La Furia Roja - An Era Continues?
Two things strikes me most about Spain's Euro 2012 and they are not centred around the inclusion of Torres or how they will cope with the absence of Puyol. It's not even the 'debate' around Negredo or Soldado (Soldado, by the way)
The first is that of the 20 outfield players selected an eye-watering TWELVE players are primarily midfielders (if you include Juanfran & Javi Martinez in their recognised positions).
I don't believe this is a coincidence, I think theres a strong possibility we could see a tactical shift akin to that of Chile, Barcelona and a large portion of Serie A in recent seasons and adopt a 3 men defence. Of course, there are many variations in front of this but it makes sense to think that they will adopt Barcelona's variation due to the success both Spain and Barca have had in recent years with primarily the same set up.
If you ignore the midfield for a second, the 3 strikers that have been selected do not require, or benefit from a strike partner (Negredo potentially aside) so this would suggest most definitely playing one up front - most likely Llorente.
A case for the defence
In defence, theres more of a case for a flat 4. It almost picks itself for me (Ramos, Pique, Javi Martinez, Alba), however, the inclusion of Javi Martinez is very interesting and leads me to wonder if a 3 man defence may be utilised in certain situations.
Marcelo Bielsa has been extremely effective in turning him from a Sergio Busquets-esque holding midfielder into a traditional continental centre half at Athletic this season. With Llorente likely (in my eyes) to start up front, Javi Martinez long passing ability to his club mate could be a vital weapon for a team considered to have no Plan B.
Javi Martinez
Martinez of course, offers a fantastic range of passing, something we are seeing more from central defenders and starting him, Pique & Alba/Ramos in a back 3 may be an option Del Bosque has considered. With Busquets well versed in dropping back to cover Dani Alves at club level, this could give Spain this Barca-dimension with Alba/Ramos encouraged to attack unashamedly.
Midfield minefield
That brings us to the midfield where, in my eyes, only Germany can come close to the sheer volume of talent Spain has on their hands. What no-one can come close to is the almost telepathic links a large majority of the Spanish midfield has from 5+ years of winning together at club and international level. If we assume a 3 at the back with a solitary striker, I expect the 6 'midfielders' to be Xavi Alonso, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Silva and Pedro. I think the first 5 speak for themselves, Pedro may be the only surprise choice in there but he is a fantastic big game player, much more capable of providing a cutting edge than say Fabregas or Mata. He offers something a great deal more direct than anyone else in the squad. As I mentioned, Spain are ridiculously blessed in midfield - it would be inconceivable for any other team to even think about leaving Cazorla (my player of the season in Spain), Fabregas & Mata on the bench!
My La Liga POTY can expect little or no game time such is the embarrasment of riches in front of him.
Force for the future
Secondly, there are murmurs that Spain cannot win again with the same players who have played (and won) so many games over the 4 seasons since Euro 2008. Of the players selected, Javi Martinez, Alba, Juanfran, Fabregas, Mata, Llorente and Negredo played little or no part in Euro 2008 or South Africa 2010.
This doesn't even begin to include the wealth of talent which has not made the squad but would feasibly expect to make the majority of other countries final 23.Capdevila, Javi Garcia, Borja Valero, Soldado and Isco could reasonably be aggrieved to be missing out however there is a further conveyor belt just below waiting to set up. Players such as De Gea, Ander Herrera, Munian, Thiago, Adrian were all U21 Championship winners last season. Add in the Barca conveyor belt showing no sign of slowing down (Montoya, Bartra, Sergi Roberto, Samper, Cuenca, Tello to name more than a few) and it looks like Spain may have more than a fair chance of not only producing a historic third title in a row, but conceivably adding to it further in 2012 and beyond.
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