Once again, the Iberian peninsula has been allowed to
dream as Spain now find themselves making history, progressing to
the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in their
history.
With shadows of the Euro 2008 final looming, La Furia Roja have
united the ethnically diverse and, at times, very much fragmented
regions of Spain, as Catalans, Basques, Andalusians, Valencians,
Galicians, and Madrilenos (among others) have put aside some of
their deepest political divisions to support their football team
and, if only for this short time in history, collectively take
pride in calling themselves Spaniards.
But standing between Spain and their dream of a final berth are
Germany, a team that not only have a storied history in the World
Cup, but have also looked particularly strong during South Africa
2010.
Beating the Germans will be far from easy and, as evidenced by the
blitzkrieg that overran Diego Maradona’s Argentina, many anticipate
a clash of bordering nations in a Germany-Netherlands final.
But if Vicente del Bosque’s Spanish squad are to fulfill their
childhood dreams and secure an unprecedented final berth, they must
do so in the following manner:
1) Score
To win matches, one must score goals. As obvious as it sounds, this
is something that has not come easily to the usually free-flowing
Spanish attack in South Africa this summer. With Fernando Torres
struggling to find his best form, David Villa has certainly done
well to pick up the slack. But against German marking, Villa cannot
be the sole source of danger and Spain must find a way to put away
the rest of their chances, whether they come from the midfielders
or front line. Over the course of the past two seasons, Torres has
had quite a bit of difficulty scoring for Spain. But no goal reigns
higher in Spain’s short history of international success than
Torres’ against Germany in the Euro 2008 final. If El Nino can
repeat his performance of two summers past alongside Villa, Spain
will have a much greater chance of progressing.
2) Defend
It is no secret that the Germans love to push forward, particularly
on the counter-attack. While World Cup phenom Thomas Mueller will
fortunately be absent from the German ranks, Spain still have a
host of dangerous players to mark and contain. The back line
Barcelona pairing of Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique in central
defense must do well to rein in Miroslav Klose, while Sergio Ramos
will need to stay honest in his marauding runs forward in order to
keep an eye on the mercurial Lukas Podolski. In the midfield,
Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso will also have to be at rapt
attention in order to keep young sensation Mesut Oezil and midfield
powerhouse Bastian Schweinsteiger quiet. Spain do most of their
defending by keeping possession - after all, another team cannot
threaten Iker Casillas if without the ball. But when Germany do
come forward, La Roja need to be at full attention in defence, in
order to come out as victors.
