Eurozone: Boring? How about Effective…

Call it dull, boring or any other adjective you can extract from a thesaurus, but make sure you don’t forget the most important description – effective. If crisp passing and exceptional skill and patience falls into the category of boring, then give me boring; please, throw it at me in fact.

The only remotely boring aspect of it is the predictability. Spain will dominate possession, leading the opposition on a never-ending quest to regain the ball. In a nation where possession takes precedence over the million-dollar pass and skill and vision is valued higher than power and physicality, the value of the ball soars far higher than that of the player in control of it.

They said you can’t play without a striker; you’ll never score goals – wrong. In fact, if Spain were to win Euro 2012, it could well be the death of the centre-forward in top flight football. A formation of 4-6-0 is unheard of, but if it’s effective then it’s worth implementing. In the same way that sides once attempted the ‘total football’ strategy, playing without a striker could be trending very soon.

The three amigos of Xavi, Iniesta and Xabi Alonso are masters of the triangle; the simplest footballing theory executed with firm and frightening accuracy. It’s a simple game, even more so if you are blessed with their DNA.

Any criticism of Spain is drenched with jealousy. Since when did winning become boring? The criticism coming from English quarters is laughably hypocritical; football doesn’t have to be pretty to be successful and if England were somehow to upset the odds and lift the Euro 2012 trophy next week, it would certainly be the Susan Boyle of tournament wins. Would you care? Thought not.

When winning gets boring please let me know, but until then, let us appreciate the beautiful game in its finest form, after all it provides a much-needed contrast to looking at Frank Ribery.