Viva Espana, a win for football. All national sides and top clubs should take note, including Celtic
Euro 2024 last night reached its conclusion and it had a worthy winner in Spain, beating England in the final being the icing on the cake.
Spain were the only big nation to actually play the game the proper way. Fast and attacking football led to them winning each one of their seven games scoring 15 goals in the process. In their qualifying campaign Spain lost just once and in the finals in Germany they won every match making them worthy winners.
And of course it also means that Scotland’s 2-0 victory over Spain at Hampden Park in the qualifiers turned out to be a result that the English could only dream about!
Spain’s two wide players Nico Williams and the supremely gifted Lamine Yamal are a throwback to the old fashioned winger who liked to take players on and entertain. While their full backs constantly join them in attack, aided by a talented midfield who’s only thought was to go forward further adding to their threat. They were a joy to watch.
The fact that Spain were the only nation to try and play football was not only a disappointment, but a bit of a worry moving forward where the beautiful game is concerned.
Former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa recently said that “Football is becoming less attractive” due to the obsession of keeping the ball which makes the beautiful game resemble a game of chess, and he would be right.
All clubs should take note and try to play the game the right way. Including our own club who after witnessing the ‘we never stop’ swashbuckling style of Ange Postecoglou have been reverted back to the predictable ‘side to side’ football under Brendan Rodgers, and while proving successful, it’s becoming rather repetitive to watch.
Entertainment is what the supporters want, and we are the lifeblood of the game after all.
England on paper has as strong a squad as Spain however the Spanish side had the better approach and the better system. Hosts Germany, who started brilliantly by destroying Scotland, never maintained that attacking intent and will have to look at the lessons that the Spanish side provided.
On this very site we called for Steve Clarke to use a 4-3-3 system after that 5-1 hammering from the hosts as his anti-football cautious approach was rendered pointless on the opening night of Euro 2024. No other side got battered like Scotland did. Clarke was never going to change and if Scotland is going to develop as an international side then we have to adapt to the modern game.
Even Brendan Rodgers should look to the way Spain won this tournament and see if he too can learn the lessons from a Spanish team that played the beautiful game beautifully and are well worthy of their crow as Champions of Europe.
Congratulations to Spain for winning the Euro 2024 and also Wimbledon on the same day!
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
Totally agree, and hopefully football in general adopt to how the Spanish approach the game moreso in the future?
Pep and klopp took attacking football with the high pressing to completely new levels years ago?
The response was teams getting far better playing on the back foot, with only a strong counter attacking game or set pieces available to themselves in order to compete imo?
The game overall has become a bit more structured with games getting decided more so upon moments within a game?
Spain had far more bigger moments last night and deserved to win the game by a far bigger margin than they actually did, no doubt about it imo?
But not taking advantage of those moments, always leaves a team in with a chance of snatching something from a game, that they didn’t deserve to either?
The same applies to ourselves within many of our games over the course of the season, where the extra quality within those moments can be such the defining factor?
Think that is what Rodgers is aiming for, with ourselves, especially with the amount of footballing intelligence Rodgers possess?
Still takes great skills from a manager to get the overall structure of the team and squad in place, with everyone knowing there roles within the overall set up also, and keeping the unity intact also?
Good players don’t necessarily fit right into how a manager can structure a squad in regards how the team is going to be set up either?
That was very questionable early doors last season, with so many players within our overall squad not fitting into the structure that a manager is trying to install, and that included established players adjusting to the changes implied also?
Always felt it was very much a transition season last season, and players should be far more familiar with what is expected from them next season imo?
New signings in theory should be able to fit in far more comfortably, with a manager able to identify there qualities better to suit what he’s looking for also imo?
International football can involve trying to put square pegs into round holes, due to putting more high profile names at club level, into a structure that doesn’t get the best from the team?
Both Scotland and England managed that during the euros, with England getting far more luck than Scotland managed to progress further, but neither were a good watch in how they actually approached and provided within the tournament imo?
For ourselves, I still believe our approach will be far better next season, with the improvement with tempo installed as players should be far more familiar and confident within the structure Rodgers is trying to introduce to ourselves imo?