The Italian priest at the end of mass this morning got me to identify myself as the only Spaniard before announcing to the congregation that the Azzurri would tonight “crush” La Roja . I replied that Santiago (St James, Patron Saint of Spain) , and the Virgin of Montserrat (patron of Catalonia) might have had their own communication from God and come up with a different prediction.
In truth I have no certainty which side tonight has God on its side although I did say a prayer for La Roja in thanks for its contribution to world football , and in the hope that its below-par performance in the tournament so far – a source of delight to my aspiring nemesis Captain Terry- will be remedied with victory over an Italy that has defied expectations and defeated Germany brilliantly.
Spain’s La Roja lays claim to being much more than a team. Since winning Euro 2008, they have, as a national squad, innovated in their style of playing and organisation, and in their attitude towards winning- both a project and philosophy.
This is a national team that , like FC Barcelona at club level, has prioritised passing , possession and movement in all positions, but with midfield acting as the key lubricant of defence as well as conduit of attack. I use the word ‘lubricant’ as opposed to bastion, or wall, or rock just as I describe La Roja’s players Xavi and Iniesta as bullfighters rather than bulls because of the intricacy of their close-play choreography.
This is not a team lacking in tall men nor is it without spirit and courage, but it is team the prioritises style over virility and aggression when it in is possession of the ball, and it is more often than very good at not losing control. La Roja is above all team ethos, a one for all -all for one, where each player is an essential element of the choreography, and the attack becomes the best defence. What marks out La Roja’s best goals is the intricacy of the build-up play involved.
This is not a team that believes in winning at all costs, that the end justifies the means, but whose self-belief is predicated on the fact that victory is assured by holding the ball as long as possible, rather than to go out and physically annihilate the opponent.
Italy’s Azzurri have ideas and quality that draw on a more traditional organisation of play that depends on the resilience of its defence and effectiveness of its strikers, be it with a more open, fluid play than the more negative play associated with the original catenaccio . In this tournament coach Cesare Prandelli has earned justifoied admiration for having his team play with not just skill but with a necessary nobility of purpose in striking contrast to the match-fixing scandals of Italian club football.
In beating Germany fair and square, with superior play, the Italians succeeded where the Greeks failed, in delivering a psychological uplifting victory on behalf of financially stricken European southern nations. But their constituency of support has broadened to include commentators and fans who have for a while been wishing an end to Spain’s dominance of football, challenging its claim to represent the age of enlightenment. One could almost suspect them of being part of a Mourinho inspired conspiracy, such has been their determination to liquididate in one blow both La Roja and Barca.
At the most extreme level of the anti-Roja fervour generated by its lacklustre performance in the tournament so far was the comment my last blog received from ‘Captain Terry’, who has pursued me from childhood. He wrote : “ If Iniesta’s goal, the “Iniestazo”, against Chelsea back in 2009 was the moment that Barça reached new heights and dominated world football for 3 years, the defeat against Chelsea in 2012, when Chelsea went onto gloriously win the European Cup, should be now known as the “Drogbazo”, the moment Tique-Taca was buried, and relegated to football history. The writing is on the Wall. Barcelona & La Roja have lost the plot. They are not physically tired, but mentally demolished by the events of April this year….”
‘Captain Terry’ has never hid his life-long support for Chelsea and Real Madrid, and far it for me , a self-declared Barca convert and La Roja supporter , to accuse him of ill-informed bias, in this open forum. Let me just say that win or lose tonight, La Roja , has already earned a place in history alongside Pele’s Brazil and Holland’s Dutch- quite an achievement for a nation that, prior to Euro 2008- waited more than four decades before winning a major tournament. Only God knows how far geniuses have the capacity to endure.
