Suddenly two years of phenomenal promise have been tarnished by the looming shadow of historical disappointment. With their shocking 1-0 defeat to Switzerland on Wednesday, Spain suffered just their second loss in 48 matches; of those matches, La Roja had won 44 times, drawn thrice, and had previously lost only once... at the hands of the United States last summer in the Confederations Cup semi-final.
Even a football novice would tell you that Spain were far and away the better side on Wednesday, dominating over 73% of possession and relentlessly attacking the Swiss goal. But in the end, Ottmar Hitzfeld's disciplined side picked up the three points and in a competition as important as the World Cup, three points are all that matter.
To be frank, watching Spain plod through the tightly-packed and well-spaced Swiss defence brought another match to mind: the Champions League semi-final between Inter and Barcelona at the Camp Nou in which Inter’s park-the-bus tactics stonewalled Barca’s flowing attack. Last Wednesday in the Moses Mabhida Stadium, this same brand of cynical football allowed Switzerland to staunch La Furia Roja’s fountain of beautiful football and a number of Barca players in the Spanish ranks experienced a painful déjà-vu.
Coming off of a 6-0 demolition of Poland, the 1-0 defeat to Switzerland has stirred a host of old demons that have some whispering that La Roja are cursed. After all, if what is widely regarded as the best Spanish national team in history cannot show anything for it on the world stage, perhaps the only explanation is the supernatural.
But before venturing into the realm of the irrational, perhaps one should consider the changes Spain could make to avoid such tactics thwarting them again in the future. After all, there is no doubt that all of Spain’s future opponents will be studying the Switzerland upset in order to replicate the result produced by Hitzfeld's Swiss Army.
At Euro 2008, Spain took the European continent by storm with their unique brand of one-touch passing, angle-perfect triangles, and intricately methodical creation. With Luis Aragones’ departure as Seleccionador after the tournament, Vicente Del Bosque stepped in to make sure a well-oiled machine kept on running.
Not all too renowned for his tactical prowess, Del Bosque’s coaching style focuses on team dynamics - promoting harmony and cohesion in a squad to exploit the best out of his men within an established tactical framework.
But what worked at Euro 2008 and throughout the World Cup Qualifiers may not translate into World Cup success, as more talented defenders and increasingly tactically astute coaches have devised Mourinho-esque strategies on how to stop Spain.
Switzerland’s set-up seemed to be to absorb all that Spain could throw at them, and they were perfectly content to have the Spaniards dominate control of the ball, taking the few opportunities they were afforded to mount threatening counterattacks. While Spain squandered a number of their chances, the Swiss did well to take advantage of the ones they were afforded.
As the match wore on, Spain began to grow ever more predictable. La Seleccion looked starved of original ideas in how to break down the gauntlet, instead playing into Switzerland’s hands by filtering the ball out to the wings and crossing into the box only to have a towering defender head the danger away.
Spain have their own definable style of play, a brand they have spent years developing, cultivating, and perfecting. But for a team of La Roja’s calibre, that style must be fluid and versatile to account for a wide variety of defensive strategies, including an opponent's packed-like-sardines defence.
Overall, Spain began their opening match of the World Cup in strong fashion, creating a number of gilt-edged opportunities in the first half. It only seemed like a matter of time before the dam would be cracked and the goals would come rushing forth. But eventually such wastefulness caught up with La Roja and with the Swiss goal, Del Bosque began to somewhat haphazardly throw players into the fray - relying on at least one who was not yet mentally or physically fit for the pressure of elite competition - namely Fernando Torres.
Counting on Torres to come on in the late stages of a World Cup match to score a goal, especially given the fact that this was El Niño’s first competitive match since his knee operation, is a tall order and constituted Del Bosque’s first mistake. For much of the past two years, Spain have employed one striker, filling the midfield with deft passers of the ball that can contribute to their typically attractive build-up play.
But if Del Bosque really wanted another striker in the box, the towering Fernando Llorente would have been a far more logical choice - after all, a player of his stature was called up precisely for the purpose of rising up to meet crosses into the box in the final minutes of matches.
On the right flank, Sergio Ramos looked woefully unsupported for much of the match before Jesus Navas’ introduction, frequently having to play balls square across the pitch instead of progressing down the flank. If teams opt to play Spain in such a cagey fashion, Del Bosque needs to recognise that tactic and introduce as much width and speed into the game to open up gaps in the middle for his players.
La Roja also need to focus on spreading the pitch and opening up more space for the midfielders to filter balls through gaps in the back line. Navas on the right and Pedro on the left would have made fine replacements for Busquets and Iniesta, the former who looked a bit out of his depth on the grand stage and the latter who, considering his injury, probably should have come on as a second-half substitute instead.
But what is done is done and Spain's main focus must now be to learn from their mistakes, for the dreams of a country of Spaniards cannot afford to suffer another costly defeat as they did to Switzerland. After playing some of the most beautiful football on the world stage, failing to develop a strategy that accounts for well-organised and tactically-disciplined defenders could ironically and anti-climactically give Spain a woefully premature end to what has been a highly anticipated World Cup run.
Honduras and Chile may not give Del Bosque and his troops as big a headache as the Swiss did, but if Spain do rally and get out of the group stage, they can expect to face more parked buses in the knockout rounds.
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