Spain's triangles see them shape up for glory despite some obvious flaws

SOCCER ANALYST:No target man, no actual wingers and precious little cover in front of the back four – Spain have done well, writes BRIAN KERR

STRANDED IN Copenhagen (what a tough life!) en route to the Faroes this week I stopped into The Globe pub to watch Spain finally make their long overdue step into a World Cup final. I mention the venue as, once again, it was the only Danish establishment providing the comfort of RTÉ’s coverage.

There is an Irish pilot named David Ormsby who usually skippers the flight to Torshavn and sure enough he called to let me know we would be getting out in the morning. So, I had an evening to reflect on the Spanish way.

It got me thinking of the scheming my late friend Noel O’Reilly and I got up to on the eve of underage meetings with these vastly superior footballers.

The arrogance and unfriendliness of their coaching staff always inspired Noel. And Noel always inspired me. With the midnight oil burning away, we would work them out. We would get our lads in amongst them but never with abandon, because that’s what they want you to do. That’s when they strike their killer blow.

We admired their teams and style. Iker Casillas, David Villa and Andres Iniesta all came up against us at some stage.

We beat them four times with four different teams over a five-year period at the under-20 World Cup in Malaysia, the European under-16s in Scotland, the Europeans in Sweden at under-19 and the Olympic youth finals in 2001.

The youths match was in Murcia, Spain. We did them on penalties. It was late July. Boiling hot day. Lots of drained but happy-looking Irish kids. They took defeat badly.

Clearly, they had better players in all areas of the pitch.

Just like the Swiss, Honduras and Chile in the group stages, we always laid out a rigid back four supported by a five-man midfield. It is essential to avoid getting picked apart by their triangles.

A few belting tackles from our various versions of Mark van Bommel was always a good way of drawing a line in the sand.

Triangles. People unfamiliar with actually playing the game must be scratching their heads. But look out your window. Maybe down the road on a patch of grass. There will be an uneven number of kids playing ball somewhere. Three against two or four against three.

You work out the teams to make it even. If there are five players, the best two are against the other three. The three-man unit strives to keep possession in a triangular format. Quick, clever passing. Balance, technique and awareness of space is the natural result.

Now, transfer that to the other night as Xavi, Iniesta and another Spanish player constantly kept the Germans at bay. The silky skills of these men were developed in street games.

Dealing with the almost incessant passing in tight triangles and pace on the flanks is the challenge to stopping Spain. It is their patience that makes them so special. Their system has been masterfully displayed at this tournament, having matured through the generations.

They posses a culture of football played along the ground, more akin to South America than Europe, that has been honed in streets, back yards, lanes and, enviously, beaches long before the Real Madrids and Barcelonas sharpen the most talented boys.

You can see the excellent technique of their youth players all over Spain. Especially today and up until tomorrow evening when these lanes, beaches and courtyards will empty as 45 million people begin the painful process of gnawing their collective fingernails for two hours. This final has been a long time coming.

Spain is a country with a rich history of quality footballers but an equally enlightened approach to coaching development. They always had the same grumpy old men over their underage sides, showing new generations how it is done. There is no promotion as these men are retained by the Spanish association. It was bound to produce something special, like the current group.

And yet, serious flaws still exist.

I have always felt Casillas is a little small, less dominant in the air, but his form after a poor game against the Swiss has rescued the team. The penalty save against Paraguay was vital and he made two big saves in the semi-final.

The problem with most attack-minded sides is their defence can be shredded with one accurate counterattack. Only Sergio Busquets is consistently available to lend a hand when the opposition look to break on the Spanish. Individually and collectively the back four of Ramos, Pique, Puyol and Capdevila have looked suspect and vulnerable.

I suggested early in the tournament that the winners would be a team with two holding midfielders who plug any prospective holes and limit their involvement in attacking play. Holland fit this bill with van Bommel and, most likely, the return of Nigel de Jong from suspension.

The Spanish passing rhythm is usually initiated by a short or diagonal ball from Pique while Ramos or Capdevila provide width to assist the narrow, free movement of their midfielders.

So far, Spain have dominated possession in all six games but struggled to make the breakthrough until the second half and they failed entirely against Switzerland.

The absence of a traditional centre forward who can get onto a cross in a packed box seems like a massive flaw for a side constantly confronted by blanket defences.

The sparing use of big Fernando Llorente, despite the collapse in form of Fernando Torres (if only the greedy Pedro had given him that tap-in the other night), shows an admirable commitment to unlocking the door rather than battering it down.

Ironically, Puyol’s header was all about brute force and timing a powerful run into the box to see off the Germans.

So, no target man, no actual wingers and precious little cover in front of the back four – they have done well.

But the Dutch look well-equipped to exploit these Spanish weaknesses.

The total football of Ajax and Holland teams of the 1970s, so beautifully harvested by Rinus Michels, is not on show in South Africa. They have gone for efficiency and toughness instead.

How Spain manage Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder will prove key to the outcome.

They could be found out at the back but I hope not.

Noel and myself loved beating the Spanish – now I just love watching them.

I’ll go for Spain to figure out the Dutch and to prevail despite the weight of expectation.

Why? Because their triangles are better than everyone else’s.