Spain’s stylistic identity shows England what they are missing under Gareth Southgate | Football News

In April last year, a week’s stay in Mallorca provided the opportunity to take part in the Mallorca Cup, a youth football tournament involving elite academy teams.

On two artificial pitches in the northern corner of the island, teams of different age groups from dozens of Spanish clubs, including Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid and Sevilla, played knockout matches, cheered on by friends and family who had travelled with them.

The standard was high, at times bewildering, and offered a glimpse into the level of talent produced in the country. What has stuck in the memory is the style of play. It is difficult to remember a goalkeeper who played for a long time.

That experience came back to me as I watched the senior Spain team, made up of players who had played in similar tournaments before (not so long ago in the case of 17-year-old Lamine Yamal), dismantle England in the European Championship final on Sunday.

The scoreline does not reflect the one-sided nature of the game. And while wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams gave Spain a thrilling new dimension, this performance bears the marks of the past. With 65% possession, they forced England into submission.

It’s the Spanish way. At least, it has been since the national federation overhauled the country’s youth development programme in the 1990s, as part of a plan to foster the highly technical, possession-based style of play that characterises them.

The changes crystallised during the period of extraordinary success that spanned the following decades, as Spain, without a major international trophy since 1964, won back-to-back European Championships in 2008 and 2012, as well as lifting the World Cup.

“We have gone from a time when no one knew the characteristics of Spanish football,” said Fernando Hierro, former technical director of the federation, at the time. Today, these characteristics are deeply rooted at all levels of the game.

Of course, interpretations vary between clubs and regions. The Basque Country, for example, where Athletic Club Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Alavés play, is known for placing greater emphasis on duels and physical play.

But the fundamentals – centred on short passing and possession – are omnipresent, encouraged even at the amateur level by the popularity of futsal, a small-sided variant of football played with a smaller, heavier ball that hones close control and technique.

Interview with Aston Villa’s Spanish central defender Pau Torres Last season provided a better understanding of the work done on the pitch. Asked about his composure and quality with the ball, he shrugged: “That’s what I was asked to do as a young player in the Villarreal academy.”

This uniformity in the way Spanish clubs ask their young players to play is hugely beneficial to the national team and helps explain the cohesion demonstrated by Luis De la Fuente’s side during their triumphant Euro 2024 campaign.

Spain looked like a club team at the tournament, yet their squad was eclectic, comprising 26 players from 17 different clubs. The starting XI used by De la Fuente in the final had only played together once before, in a 3-3 friendly against Brazil in March.

The personnel changes have not disrupted their rhythm.

In the last group match, won 1-0 against Albania, De la Fuente made 10 changes to his team without affecting the style of play or the level of performance. Pedri and Rodri, injured in the quarter-final and final respectively, were replaced without any problems.

Buoyed by Pep Guardiola’s success at Manchester City, this Spanish style of play has also established itself in English domestic football. Remarkable work is being done at the academy level, as evidenced by the level of quality that the national team now has.

But despite a string of successes in youth tournaments at trophy level, England are still struggling to catch up with Spain when it comes to developing their own new identity.

This does not mean that efforts have been lacking.

Ten years ago, after the FA opened its headquarters at St George’s Park, Southgate, then U21s boss, sat down alongside former director of elite development Dan Ashworth and head of player and coach development Matt Crocker to describe England’s “DNA”.

The five-point plan included a section titled ‘how we play’, which makes for interesting reading in light of England’s Euro 2024 campaign, and the final in particular.

“English teams aim to intelligently dominate possession of the ball,” the text reads. “English teams aim to win the ball back intelligently and as early and effectively as possible,” another line reads.

Southgate has done a great job in many areas, not least in the culture and mentality of the team. But their style of play issues were painfully highlighted by Spain – and indeed throughout the tournament.

Southgate’s England, despite having players accustomed to playing attacking, possession-based football at club level, remain reactive rather than proactive, more likely, certainly against the best teams, to be dominated than to dominate, as against Spain.

Indeed, while Spain ranked first among the 24 teams in the tournament in turnovers per game and third in passes allowed per defensive action, England ranked 11th and 16th respectively, reflecting a level of passivity out of possession that belies their declared DNA.

Reaching a second successive European Championship final is of course an achievement in itself, especially given the years of drought endured under Southgate’s predecessors.

But Spain, who are decades ahead in terms of establishing a stylistic identity, and who have a seemingly endless supply of players who have spent their entire footballing existence living and breathing the game, show how much ground England still have to make up.