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I have to say that I still cannot believe Spain has won the Euro. The only time I began to truly believe we would win was after the Italy game. Before that I was convinced there would be yet another Spanish failure. This has been in no small part due to Aragones and his incompetence. When we look at the decisions he has made, it seems that he has been proven right in many of them, but I also think he got very lucky. Let´s look at some of his key decisions.
The most obvious one has been Raul´s omission from the squad. Aragones was going to live or die by this decision, and he has proven to be thoroughly correct. Raul can certainly be a negative presense in a squad, partly because he tends to be played no matter how bad his form is, and that has to affect other players who can´t understand why there is a different standard for the Raul than the rest. This is parly why I have wanted Raul out of Real Madrid for at lest 2-3 years, despite everything he´s done for the club. But at the same time, to claim that this proves that Raul has dragged the team down in the past is ridiculous. He did in the last WC, but that´s it. Raul will still go down as one of the best players Spain has ever had, and nothing should change that.
Regarding Guti and Joaquin´s ommission from the squad, I think Aragones got very lucky there. In Guti´s case, he´s the perfect super sub and he was the top assist man in the league last season. I think that if Germany or Italy had scored first against us, he could have been a crucial player to turn the game around. Joaquin´s absense was also felt, and I think he could have done much better than Iniesta or Silva, especially the former, who had a dreadful tournament despite possibly being the most talented player in the squad.
But to Aragones´s credit, dropping Cesc in favor of Senna worked wonders for the team. I wanted Cesc to play ahead of Xavi, but after a slow start, Xavi came through when it really mattered by having two very good games against Russia and Germany. Could Cesc have done better than Xavi if he´d gotten some continuity? We´ll never know, but what we do know is that Senna and Xavi delivered, so Aragones got it right.
It must also be said that somehow Aragones helped to create a team spirit not seen in Spain for a long time. Whether leaving the likes of Raul and Joaquin helped with this I don´t know, but the old man will be remembered for achieving something his last several predecessors have failed at.
Aragones should also get credit for winning the Euro in a `Spanish` style. He was under immense pressure to abandon the ´tiqui-taca´ and play a more direct style of football. But no one can deny that Spain won the Euro by playing their brand of football, which may be frustrating at times but when it works it can lead to dazzling displays of football. It´s not quite like the Dutchies´ total football, but at least it comes close.
What do other posters think about this?
The most obvious one has been Raul´s omission from the squad. Aragones was going to live or die by this decision, and he has proven to be thoroughly correct. Raul can certainly be a negative presense in a squad, partly because he tends to be played no matter how bad his form is, and that has to affect other players who can´t understand why there is a different standard for the Raul than the rest. This is parly why I have wanted Raul out of Real Madrid for at lest 2-3 years, despite everything he´s done for the club. But at the same time, to claim that this proves that Raul has dragged the team down in the past is ridiculous. He did in the last WC, but that´s it. Raul will still go down as one of the best players Spain has ever had, and nothing should change that.
Regarding Guti and Joaquin´s ommission from the squad, I think Aragones got very lucky there. In Guti´s case, he´s the perfect super sub and he was the top assist man in the league last season. I think that if Germany or Italy had scored first against us, he could have been a crucial player to turn the game around. Joaquin´s absense was also felt, and I think he could have done much better than Iniesta or Silva, especially the former, who had a dreadful tournament despite possibly being the most talented player in the squad.
But to Aragones´s credit, dropping Cesc in favor of Senna worked wonders for the team. I wanted Cesc to play ahead of Xavi, but after a slow start, Xavi came through when it really mattered by having two very good games against Russia and Germany. Could Cesc have done better than Xavi if he´d gotten some continuity? We´ll never know, but what we do know is that Senna and Xavi delivered, so Aragones got it right.
It must also be said that somehow Aragones helped to create a team spirit not seen in Spain for a long time. Whether leaving the likes of Raul and Joaquin helped with this I don´t know, but the old man will be remembered for achieving something his last several predecessors have failed at.
Aragones should also get credit for winning the Euro in a `Spanish` style. He was under immense pressure to abandon the ´tiqui-taca´ and play a more direct style of football. But no one can deny that Spain won the Euro by playing their brand of football, which may be frustrating at times but when it works it can lead to dazzling displays of football. It´s not quite like the Dutchies´ total football, but at least it comes close.
What do other posters think about this?
to Aragones and Spain for sticking to their stylistic guns.
