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This week’s question- How would you play against Spain?

To play against Spain’s national team, I would keep possession. Also, I would keep my players close together, to prevent the creation of open space in the event of a misplaced pass. By keeping possession, a team controls everything about the match; its tempo, which side of the pitch receives the ball most often, etc. This tactic has been proven to work, in the majority of times, by Barcelona and Spain themselves. Keeping possession would tire the Spanish team out, eventually leaving gaps in dangerous spaces, which I would exploit. This tactic would give Spain a taste of their own medicine and possibly put an end to their reign in international football.

Gabe Vino

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In my opinion one of the ways to stop Spain,although easier said than done because they are a fantastic side, is to neutralise and not allow time on the ball for their key players such as Iniesta and Fabregas. Also pressuring very quickly and aggressively will disrupt their rythym and make it difficult to play their usual passing game. Lastly we all know their major weakness is set-pieces. Getting loads of free-kicks and crosses into the box will make it very difficult to deal with.

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George Savic | @GeorgeSavic

The answer lies with Roberto di Matteo philosophy that he used against Barcelona in the CL Semi Finals. Defend deeply,play on the counter attack, force the mistakes even tho they may be minimal and be very clinical in front of goals. Against Spain I would force them to play through the middle by having the full backs and wingers work hard so that Spain’s full backs don’t have the chance of getting the ball. The way to score will come down to counter attacking and you may only get a few chances infront of goals so make sure the strikers are clinical… This I believe is the way to beat Spain, it may not be the most attractive and exciting type of football, but if it gets you the win, that’s all you want.

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Ciab Hoban

I’d start off by looking at sides who have technically outmanoeuvred Spain (and, embarrassingly in line with a cliche, Barcelona who share many similarities). Italy in the group stages of Euro 2012 are a good example; they packed the midfield, sacrificed the creation of a plethora of chances for their striker(s) and allowed the players who were technically equal to the Spanish (Pirlo, Di Rossi etc) to have the ball as much as possible. Opting for strong technical players was mirrored by Chelsea in last years Champions League semi-final, although not necessarily by choice courtesy of John Terry, they ensured that more technically advance players were on the field. David Luiz, Boswinga, Cole and Ivanovich were the back 4- none of these players are known for their heading ability as such, at least 3 out of 4 are technically very good with the ball at their feet. This generation of Spanish players are only truly comfortable playing football their way, they won’t switch type to lumping it or even an excess of crosses. Finally I’d mirror Celtic’s (I know, weird huh?) width of attack. Knowing how offensive Spanish wing backs tend to play, by playing 2 strikers, one on either side of the pitch, they were able to create space down the middle. This is clear in their second goal against Barcelona this year.

Chris barbour | @_barebour

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Basically a 4-2-3-1; four defenders, two defensive midfielders (who would always sit in front of the back four) three central pressing midfielders (CPM) each on any of the three CAM they play (constantly on them with or without the ball) a big, quick centre-forward. Fullbacks overlapping on the counter.

Ugochukwu Amadi | @ugogenius

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Like Borussia Dortmund plays, high pressure with the whole team. Portugal did this versus Spain in the World Cup (or maybe European Cup?) and managed very well. Put pressure on their midfielders, don’t give them too much time with the ball. United had Welbeck close to Alonso when they faced Real in CL to stop him from dictating the game, that worked well. But to succed with such a high-pressure game plan you need players like Götze, Reus, Blaszykowski, etc. Players who understand how you put this kind of pressure, how you work as a team in such situations, and players who have the stamina to run up and down on the pitch for 90 minutes. Easy, right?

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See: Chelsea vs Barcelona in the CL semi final. Defend deep, allow them possession without penetration in the final third and hit on the counter attack. Score first and their biggest strength of hoarding possession goes a long way to being nullified.

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Next week’s question: Long-term stability vs Sugar-daddy approach?

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