploitation of the opposition's defensive weaknesses has not been unmatched by any of the no. 9's (real, false or otherwise) employed by del Bosque in this campaign. 

C'mon, Aragaones never had to deal with this ish back in the day.

The victory over France was banal to be sure, but they were playing to their personnel. To press for a second goal (even whilst retaining possession) requires a real attacking presence, which, unfortunately for the neutral spectator, is not something Spain have on offer now. 


Still best in the world (until someone else can prove otherwise on the pitch), they are just not as good as they were in 2008 or 2010. That is what is at the heart of the criticism of the current Spanish side, but, then again, no one said getting old was easy.

The Trouble with Tiki-Taka

It’s true: you can have too much of a good thing.  

Beautiful and intricate passing ad nauseam can give way to complacency and a lack of forward thinking, lulling sides into a false sense of security, as they knock it around the midfield, and often having them pay the price for their profligacy. 

Spain succumbed to the very real perils of tiki-taka against Croatia.  They were “a parody of themselves” in the words of Rob Smyth, holding possession for the vast majority of the game but creating very few quality chances from it.  So long as they held the ball, you got the sense that they were able to trick themselves into believing that they had complete control of the game.  It was, in fact, an apocryphal control. 

Del Bosque's men left themselves to be exposed on the counter throughout the match, just as they were on the back of Luka Modric’s exceptional cross to Ivan Rakitic (resulting in a sublime Casillas save).  The uncomfortable reality was that the reigning European and World Champions were still in by only the thinnest of margins.  And the more they passed, the more their forward movement stagnated and their shape narrowed; the play largely confined to a small swath of the pitch around the half-way line as La Roja pondered their next short pass.

Gotta keep possession.

What can be done to remedy their wanton ways?  Well, for starters, Arbeloa and Silva need to make way for Cesc and Navas, which would then allow Iniesta to play in his Barca role instead of being stranded wastefully on the wing.  Arbeloa is by some measure the worst player on the Spanish side, and Silva has been ineffectual throughout.  And then there is El Nino, for whom a suspect Irish defense is apparently the only opposition against which he can prove effective.  


Seriously, Fernando Llorente must be wondering what he has to do to get a whiff of the pitch at this point.  And, while Torres is certainly not good enough to produce on his own, if del Bosque insists on giving him another run out, at least he would benefit from the complementary wing play of Navas and an opportunity to play off of a false no. 9 like Fabregas this time around. 

The French brand of tiki-taka certainly didn’t rival the Spanish form in technical accomplishment (there were far to many touches in between passes), but it was even more crippling.  Against the already elimintated Swedes, Lorent Blanc’s side lost the plot even while enjoying possession for large swathes of the first forty-five.  Their build-up was painfully protracted and lethargic.  Yes, their defense was (is) shambolic (how Mexes ever got to this level is far beyond my scope of comprehension) but had they been able to seize the opportunities their possession presented, the scoreline may have allowed them to withstand Zlatan Ibrahimovic's brilliant strike with some composure intact.

The result of a somewhat more direct approach.

Moderation is the key.  There needs to be a balance between a direct line to the goal and meandering possession without a real end.  

Whether Spain or France will heed these lessons remains to be seen.  If nothing else, it will be difficult for either side to dominate possession in the manner they've been able to do so heretofore, given the tactics of the other, and that may very well be a good thing.  

P.S. For those still unsure of what constitutes good tiki-taka, here's a little how-to courtesy of Barca.  Phil Jackson was right: it is all about the triangles. 

Sublime Spaniards and an Irish Exit

Well, one thing is settled in Group C: Ireland will be going home on Monday. The rest, in keeping with current Euro 2012 trends, is still up in the air.

Spain dispatched with Ireland in a manner so clinical and relentless that even the most hardened fans of the Boys in Green were begging to be put out their second half misery come Silva's second for Spain...and that was only four minutes into the half.  You can't fault the Irish (or their fans, the best in the tournment imho); however, with the class differential between the two sides was somewhat akin to the divergence in stock price between Apple and Blackberry, and being down only one goal at halftime was considered a flattering scoreline for Giovanni Trapattoni's men.

Point in fact: a sub-par Xabi Alonso completed more passes in the first half than the entire Irish side.

And this wasn't the ineffectual possession of the Dutch variety.  Of 27 Spanish shots, 15 were on target, eliciting a number of excellent saves from Irish stalwart, Shay Given.  A special shout out goes out to one Fernando Torres, who put an abysmal opener and shambolic season at Chelsea behind him to reclaim form unseen since Roman Abramovich played Count Dracula to Torres' Mina Murphy (and, if you haven't gotten the full metaphor yet, Vincente del Bosque assumes the role of van Helsing's gang in this set-up).

