SPAIN DOWN AND OUT BUT "TIKI-TAKA" IS NOT DEAD

D. Ray Morton, 19th June 2014.

Sergio Busquets with his head in his hands after missing a sitter in Spain's 2-0 defeat to Chile

Defending world champions Spain were sent tumbling out of the World Cup yesterday evening thanks to a 2-0 defeat against a relentless and energised Chilean side. Goals from Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aránguiz were enough to see off la furia roja which leaves them eliminated and having to face Australia in the Group B "rubber spoon" match. The football world has been shocked and many people have announced this as the death of "tiki-taka", the possession-based style that has seen Spain triumph in the past two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup.

This is not the death of possession football, however. This is the end of an era for a group of great Spanish players. A generation which may not be seen again in a hurry but certainly not the death of a specific playing style. With Carles Puyol, a key defensive figurehead, having retired from the international scene, and a bunch of other main performers such as Iker Casillas, Xavi, Xabi Alonso (and arguably, Andrés Iniesta and Gerard Piqué) going into decline, perhaps it is only natural that this winning cycle should come to an end.

The style entrenched in the Spanish side will not change all of a sudden whether Vicente del Bosque stays on or not. Throughout their youth teams, the same 4-3-3 possession-based football is played. The heirs to the Xavis and Xabi Alonsos will not be that different. A player like Atlético Madrid's Koke, who maybe should have started both games, will come into the team in the build-up to the 2016 Euros and will be expected to blend into the side's philosophy and not rock the boat with a totally different style of play. Perhaps del Bosque hung on to the old guard for too long. How is it that a player like Koke's Atléti team-mate, Gabi, was not even considered despite having the season of his life and winning the Liga BBVA title against all odds. Gabi is no spring chicken at 30 but would he have wilted as easily as, say, Sergio Busquets?

Possession is not dead though. It just needs to adapt. At times this season in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola's attempts to make Bayern Munich the "Barcelona 2008/09 2.0" drew many sighs from viewers. Perhaps that particular brand of possession football is based on having that perfect midfield duo of a Xavi and Iniesta firing on all cylinders with a genius, i.e. Messi, playing ahead of them. Bayern did not have that and ran into trouble when facing top opposition.

Italy's master class of possession against England discussed here demonstrated how important intelligent use of the ball has been, and probably will be, in this World Cup. Their pass accuracy of 93.2% was the highest seen in this competition since 1966. It was not just the heat of Manaus that allowed them that much space either. Croatia hammered Cameroon 4-0 in the same venue last night but only had 51% of the ball. The Italian game has abandoned catenaccio since Cesare Prandelli took over and they may become the new international pass masters for the time being. Legendary Italy centre-back Alessandro Nesta chipped in with his thoughts earlier in the week: "Tiki-taka is perceived as a Catalan invention, but I’ve seen many teams in Italy play tiki-taka style in my career, even before Barcelona" he said. "I remember playing for AC Milan with a midfield composed of Rui Costa, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Rino Gattuso, where we played this style of possession football. Many people say the Spanish are masters of tiki-taka now, but we arrived first" he continued.

Alessandro Nesta insists that AC Milan played their own version of "tiki-taka" well before Guardiola's Barcelona or Spain from 2008 onwards

So Spain will be scampering home with their tails between their legs but do not expect possession to become unfashionable all of a sudden. With most teams having some weakness or another, maybe it will be the side that keeps the ball, provided enough attacking precision is included, that will be lifting that big gold trophy on July 13th.

FUNDAMENTAL TACTICS BACKFIRE IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIS

D. Ray Morton, 1st May 2014.

Mourinho must sense that Chelsea went too defensive last night

Jose Mourinho and Chelsea's recent run of good results playing ultra defensive football had not won over many fans these past few weeks and there were some neutral smiles last night as their approach back-fired sending Atletico Madrid into their first Champions League final in its modern guise. On Tuesday, Bayern Munich and Pep Guardiola's obsessive possession football was completely dismantled by a ruthless Real Madrid side who ended up conquering the Germans by four goals without reply on their own turf at the Allianz.

Mourinho and Guardiola approached their respective ties as football fundamentalists turned up to eleven as the pressure of late season crunch time reared its asymmetrical head. Bayern continued with what has become a sterile possession game since they won their domestic league weeks ago. Whether it was a loss of focus on the players' part, a deep overall strategic issue or even Real Madrid's finishing efficiency, the Bavarians were left with a substantial amount of egg on their faces. Chelsea's attempt at dealing with Atletico was borderline repressive, the London side setting themselves up so defensively that the visitors must have felt flattered. The supposed underdogs had been made the belle of the ball.

Ronaldo, who tormented Bayern with a brace of goals, signifying to Bale that La Decima is on

Questions over team selection can be made for both matches. Guardiola reverted to playing Philip Lahm in his natural full-back position which allowed Thomas Muller to start behind Mario Mandzukic up front. €37m signing Mario Gotze and €40m Javi Martinez both failed to make the starting eleven. Chelsea's selection was so conservative it could have had a punchline attached to it. Cesar Azpilicueta had been chosen as some sort of additional full-back meant to destroy the play in wide areas by sitting in front of, or alongside, Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic. Who knows?

Whereas Bayern had set themselves up to play and pass Real to death, Chelsea wanted to smother Atleti but handed them far too much of the iniative. Not even thinking about adapting to a brave approach in front of their own fans, Mourinho's side simply allowed Diego Simeone's "big-balled" dark horses to play without any pressure. A bizarre tactical angle, personally crushing as it adds to Mourinho's semi-final hoodoo that has haunted him since his days at Inter.

Simeone praised his players' mothers for giving them "big balls", maybe a pop at Chelsea's feeble defensive set-up

Real and Atletico advance to the Lisbon final, the two teams least overloaded with tactics in the semi-finals. Of the four teams, there wasn't a whole lot to separate them on paper but it appears as if the two teams that simply reacted to fundamentalist approaches triumphed comfortably. Though the defeats ended up being heavy, Bayern and Chelsea fans should probably hold some optimism for next season. Chelsea are one world class striker away from being a far more dangerous machine and Bayern can do a lot better once they resolve how to play "tiki-taka" without a Messi.