thread for detailed tactical analysis of the euro 2012 final

totally intrigued by this

obligatory ZM link

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/30/euro-2012-final-spain-v-italy-preview/

seems like fabregas is going to happen but then who expected negredo in the last game

Before the first game I think I said/wrote? that Spain would kill Italy if Italy played with a back four. This was admittedly pretty much based on seeing Italy play a back 4 vs Russia in the warm-ups and concede chance after chance to angled through balls between the FB/CB. It should be noted that Maggio was playing RB for Italy in that Russia encounter and the fact that he is more accustomed to playing WB in a 3-4-3 really did show.

I guess a lot will revolve around the 'Pirlo Question'. England didn't make special plans and he ruled, Germany did but it disrupted their flow plus the 4 Italian MFs outplayed the German 4 possibly because Ozil didn't seem to be sure as to what was expected of him, Gomez unlike Klose wasn't inclined to harry the Italian back 4 on the ball, and Poldolski was v ineffectual when he tried to play narrow. Spain don't really need a special plan cos they will naturally have players ina nd around the Pirlo zone anyway, especially if Cesc is false 9ing it.

I'd like to see Pedro instead of Silva, if he's fully fit. vs Germany there was a lot of space in the Italy left back zone, perhaps on purpose 'cos they didn't think Boateng could hurt them. May be the same philosophy with regard to Arbeloa?

Think if Italy are to win it will have to be in 90 mins. I'd fancy Spain if it went to extra-time.

thoughts abt spain so far in general --

xavi is not being used properly, the spain team is so compressed and he doesn't really have enough room to ease away, like obviously he is always 90% 10> yard passes but he should have the option to vary things or to move around

i think he did reasonably well in front of a double pivot at the world cup but he had a proper #9 and at least one winger all the time

navas and pedro have shown they can play well alongside fabregas and should have a claim to start instead of silva in that formation

the 433 i would prefer spain to play could still work against italy imo, it would of course give them less security in midfield but playing iniesta as attacking mid would give pirlo more trouble than any number of reactive/defensive schemes

silva too would be better off in this formation, more or less doing what iniesta does now in being able to shuttle between the midfield and the attack seamlessly (he gets so much possession time even though he nominally plays wide at city)

Germany adjusted their formation, sacrificed a right-sided attacker for another body high up in the midfield zone to press or at least crowd Pirlo, and it seemed to starve them (Germany) of all the fluidity and inventiveness they'd had previously.

Though I suppose the difference is that while Germany were rolling prior to that match, Spain are still struggling to get into top gear, so a major tactical adjustment at this point wouldn't be as reactive, might be more successful.

the italy team are a bit more difficult cuz i don't know them as well and they are so different now to how they were in the first game (tho noting prandelli's comment that he could shift back to the wingback system in midgame)

the midfield was so impressive against germany, i don't remember seeing that formation played so fluidly - usually one thinks of it as designed to showcase an idle static playmaker like riquelme, but montolivo who mostly played at the front of midfield isn't a defensively inert #10 at all

rather like portugal vs holland it showed a way how a more fluid midfield can break a four line formation because schweinsteiger and khedira never linked well with the three attacking mids (and the whole kroos/ozil thing was a mess)

cassano is also such a clever and selfless (huh) player these days

defensively idk -- depends on who prandelli chooses and there must be 3 or 4 possibilities

hmm, i thought khedira had a v good first half tbh

Spain will try to get Montolivo booked early on I think. Feel like he got away with numerous fouls without a yellow vs Germany.

