SPAIN'S obsession with the ball and technical skills is well known. It's how a great but underachieving football nation of the last century has hoovered up a bunch of titles across all age-groups and genders over the last two decades. Even as some of the biggest and richest countries in Western Europe, historically the most developed in terms of skills, football education and titles across competitions, preferred physicality and pace, Spain doubled down. For them, the ball would always be king.
There's a story around Antoine Griezmann. When the light-footed French attacker was still a child in France, his family took him to several academies in the area. But the coaches weren't too enthused by what they saw because of Griezmann’s frame. "Too slight," they had felt. It didn't deter the family. They decided to try their luck in Spain. A coach based in San Sebastian liked what he saw. So, while he continued his academics in France, his family drove him past the Spanish border so he could receive a formal education at Real Sociedad. In 2018, Griezmann emerged as a vital cog in France's wheel when they won the World Cup.
Eight years before Les Bleus won their second global gold, Spain won their first in 2010. A succession of 1-0 wins in each of the four knockout games gave them the trophy. From 2010 to now, irrespective of the result, they have stayed true to the one founding identity of modern Spain as a footballing powerhouse. They will have more possession and pass more. In fact, the last time they lost the possession battle to the opposition at a World Cup was over 20 years ago. For 28 consecutive matches in the tournament, they have had more of the ball than the team standing on the other side of the pitch at kick-off. As long as they don't get a red card against Argentina in the final, this will continue.
Granted, some of their possessions have been accused of being sterile. For example, when the Netherlands beat them 5-1 in a group-stage encounter in 2014, Spain had more than 60% of the ball. So, while possession isn't everything, for the Iberians, it is the first thing. For life to thrive on Earth, carbon is the primary building block on earth. Similarly, for the Spanish national team, the ball is the elixir. "They get you on that carousel and they can leave you dizzy," was how Sir Alex Ferguson once described a Barcelona team his Manchester United team played and lost to in a Champions League final.
What's the connection between Barcelona and the Spain set-up? Just like the club from Catalonia, there is a profound importance attached to the ball. Run your fingers through the Spanish sides over the last two decades, and you will realise the number of Barcelona players part of both teams in those critical midfield roles (Barcelona's Guardiola and Johan Cruyff also had a lot to do with implementing this style of play across levels of the game). Eight of Spain's 26 currently call Barcelona their home.
It's also why Spain has a footballing identity to them, all part of the wider DNA. Even though it's hard for a national team to develop one outside of cliched ideals, Spain have one because they are all familiar with what's expected of them on the field. The players do not spend time with each other outside of a few weeks each year, but it doesn't matter because chemistry — that understanding — is present at all levels of the game. It's plug and play.
"Women's football, youth tournaments, Olympics — I lost a final to them," Thierry Henry, a pundit at Fox, said after the semifinal against France. "Time and time and time again, they're coming. "They have an identity, a philosophy; they all play the same way at every level. The coach knows exactly how the system is. When Spain have the ball, they don't give you the ball back, you have to go and get it," Henry said. "I want to give credit to the system and what they put in place. Because Spain never used to win like that. And now they win at every level."
But irrespective of how great the footballing principle is, there has to be evolution. The evolution put in place by Spain is to be faithful to their principle of the ball but adding a dose of speed and verticality to it. It's why, while Rodri, Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsi are Nos. 1, 2, and 3 in terms of passes completed, the likes of Marc Cucurella, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal dominate a lot of the ‘movement’ metrics according to publicly available FIFA numbers. Yamal, Cucurella and Pedri are always willing to receive the ball under pressure — recorded as ’receptions under pressure’ by FIFA — and these three and Rodri are in the top 12. It suggests they are always press-resistant and are comfortable with the ball in tight spaces.
Their press is also very coordinated: it's why, on average, Spain recover possession in under 11.75 seconds after losing the ball at the World Cup (Argentina are at over 15 seconds). There's also the element of continuity. It's how Luis De La Fuente got the gig after the last World Cup. He knows the Spanish system inside out, having coached age-group sides for almost a decade. At the 2019 Under-21 Euros, De La Fuente coached Mikel Merino, Unai Simon, Dani Olmo, Fabian Ruiz and Mikel Oyarzabal to a title. At the 2021 Under-21 Euros, he saw first-hand the talents of Martin Zubimendi, Cucurella and Yeremy Pino. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he led Spain to silver. Eight of those 17 players he picked at the Olympics will be with him in the final.
They hope they can upgrade that colour on Sunday.