its the end of........................

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

I don't think anyone is undermining Spain and Barcelona's efforts over the last 7-8 years, what they have achieved is fantastic and has been joyous to watch at times, but football evolves, currently counter attacking football of a very direct nature seems to be prominent, see how Real dismantled Pep's tika taka Bayern, it was brutal. Possession football will rise again, maybe it will have to adapt slightly but for now I think it is over, especially for Europe's top table.

 

[RexCathedra]

Which two teams were in the UEFA finals again this year?

I'd like to be that dead.

 

[carteater]

Counter attack is what works now, but without possession there is no counter attack, it sort of seems like it goes in a cycle, so in a few world cups, possession/tippy tappy/tiki-taka or whatever you want to call it will be the style of the winning team.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Which two teams were in the UEFA finals again this year?

I'd like to be that dead.

Neither of which play tika taka.

 

[glasfryn]

With all due respect Glas, you haven't been watching any of Brightons football.

Listening on the radio maybe but NOT watching.

this my friend is true
listening to it is bad enough even if we have made the play-offs two seasons running
Oh do I wish I could get there

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

We will bite them on the feaches! Tony Pullis is our glorious leader, release the bouncing bombs! (Dam Busters theme tune playing)

 

[Keeping The Dream Alive.]

It's not 'over', it'll just evolve. The same style of football isn't going to triumph every time, otherwise everyone would play it. It's taken a good 6-8 years of dominance for sides to finally deploy tactics which nullify it. Everyone will rave about the popular counter-attacking style we see now, but that'll suffer the same fate eventually.

 

[The Large One]

What, the pass-and-move football that just about everyone else is playing? Of course it's the end...

Shame about those Iberian clubs doing so poorly at European level this season too.

 

[drew]

Yep, no end result whatsoever (apart from the most successful international team of all time).

European, maybe.

Brazil 1994-2004 were certainly the most decorated (if that's how success is measured).

Agree, two world cups and 4 Copa Americas in a 14 yr period. You could even argue that Brazil 58-70 with three world cups was better!

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

What, the pass-and-move football that just about everyone else is playing? Of course it's the end...

Shame about those Iberian clubs doing so poorly at European level this season too.

Do you think all Spanish teams play the same the brand of football?

 

[Mo Gosfield]

To peak at one major tournament and win it, is a feat in itself. To do it three tournaments running, is one of football's greatest achievements. It is testimony to a group of high class players, knitted together by 3-4 world class players ( and you need those to win tournaments ) fantastic team spirit and an invigorating style of play.
The best teams don't always win...Hungary 1954, Holland 1974, Brazil 1982, Italy 1990. There are so many different factors...injury, luck, the draw, the weather, inspired opponent etc. Spain have overridden all of this and come through and put an underperforming country back on the map. That is their legacy.
Ultimately, it was one tournament too far but a whole generation of young Spaniards will be coming through looking to play with verve and passion. Maybe Del Bosque was too loyal to some but he's not the first to make that mistake and he won't be the last. After three straight tournament wins, he felt they deserved this last hurrah.
Like a great boxer going over the top, there is always going to be a certain amount of sadness/sympathy but eventually, everyone has to move over for the new order.

 

[The Large One]

Do you think all Spanish teams play the same the brand of football?

What - pass-and-move with a view to retaining possession? Pretty much, yes.

 

[Commander]

this my friend is true
listening to it is bad enough even if we have made the play-offs two seasons running
Oh do I wish I could get there

Fantastic stuff, you're moaning about out style of play from listening to it on the radio. Amazing.

 

[backson]

A little bit revisionist to say it's boring. Both Spain and Barca at their prime a few years back were a joy to watch.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

In 2008 Barcelona under Frank Rijkaard (then in the early years of Pep to 2010) and Spain were playing exciting direct football. There was passing in triangles galore but it always involved trying to get through the defence to score. Guardiola takes over Barcelona and they get even better. There is more passing and possession but still plenty of attacking with Eto, Henry and Messi.

Then Guardiola's style creeps further and further from the and rather than the brilliant attacking style played by one of the most exciting squads it becomes an ultradefensive pile of rubbish that somehow gets excused because they have loads of possession. A Spanish team with Alonso, Xavi, Villa, Torres (when he was good), Iniesta etc. start passing the ball back to the keeper rather than try and score a goal and spend the whole World Cup grinding out 1 nil wins.

It was an appalling waste of talent and another form of Mourinho's anti football. This pattern is now happening at Bayern as Guardiola changes them from an incredibly exciting counter attacking team that is now regressing to aimlessly kicking it between eachother rather than trying to score.

There is also proof that Barcelona and Real and as a result Spain were on a lot of PED's that is now locked in a court battle as the Spanish Government tries to get the evidence destroyed while WADA want to get their hands on it, which could whipe away any Spanish atheletes victory for the last 8 - 10 years.

 

[Billy the Fish]

They and Barcelona dominated for the last six years to be fair. I think they had a very special group of players that have now aged a little too much.

I think what it does prove is how difficult it is to get it right and make it work. Barcelona had to train and drill these players from childhood so they could learn the movement and positioning. Without the ball every player needs to be in the right place making the right runs otherwise you end up with what we had - playing by ourselves in front of a set defence. Good teams with a gameplan will always be able to stop it unless it's executed perfectly like Barca and Spain did. Get it right and it's unplayable.

 

[Puppet Master]

Does that mean we won't have to suffer that "tippy tappy" word again then. It makes my skin crawl.

 

[stss30]

I don't know what the obsession is with calling a certain type of football 'dead'. If you really think possession based football is dead you're quite frankly delusional.

 

[Simster]

Spain's legacy will live long. A nation of 43 million have absolutely bossed the international scene for 6 years, certainly in Europe and arguably at club level too.

Not every team will be able to play like Spain where they retained possession above all else and in doing so exploited tiredness they created (and also scored some sublime team goals), but Spain reaffirmed the value of keeping the ball. Other teams might attack in different ways, but the most successful teams will always aim to keep the ball first and foremost - that's Spain's legacy.

 

[Triggaaar]

Did Clement turn us down when he was first choice, I wonder, or did TB decide during the recruitment process that we needed something different?

Clement would have been something different. Madrid don't play the same style of football as Gus and Oscar.

In this WC it wasn't Spain's style that was undone, it was the Spanish players. They looked tired and weren't up for it.