Del Bosque's brilliance was on full display here.  While some questioned his decision to leave out Fabregas, del Bosque rightly recognized the great fortune of the Irish match-up.  What better conditions could there be for your crestfallen hit man to regain his killer instinct than against the weakest team in your group?  Not only would Xavi and Iniesta be able to hold court in the midfield, providing quality service unseen since Heidi Fleiss' Hollywood heyday, but literally Torres' only responsibility would be to put the ball on target.  And where El Nino had eyes for anything but goal in the first game, he firmly fixed his gaze upon it this time around, suddenly jolted from his semi-catatonic stupor after his fourth minute strike, he seemed a man fully in control of his own destiny on the brace.

It is all about confidence, after all. Even the man he replaced in the starting XI could not help but show his delight at his compatriot's return to form.

A Tale of Two First Touches

How much can a first touch reveal?  Let’s look at the cases of Antonio di Natale and Fernando Torres.  Both subs in Sunday’s headline game, the two came on to very different ends.


Di Natale put in work, making a meal of the space left by the Spanish defense with a deft first touch.

Exhibit A

Torres made a mess of his first foray.  Beaten in the box from a hard charging Gigi Buffon, whose forceful field play denied Torres a redemptive strike.  Yes, you read that right: in a one-on-one, Gigi came out on top, no hands involved.

Exhibit B

Both moves emblematic of their greater career trends: the ascendant Italian and crest fallen Spaniard.  The contrast could not have been more stark. 

Dude Cannot Catch A Break

I have alternated between pity for Rafa's predicament, disdain for his transfer policy, and bewilderment at his preference for rotation, but right now I cannot feel anything but sorry for the man.

Not only have Liverpool just crashed out of the FA Cup at Anfield, but they lost both Fernando Torres (knee) and Steven Gerrard (hamstring) before the start of the second half in the process.

It all started out so well (ok, well enough): New signing Maxi Rodriguez was in the stands, Rafa was seeing silverware in his side's future, and Reading even obliged their hapless hosts with a one goal advantage, after the Royal's Ryan Bertrand steered the ball past his own keeper. Even in the front office, it all seemed to be going the Spaniard's way, as one American recused himself, though admittedly not the one Kop faithful would most like to rid themselves of.

But, all good/subpar/barely passible things must come to an end, and so it did for Liverpool on Wednesday night. In the dying minutes of regulation, Reading were given a golden opportunity to equalize after Yossi Benayoun was judged to have fouled Shane Long in the box, which is exactly what Gylfi Sigurdsson did after stepping up to take the penalty. That disappointment became heartbreak only ten minutes later, when Long fired Reading tops. It was another nail in the coffin of the Red's season, finally, if inhumanely, obliterating the last modicum of confidence 'Pool players had diluded themselves into possessing.

Oh yeah and all this on the heel of news that Rafa might be forced to sell El Nino, if (read: when) Liverpool don't qualify for the Champions League next season.

UPDATE: And so it went from bad to worse. Reports have Nando missing 6 weeks with a knee cartilege injury that will require surgery, while Yossi Benayoun (fractured rib; expected 4 week absence) and Stevie G (strained hamstring; expected 2 week absence) did not fare much better.

Liverpool's Last Gasp

Fernando Torres scored the 90th minute winner at Villa Park in a crucial game for the Reds and their top-four ambitions. Now not only is El Nino the fastest 'Pool player to 50 goals in the club's history, but he has single-handedly moved them up to seventh -- two points behind sixth-placed City and Villa and only another two behind fourth-placed Tottenham.

This is definitely the most exciting EPL race in recent memory: at the top (Chelsea is only slightly ahead of Man Utd and Arsenal, each of which are separated by 2 points); in the middle (four teams are within 5 points of fourth); and at the bottom (second-to-last Hull City is only 5 points behind tenth-place Sunderland).

Abysmal Play? It Has to Be Serie A!

At the Christmas break, Inter pretty much have the league wrapped up. This despite only scoring one goal in each of the last four games (resulting in two wins, one loss, and one tie). So not only is the league title a forgone conclusion, but the most dominant team in that league, the defending champions of Serie A, have struggled to produce substantial offensive output. It also seems as though Samuel Eto'o is suffering from the same, predictable Serie A malaise as Kaka once did..

Need a further indictment of the level of play/players in the Italian top flight? Just look to FIFA's World XI. Soccer's governing body went with a 4-3-3 formation with Iker Casillas in goal (Real Madrid/Spain), Dani Alves (Barcelona/Brazil), Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd/Serbia), John Terry (Chelsea/England), and Patrice Evra (Man Utd/France) across the back.

