La Roja

Look you and I and everyone else can keep fucking bleating on about how Alonso should be dropped and the midfield should be Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta. But the fact is that with Alonso in there, this team is the World Champion. So there's absolutely no reason why Del Bosque should change anything just because in theory it 'might' be better. If it's already the best, why fix it?

fcb wrote:Look you and I and everyone else can keep fucking bleating on about how Alonso should be dropped and the midfield should be Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta. But the fact is that with Alonso in there, this team is the World Champion. So there's absolutely no reason why Del Bosque should change anything just because in theory it 'might' be better. If it's already the best, why fix it?

Not sure why you'd want to change a team which has won 15 and drawn 1 of it's last 16 competitive matches. Spain had 63% and 72% possession (according to official figures at least) against Italy and Ireland and Xavi just set a new record for completed passes, so I don't buy this 'it stifles his game' theory. The only justification for dropping Alonso would be that technically he's not as good as the others and it would allow Spain to play a Navas/Pedro type of player, not because it affects Xavi's game.

Sure worms can potentially criticise Del Bosque for looking like an Austrian psycho who'd lock his daughter in a basement for 25 years and father her children, but when it comes to football he's a multiple Champions League and World Cup winner and has utilised the fact that Barcelona have this incredible crop of talented Spanish players to the advantage of the national team (if Villa and Puyol had been fit then Real Madrid man Del Bosque would have have 6-7 Barcelona players in the starting 11 plus Jordi Alba).

S4P wrote:

fcb wrote:Look you and I and everyone else can keep fucking bleating on about how Alonso should be dropped and the midfield should be Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta. But the fact is that with Alonso in there, this team is the World Champion. So there's absolutely no reason why Del Bosque should change anything just because in theory it 'might' be better. If it's already the best, why fix it?

Not sure why you'd want to change a team which has won 15 and drawn 1 of it's last 16 competitive matches. Spain had 63% and 72% possession (according to official figures at least) against Italy and Ireland and Xavi just set a new record for completed passes, so I don't buy this 'it stifles his game' theory. The only justification for dropping Alonso would be that technically he's not as good as the others and it would allow Spain to play a Navas/Pedro type of player, not because it affects Xavi's game.

Sure worms can potentially criticise Del Bosque for looking like an Austrian psycho who'd lock his daughter in a basement for 25 years and father her children, but when it comes to football he's a multiple Champions League and World Cup winner and has utilised the fact that Barcelona have this incredible crop of talented Spanish players to the advantage of the national team (if Villa and Puyol had been fit then Real Madrid man Del Bosque would have have 6-7 Barcelona players in the starting 11 plus Jordi Alba).

Whilst Spain are winning games and tournaments it's absurd to look to make changes to a winning formula. Particularly at the behest of an individual, as it's a team game - and the team at the moment is phenomenal. It's beating everything put in it's path.

Their game is about recycling possession, Alonso contributes to this - but what he also does it maintain a shape defensively for the Spanish, without the ball it allow's players like Xavi, Iniesta, Silva and Torres to press high up the pitch and chase the ball without worrying about being pulled out of position because Alonso and Busquets are there maintaining the team's shape in the event their pressing doesn't win the ball back.

Worms would do better to look at the teams challenging Spain and perhaps analyse how they could set up to beat them, as they, are after all the bench mark.

fcb wrote:Look you and I and everyone else can keep fucking bleating on about how Alonso should be dropped and the midfield should be Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta. But the fact is that with Alonso in there, this team is the World Champion. So there's absolutely no reason why Del Bosque should change anything just because in theory it 'might' be better. If it's already the best, why fix it?

It's not a theory,I'm sure you being one of our (Barcelona) fans you know the fact that the Busquets,Xavi and Iniesta midfield is the best in the world.

I say we drop Silva and play Pedro instead,Silva has got worse with every game that passes by in this Euros.

worms. wrote:I say we drop Silva and play Pedro instead,Silva has got worse with every game that passes by in this Euros.

i luv how silva is lauded in the DPL as an amazing player, yet for Spain he is just another player.

worms. wrote:

if i wasnt on the bus i would beat off to this

Much more impressive imo.

How is that relevant to us(Spain)?

It proves that even John O'Shea can produce moments you could beat off to.

Super Balenced wrote:

worms. wrote:

if i wasnt on the bus i would beat off to this

worm's gifs and various compilations always stop because the player loses the ball

10% proving he didn't in fact watch the game last night,Pedro successfully passed it to another one of our playrs at the end there.

I didn't see the whole match, so missed that Busquets moment. Is he attacking or defending? from position of the Portuguese, I assume he is doing some Spanish attacking, i.e. making no effort to get near the box and instead using his skill in order to manufacture a backwards pass

No it was actually a lovely bit of skill in the Portugal box if you can believe it but since there is no youtube clip then it didn't happen.

Jaime wrote:No it was actually a lovely bit of skill in the Portugal box if you can believe it but since there is no youtube clip then it didn't happen.

Jaime wrote:No it was actually a lovely bit of skill in the Portugal box if you can believe it but since there is no youtube clip then it didn't happen.

I'm talking about the gif worms posted

debaser wrote:

Jaime wrote:No it was actually a lovely bit of skill in the Portugal box if you can believe it but since there is no youtube clip then it didn't happen.

I'm talking about the gif worms posted

Ohhh. That gif is Pedro I think...

Jaime wrote:No it was actually a lovely bit of skill in the Portugal box if you can believe it but since there is no youtube clip then it didn't happen.

I am sure we can watch the whole match again online. Just tell me at what approx time this "skill" happened and I'll take a look if it did really occur and busquets did in fact make a contribution to the match, rather than just not getting in xavi's way

Busquets is already probably the greatest ever DM in history,keep hatin'.

Ah, okay. I saw him bleating about some Busquets skill earlier and assumed that was it..hard to identify players in image that tiny.

10% Busquets is the tall one with number 16 on his back.

110% wrote:

Jaime wrote:No it was actually a lovely bit of skill in the Portugal box if you can believe it but since there is no youtube clip then it didn't happen.

I am sure we can watch the whole match again online. Just tell me at what approx time this "skill" happened and I'll take a look if it did really occur and busquets did in fact make a contribution to the match, rather than just not getting in xavi's way

It was in the second extra time.

worms. wrote:Busquets is already probably the greatest ever DM in history,keep hatin'.

Fucking hell.

And you wonder why he's been getting over-criticised on this forum since you joined?

[quote="worms."]Busquets is already probably the greatest ever DM in history[quote]

agreed

when will spanish defenders start to get some respect, we all hail these great defenders who play in good defensive teams, that have a bank of 3 or 4 midfielders in front of a deep defensive line, yet say Spanish defenders are protected by the amount of possession the team has, which is right, but the other defenders are just left exposed and its only their brilliance that keeps their teams in it.

Puyol: the bulldog
Ramos: His heir
Pique: Too cool for school,Mr Waka Waka

need to start getting some respect

Exactly I prefer cultured defenders who are technically competent as well as having some pace like David Luiz,Ramos or Hummels rather than Terry who can't play a high line without bowing down to Van Persie.