The Greatest Roulette
The great debate continues, despite a more than acceptable performance in Spain's opening game.
Spain's line-up against Greece may be markedly different after Saez's successful substitutions. (MikeEgerton/Empics)Uniquely in the tournament, Spain appear to have two distinct sides - one that dominates its opponent through a process of swift but rather mechanical erosion and another which is weaker in the destructive facet but more inspired and imaginative in the creative one.
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The former was the team that pummelled Russia into submission for the opening half hour of yesterday's game in Faro, but which created few clear-cut chances. When it did, it fluffed them.
Russia, on the ropes for most of the half with almost the entire back line handed yellow cards, gradually began to sense that Spain's bark was worse than its bite - the problem that has traditionally plagued them in the big tournaments.
When Alechinev danced into the area and left various Spanish defenders for dead, it was only the excellent Casillas, up to that point a relative spectator, who stood up to the midfielder and justified his inclusion with an astute piece of goalkeeping.
For all Spain's superiority up to that point, they had failed to make such an incursion.
Left-winger Vicente was certainly having a go, despite the grievous bodily harm being inflicted upon him by various desperate Russian defenders, but his crosses failed to live up to the promise of his approaches, and neither Morientes nor Ra�l seemed to be on his wavelength. Ra�l, very much in the centre of the great debate, typified Spain's first-half performance - trying rather too hard.
The play was so fast and precipitated that when it reached the sensitive areas of the Russian zone it skidded off into the hay bundles in a plume of tyre smoke.
The latter - the other Spanish team, appeared in the 58th minute.
Valer�n and Xabi Alonso replaced Baraja and Morientes, with Ra�l moving up from the 'hole' into the target man's role. Within 35.7 seconds (courtesy of the BBC's endearingly detail-obsessed commentator John Motson) the second side had opened the scoring.
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Alonso began the move by releasing Etxeberr�a on the right with a pass that up to then the wiling but more limited Baraja had been incapable of supplying - Exteberr�a's centre bounced back to internet roulette hardman Puyol who crossed for Valer�n to control then put away cleanly with a left-footed strike.
Valer�n, called 'El Flaco' (Skinny one) by his team-mates is nevertheless a substantial player. His quiet, almost laid-back approach in the zone that had previously been occupied by a Ra�l down on his confidence immediately transformed the team. Now the Russians had something else to cope with - unpredictability.
With the young Alonso - Real Madrid's current target, spraying the ball around in a manner that Beckham has not managed all season, and with the spunky young pup Fernando Torres replacing Ra�l, Russia wilted.
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Disappointingly, Spain failed to kill them off with a second goal, but it was not for want of trying. Most of the guarded euphoria (if that's possible) in the Spanish press on Sunday morning centred on this point. led with 'Sali� Genial' (It worked out brilliantly), which was a play on the verb 'sali�' which also means 'He came out' - in obvious reference to Valer�n.
The paper, very much the living pulse of Spain's roulette opinions, sits in the nation's bars like Gideon's Bibles in the drawers of its hotels - but has committed the unholy sin of finally deciding that Ra�l should be replaced.
The argument, a perfectly coherent one, is that Valer�n is in peak form and that Ra�l is not. Not only this, Valer�n has creative abilities that do not really belong in Ra�l's repertoire, and is more capable of bringing in all the players around him.
You sometimes get the impression that the famous Ra�l-Morientes tandem is a pairing by default - a national necessity like tortilla or bullfighting. The two players' claim to starting games is of course a weighty one, having scored 60 goals between them for the national side in an unfeasibly low number of games, but the past cannot be allowed to always determine Spain's present.
, was of the opinion that it didn't particularly matter. This is because the two Spanish teams can be employed as horses for courses, or mixed and matched depending on the circumstances.
What is crucial , of course is that manager I�aki Saez remains alert to these possibilities. At the moment, the avuncular, peak-capped old teddy-bear appears to have seen the point.
When it became obvious on Saturday night that Spain no longer required the more conservative midfield pairing of Albelda and Baraja, and that Morientes was a bit off his game, he carried off the substitutions to perfection.
Atl�tico Madrid's Fernando Torres, 'El Ni�o' (the kid), has all the makings, with Vicente, of being the revelation of the tournament, if he is given the chance.
In thirteen minutes in Faro he provoked the sending-off of Sharonov with a nifty turn and a nutmeg , and his generally more ebullient approach work seemed to terrify the tiring Russians. Again, one cannot simply write Morientes off.
The Champions League top scorer worries defenders in different ways, but it's nice for Spain to see that when one replaces the other, the pattern of the game can shift in a positive way.
I watched the game in three languages, Spanish, French and English. The English, curiously enough, were the most generous in their praise, the BBC punters Hansen, Wright and Schmeichel all pronouncing themselves highly impressed, save the detail of not translating superiority into more goals. Vicente, pronounced 'Vichente' by Motson all game, as if the winger were Italian, got high marks and was indeed pronounced man of the match in the stadium.
He's been wonderful all season for Valencia, and one wonders what Abramovich was thinking, sitting up in the gods with his missus.
They also liked Bilbao's right-winger Exteberr�a, another name that caused dear Motty the sorts of problems that the player himself caused Russia - despite being guilty of a glaring mis-kick in the first half when it looked easier to score. He did play well, but one wonders, again, whether Joaqu�n would not have caused similar problems but also delivered final balls with more accuracy. Whatever, these are arguments which only go to prove the in-depth luxury of this squad.
The Spanish commentary team were happy, but professed themselves concerned with Ra�l Bravo at left-back, a player whose pace often makes up for the inaccuracy of his distribution and the often rather random nature of his positioning.
Raul Bravo, seen here chasing Russian's Mostovoi: A cause for Spanish concern? There may be calls in the future for Puyol to move over to the left and the excellent Capdevila to take over on the right - but we shall see. The defence were not seriously tested against Russia. Greece may give them more to think about.
Finally, the French were captivated by Spain's attacking attitude, and the fact that they set out to win from the opening minute. This is perhaps the key to summarising the evening's action, since it was Spain's swashbuckling verve that most stood out. It was a good game to watch, and not at all the cautious affair that opening games can sometimes be.
An interesting start, especially now that the hosts have lost their first game. The Spaniards' tails are up.
If they win again on Wednesday, they may take some stopping.
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