Headlining midfielders include Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) and Xavi and Iniesta (both of Barcelona/Spain).

Finally, up front Puskas Award winner Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal) is joined by Fernando Torres (Liverpool/Spain) and, of course, FIFA World Player of the Year Leo Messi (Barcelona/Argentina).

Which is a round-about way of saying that not one of the World XI is from Italy or playing for an Italian team.

P [dot] S The preponderance of English and Spanish clubs is understandable, given those players' success in competitions for club and country. Nevertheless, it does seem curious that Ligue Un's Player of the Year Yoann Gourcuff was left off this list (maybe in the place of Stevie G?).

Gourcuff was a true master of the midfield last season, producing the kind of displays that earned him a (justified) comparison to the great Zidane and earned Bordeaux their first title in a decade. Actually, come to think of it, Gourcuff's resurgence coincided with his Italian escape. And that pretty much sums up my point.

UPDATE: Not For Sale!

It seems the giant fire sale that was rumored at Anfield will not come about, per Liverpool's co-owner Tom Hicks. So no new stadium, but at least Reds fans will have Nando, Gerrard, et al to keep them company at home on those cold European nights next year.

P dot S Liverpool's owners are not the most adept PR people. When it comes to the hearts and minds of Reds fans, it always seems to be one step forward and twenty back. So, naturally, after reassuring the faithful that their top talent will not be sacrificed for financial reasons, Hicks decided it would be good to follow that up by conveying his disappointment in Liverpool's on pitch performances.

Note to Hicks: Get in touch with your fans. If you were to ask anyone in the Kop, they would be able to tell you that if your finances were better, your on pitch performances would follow suit. In fact, if you actually provided the club with sufficient cash on hand, then perhaps the heart of your midfield wouldn't have been sold over the summer. Just sayin'.

Huge Debt - Star Players = Unhappy Fans

He looks so happy.

It's simple math really, but somehow the concept still eludes the Anfield owners.

The Americans reportedly have a "Doomsday" scenario, which involves the sale of golden boy Fernando Torres (a.k.a. the only reason that 'Pool is in the top half of the Premier League this year) to Manchester City for 70 million pounds. That fee would then go to paying down some of the 290 MILLION in DEBT the club has incurred under the enlightened stewardship of Gillett and Hicks.

Let us illustrate the significant downside to this plan. First, the sale will cause a disastrous drop in form. Seriously, who's going to replace him up front? Aqualani? And we've seen how much losing just one player can affect on-pitch performances. *cough* Xabi Alonso *cough*

Now, let's really think this move through. Natch, the Reds' good looks quotient will suffer even more (see again: Alonso, Xabi for initial decline). Moreover, if Nando goes to City, he'll be forced to wear that awful powder blue, and, really, we all know that that colour does his complexion no favours. He might even have to lose the highlights to stop himself from being completely washed out. And what is El Nino without frosted tips?

We so object to this move on a multitude of levels.

But money matters. So following in the Reds' glorious footsteps is Valencia, which is seriously considering the sale of Davids Villa and Silva as sacrifices to the financial gods.

What do you think? Do club finances justify the player sacrifice in either case?

The Good, The Bad, and The Fugly: Premiere League Edition (9/27-9/28)

It lends an air of authority, if not success....

The Good: WTF Wigan won?? Yes, you read right, even Drogba's centennial strike couldn't save Chelsea's 100% record. The Blues certainly did not look like league leaders, and that, in large part, was due to the Latics outstanding display. Paul Scharner's finishing touch made sure of the Latics' first win against a top four side...ever...and it was a well deserved one at that. So Congrats!

Honorable mention to Fernando Torres: We may not like your frosted tips, but we can't hate on a superb showing against Hull and your ability to nearly single-handedly cover up the Reds' shoddy defense.

The Bad: Hapless Hull City - The above kudos to Torres is the yin to the yang of the hellish Hull experience at Anfield. Not even Phil Brown's spiffy headset could distract from the atrociousness of the scoreline.

(Dis) Honorable mention to Man Utd's Valencia: Seriously? How can you miss that ish? Seriously?

The Fugly: Pitiful Pompey - It's hard for us to find the words to adequately describe the hot tranny mess that is Portsmouth these days. Take the worst start in Premiere League history (after an unlucky loss versus Everton, they have racked up a grand total of zero points through seven rounds), then add to that significant financial uncertainties and front office rumblings, and you are left with a side that is still searching for its first points this season.