Spain’s victory in the WC left me unsatisfied. They were the better team (and I’d picked them FTW, @ the onset) but something bothered me about the team and the way they play. What was it?
As pointed out in this thoughtful post, futbol/soccer is a flow game versus a game of plays like baseball or American football:
… soccer is a game that is mostly about flow. A game that is about flow is a game where elegant control of the ball-like object leads to the creation of chances to achieve the goal in the game; the opposing team stops them by interrupting them, and taking over. Soccer, basketball, hockey, and were I in the mood for a challenge I’d argue NASCAR (um, minus the ball bit), are games like this. Games of flow can be contrasted with games of plays, where one team tries to do something to get points, and the other team is defending. Football and baseball are games like this.
I’m a latecomer (1990’s) to futbol, but ice hockey I know very, very well. The Spanish (and Barca, and Messi) style of tika taka (short passing and movement) is directly analogous to the hockey of the Soviet Red Army of the 1970’s and early 1980’s. They too were famed for precision passing and movement and would take apart virtually all opponents through superior puck control. Plus, they had one of the best goaltenders ever to grace the game in Vladislav Tretiak to aid them. The Soviets were rightly-feared by all other national teams during their heyday.
But while we can marvel at the skill, like most North Americans, this is not what I want from sport. I want to see bravura individual performances that demonstrate athleticism as well as team skill. That is why it was such a big deal to most North Americans when the Canadians upset the Russian team in 1972, or when the US won the olympic gold in hockey in 1980. In both cases the Russians were arguably the better team with a better system, but great individual performances and sheer force of will brought the Canadian and US teams through to victory.
So in futbol terms, I want to see a Drogba (or a Donovan, or Robinho) make an exciting run. It is not a ‘bravura athletic performance’ to see 5’ 7” guys playing ping pong with a football, or diving on the pitch trying to draw a penalty at the mere thought of contact. That is not the North American way. This is what bothers me about their team.
I know there is great skill involved for a Xavi or Iniesta to make the incredible precision passes they make. But there’s great skill in juggling tennis balls too,and that doesn’t necessarily make for great spectator sport. So while Spain deserved the win, I vote against tika taka football :).
Futbol purists will undoubtedly snort at this assessment and analogy, and I’m quite willing to be educated here, but I don’t think I’m alone in finding something lacking in this strategy. For example: Italy get roundly criticized for taking 1-0 leads and playing keep-away with the ball. How is Spain playing keep-away different than what Italy does to boring affect, except they do it as an offensive strategy?
I’ll take some solace in remembering the US team taking Spain apart – with our style of play – at the Confederations Cup. Let’s do it again next time.
