Spain's Offense

[Juan_Pablo]

Overrated. I was discussing this with a friend of mine. My friend loves Spain's soccer team, yet she always complained that soccer was a boring sport because there's not enough scoring. So I tell her "Didn't you're favorite team rely on defense to win the World Cup?" "EXCUSE ME JP?" "SPAIN'S OFFESNIVLEY THE MOST TALENTED TEAM IN THE WORLD"

7 goals scored in 7 games. Other teams scored more in just 2 games. Your thoughts on my friend?

 

[Major]

I don't think their offense is overrated just because they didn't score a lot of goals at the World Cup. Their game plan is built around ball possession, and that's part of the reason why they don't allow many goals either, because the other team never gets the ball. A good comparison would be a team in American football who has a dominant running game and runs a lot of clock, but maybe doesn't score as many points as another team who throws the ball all over the field.

 

[Juan_Pablo]

If I were to put things straightforward I'd say the objective of soccer is to score goals. That's how you win games. Spain only scores 1 goal and wins the game. If I were to look at the scoreline I'd assume they have a defensivley gifted team because they win all their games 1-0.

People complained when teams like Greece or Italy won championships by blanking the opposing teams, although now Spain is doing the same thing and they became town favorites. I don't care if Spain took 20 shots on net, at the end of the game they only managed to score 1 goal.

 

[Major]

If I were to put things straightforward I'd say the objective of soccer is to score goals. That's how you win games. Spain only scores 1 goal and wins the game. If I were to look at the scoreline I'd assume they have a defensivley gifted team because they win all their games 1-0.

The objective of soccer is to win games, and it's impossible to argue with Spain's record over the last three years. Keeping your opponents off the scoreboard is just as important as scoring yourself.

People complained when teams like Greece or Italy won championships by blanking the opposing teams, although now Spain is doing the same thing and they became town favorites. I don't care if Spain took 20 shots on net, at the end of the game they only managed to score 1 goal.

Greece mostly just sat back and played defense. Spain is always on the offensive, they just build up slowly. I don't care how many goals Spain scores, I think they play entertaining soccer.

 

[Juan_Pablo]

The objective of soccer is to win games, and it's impossible to argue with Spain's record over the last three years. Keeping your opponents off the scoreboard is just as important as scoring yourself.


Greece mostly just sat back and played defense. Spain is always on the offensive, they just build up slowly. I don't care how many goals Spain scores, I think they play entertaining soccer.

Nobody likes a fanatic, why does everyone have to admire Spain's dominance in soccer over the past 3 years? Who cares? Whatever happened to cheering for the underdog? Echoes, just be happy that your team had the opportunity to beat Spain 2-0. I remeber when that game was over, all the Spanish people I know were crying like a bunch of pussies because the best team in the world shouldn't have lost. Don't tell me the US has an overrated team now They defeated the mighty Spain!

 

[Major]

Nobody likes a fanatic, why does everyone have to admire Spain's dominance in soccer over the past 3 years? Who cares? Whatever happened to cheering for the underdog? Echoes, just be happy that your team had the opportunity to beat Spain 2-0. I remeber when that game was over, all the Spanish people I know were crying like a bunch of pussies because the best team in the world shouldn't have lost. Don't tell me the US has an overrated team now They defeated the mighty Spain!

What? Who said Spain is my favorite team? I am just impressed by the run that they've had, winning Euro '08 and World Cup '10 back-to-back. Yes I'm happy that the U.S. beat them last summer. It really has nothing to do with this thread though.

 

[jack3456]

I pretty much agree with Echo. Spain had and have an excellent game plan. As Brian Clough once said, the aim of football is to get hold of the ball, keep it, and not let the other team get it until they pick it up out of their net. Spain have a great attack, but that's not half the story. It's their midfield and defence that hold the key to their success. they are the guys who win the ball, keep it and pass it, tiring out the opposition as they chase fruitlessly after the ball. Their passing is first rate, as it has to be.