Emulating World Cup winning 2010 Spain/Euro 08 winning Spain

Quite possibly a tough challenge but it is an idea.

Control/Fluid

GK

CWB-CB-CB-CWB

A

RP-AP(a)-RP

P-T

That was the tactic that the late great Luis Aragones and Vicente del Boque used to win those two cups. Here are the player intructions

Retain Posession/Shorter Passing/Pass Into Space - duh

Work Ball Into Box - the team would never play hoof ball into the box. It was pass and move all the time

Play Out of Defense - Once again, the defense distributes the ball slowly to the midfield. They never try floating a cross for a not-too short Torres to get

Whipped Crosses - There was never a lot of size in Spain's team. It was either Whipped Crosses into the box or Low Crosses into the box.

Look for Overlap - Your CWBs will be in play when using this. Your midfielders will spot the run of your CWBs and pass it to them.]

Play Wider - David Villa played like a false winger at times as he was always looking for the ball on the left wing.

Push Higher Up - Spain always played a high line. This enabled them to pressure the opposition to make mistakes.

Roam from Position - The midfield had a lot of creativity going forward. Sometimes they move out of their assigned positions to find the ball and make triangles.

Close Down Much More - Spain has stolen the Barca Pressing game. This helps them take advantage when a opposing player dwells on the ball.

Prevent GK Distribution - Helps with the High line.

Higher Tempo - Later in the years, they played with a lower tempo but they always tiki-taka to attack not keep the ball.

Be More Expressive - Creative midfielders were present so this speaks for itself

GK - Roll it Out, Distribute to FBs, Pass it Shorter - Casillas rarely kicked the ball away.

CWBs - Play Wider/Run Wide with Ball, Cross Aim Center - I want the CWBs to Stay Wide as I have no wingers present and this enables me to stretch the opposition and break down their defense.

AP (a) - Get Further Forward - Fabregas played deeper than usual but he was always present when attacking.

P (a) - Shoot More Often - Torres was a basic Poacher. Rarely looking to pass but to score when he gets the ball

T (a) - Run Wide with Ball, Hold Up Ball, Cross Aim Center, Move Into Channels - Basically, the Villa role

After my Everton Capital One Cup bout that resulted in a 2-1 win against Newcastle. I encourage some folks to try it out

Control mentality doesn't make sense IMO. Spain are all about possession, and a higher mentality will result in your guys playing more direct football.

If I were managing Spain (especially trying to replicate real life Spain) I would start with either counter or defensive. Adjust your team/player instructions as you see fit, and off you go.

Spain certainly did not play 4-1-3-2 at any point.

Played a 4-1-4-1 system in Euro 08, with Marcos Senna playing like a more traditional defensive midfielder.

By the time the World Cup 2010 team came around, it was a 4-2-3-1 system, with 2 holding midfields (Busquets & Xabi Alonso) with Villa, Xavi & Iniesta in front and Torres in attack. Of course this all moved around depending on who was on the pitch, and Jesus Navas was a common tactical option to stretch play on the right flank during the games.

Spain certainly did not play 4-1-3-2 at any point. Played a 4-1-4-1 system in Euro 08, with Marcos Senna playing like a more traditional defensive midfielder. By the time the World Cup 2010 team came around, it was a 4-2-3-1 system, with 2 holding midfields (Busquets & Xabi Alonso) with Villa, Xavi & Iniesta in front and Torres in attack. Of course this all moved around depending on who was on the pitch, and Jesus Navas was a common tactical option to stretch play on the right flank during the games.

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2011-tactics-training/63908-4-1-3-2-inspired-luis-aragones.html

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/02/23/teams-of-the-decade-7-spain-2008/

It honestly doesn't matter. Formations talked up by pundits and bloggers are always going to be a limited representation of what's actually going on.

The way I view it is that formations in FM represent your base defensive shape. If I were taking that into account then Spain would be playing a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-1-2-2-1. Both would be slightly lopsided with one of the CM's being played closer to the side rather than central.

Umm..

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2011-tactics-training/63908-4-1-3-2-inspired-luis-aragones.html

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/02/23/teams-of-the-decade-7-spain-2008/

Stand corrected on the 08 system. But the 10 system is very different, and you can't compare the 2 as similar. The style had evolved a lot from 08 to 10.

Stand corrected on the 08 system. But the 10 system is very different, and you can't compare the 2 as similar. The style had evolved a lot from 08 to 10.

And again http://www.football-lineups.com/lineup/161339/ I watched both tourneys man. My memory is very good

They also used it in the confederations cup

http://www.football-lineups.com/team/Spain/Confederations_Cup_2009/fixture

I watched both as well. Villa started from a left side position and came inside.

http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/worldcup/southafrica2010/news/newsid=1254154/index.html

They also played an out-and-out right winger in half of the games. (Navas & Pedro). Silva started the Switzerland game notably on the right flank, after that Iniesta took up that position when Spain played without a natural right winger.