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Who was that bearded fellow? The one who came on as a substitute for Spain last night? He sure looked good and Vincent Del Bosque has done a fine job of keeping him a secret. Wait, what’s that you say? It was Cesc Fabregas? Fuck me, there’s a surprise.
Why do Spain persist in playing Sergio Busquets and Xavi Alonso? Both are more holding that attacking, so what’s the point of fumbling around with these two together, dawning with a defensive coat, when the Spanish know full well they will have all the possession. Or is this their guarantee to keeping the ball?
With their list of acclaimed stars though dropping Busquets would hardly matter. If you have the ball then you’re not defending, especially against Switzerland and Honduras. OK, they might be practising for tougher opponents later in the tournament when defending becomes a bigger reality, although it’s hardly the fully-fledged superego of European champions just two years ago.
Xavi Herndandez and Andres Iniesta: great players, easy on the eye. We are bombarded with how good they are by soft pundits who come over all awestruck and boyish, whenever they get the job to follow a Barcelona or Spain game. It’s so overwhelming at times they overlook the bad points to their football, as happened during the 1-0 loss to Switzerland. While the favourites to win the World Cup struggled, the pundits were still drooling over Xavi and Iniesta posters.
So what are their downfalls? Against the Swiss it was noticeable, that for all their excellent possession, the Barcelona bookends rarely ventured into the penalty area. They love to play in that arc around the edge of the box, as if there’s some invisible electric force field preventing them from crossing the line.
Cesc breaks these rules. He dares to touch the electric fence. He realises that he can move beyond it and cause havoc in the opposition area. Many of his goals come from sifting into tricky positions. It hadn’t taken five minutes last night and Cesc was gliding around the goalkeeper with a view of goal. Only an admirable sliding block prevented his big entrance being perfect.
If Fabregas had been involved in the first game, his nose for danger could have been just what Spain needed to score. He was forgotten about, and then left out again last night even though two changes had been made to the side. Alright, Spain won, although Honduras are right down the bottom in terms of competition.
Still, Spain face an extremely attacking Chile side next, who have raised eyebrows at this tournament. It’s certain then that Del Bosque will stick with Busquets and be cautious. If he hadn’t in the first place Spain might have already qualified. Instead they haven’t and it could all come down to goal difference if Switzerland and Spain both win. David Villa’s penalty miss last night could thus prove to be a defining moment then. Cesc can also take good penalties, and he does it with a broken leg!
By James Curtis (live from the school staff-room)
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