Khedira got forward regularly but he loves a shot on goal these days, I'd agree that he didn't exactly link play. Schweinsteiger should have been dropped earlier in the tournament, he clearly wasn't right.

if loew wanted midfield solidity he would have been better playing a tighter midfield three (s/k/k) but then ozil couldn't play his natural game and he would never leave ozil out

montolivo was on dis ting vs germany (compensatory aggression for being half-german) and i doubt he will be nearly as aggressive vs spain

whatever system/players spain employ, if they lose it will down to their central defence

ramos/piqué aren't quite as inexperienced as the german defenders, but balotelli could be overmatched vs either of them

it's like the most obvious thing but still, but balotelli can outrun piqué and his combination of speed, close control and that aggressive confidence he has right now will definitely unsettle him

ramos has the recovery pace and loves a scrap but they are his weaknesses too

if he gets stranded like he did in the 1st game, balotelli is unlikely to waste /that/ chance, and he is as likely to be lured into picking up stupid cards as balotelli is

This will be a good match. /dta

just because it is a final and recent ec/wc ones have been a bit scrappy and hesitant everyone is being circumspect

it would be really excellent to see spain functioning well whatever system they play, god forbid that in five hours time this thread will be full of ppl moaning about how it was a BORING tactical final

italy gaining much joy from long ball beating offside trap. that won't change tonight if ramos's performance in the first match is replicated

i respect people's right to find Spain boring but really secretly inside fuck you if you do

i think i wd enjoy this more if i went to the pub to watch it but i cannae be fucked to schlep all the way to the Haworth

yeah pretty much xp

surely arbeloa, mb spain's weakest player thusfar, will get merked by cassano sooner or later. balzaretti has also looked a bit strained at times but italy do a much better job filling in defensively than spain. v curious to see who can advance further but fear both teams pushing could make the game super condensed

Spain XI: Casillas, Arbeloa, Piqué, Ramos, Alba, Busquets, Xavi, Alonso, Iniesta, Silva, Fábregas

Italy XI: Buffon, Abate, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Pirlo, Marchisio, De Rossi, Montolivo, Cassano, Balotelli

they were right on it from about the fourth minute tonight, the system just worked perfectly for probably the first time since the 3-1 vs scotland

the difference was that the front three were pretty much playing as forwards, so xavi could start probing and xabi and busquets could start to play a bit and stop looking brazilian defensive mids playing in a rectangle with the cbs

but then when they were 2-0 up, italy looked pretty dangerous for a while, because silva was playing really high up and far inside and the whole right flank was exposed

so you could say all the criticism about lacking courage was slightly vindicated? they finally went for the opposition, forced pirlo into playing as an auxillary cb and withstood italy's response

piqué and ramos were both very good, even if the latter had a few stupid moments as ever

the montolivo/motta sub was a mistake but they were going to end up the same way even with eleven

torres looked great with no real pressure but i think he could have still been pretty effective if he had started cuz he would have been played in behind bonucci and barzagli repeatedly

in any case i'm pleased they played and finally had success resounding success without a #9, fuck the hater etc

heh are you really narrowing it down to just me at this stage?

agree with all that, but esp that their change in attitude tonight does in some measure vindicate the view that they were playing within themselves throughout this tournament.

nah deems it's not all about you, i was thinking more of the million or so press articles this week about what a shower the spanish are

yeah i think it shows that there is a certain MORAL COURAGE that precedes any specific formation/tactics and is necessary to being a great team, which they certainly are

in retrospect you can look at the quarterfinal (which i saw only in the highlights, thankfully) as conserving energy, every competition is full of teams like russia and germany this time who racked up the goals and filled themselves with excitement when a procedural 2-0 was probably more helpful

the semifinal against portugal they just played badly for most of normal time, it happens

and del bosque playing both xabi and busquets was vindicated so fair fucks to him for that

now to number four in brazil....

no arguing with a performance like tonight's. that was a takedown equal to anything barca or ac performed in the european finals of the early-mid 90's.

age profile of the team suggests they'll be mainly intact for brazil alright. absence of milneresque gameness probably helps prolong the career too you'd imagine.

i think i'd probably like them to have been a little less direct and a little lower tempo tonight tbh

and winning this without puyol and villa is pretty good preparation for the future...

xavi is integral but alonso will be 33 so introducing javi martinez seems likely.....not as good a passing range but he's got so much power and authority

they should have an even better defence with azpilicueta or maybe montoya or juanfran, alongside piqué and ramos in their prime and jesus jordi alba is good

so many attacking options...

jordi alba would count as a pretty good attacking option for most teams as is