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Spain plays differently, and the feeling is disconcerting
🇪🇸 Spain /Sports

Spain plays differently, and the feeling is disconcerting

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Context piece
  • The Spanish national football team's performance against Belgium is described as disconcerting due to its unusual composure and lack of visible anxiety.
  • The team's playing style, characterized by patience and calculated play, deviates from traditional Spanish "furia" or aggressive pressure.
  • This new iteration of the Spanish team, under coach De la Fuente, prioritizes self-expression and control over conventional tactics, surprising opponents.

The Spanish national football team's recent match against Belgium left observers with a disconcerting sense of detachment, reminiscent of cultural icons who embraced their unique personas over societal expectations. The team displayed an almost unnerving self-possession, showing no moments of anxiety even in critical junctures. Unlike previous Spanish squads known for their passionate "furia" or desperate, high-pressure tactics, this team exhibited a remarkable, almost maddening, patience and calculated approach.

Spain is playing something else and the feeling is disconcerting: that composure, that cold blood, that maddening patience, that tortuous calculation of the situation is not something specifically Spanish, we are not playing according to our character.

Describing the team's unusual and controlled playing style.

This deliberate style, a departure from what might be considered the "Spanish DNA" of raw emotion or relentless pressing, has led to questions about its authenticity. The team seems to be playing a game of control, frustrating opponents like Nuno Mendes, who was pushed to his physical limits, and Thibaut Courtois, forced into repeated long clearances. Spain's strategy involves repeatedly signaling its intent to win, slowly wearing down the opposition rather than resorting to overt displays of desperation.

This Spain, the De la Fuente Spain, is new. It does not resemble the Spain of 2010, let alone that of 1994.

Highlighting the team's new identity under the current coach.

Under coach Luis de la Fuente, this Spanish team represents a new identity. It eschews the flashy, individualistic flourishes that might be expected, and also avoids falling into the trap of desperate, last-minute efforts. Instead, it maintains a consistent, controlled performance, choosing to be "itself" like a diva, as the article metaphorically suggests. This approach, while perhaps not aligning with traditional expectations of Spanish football, has proven effective in dictating the game's tempo and frustrating adversaries, even without ever trailing in the World Cup.

Rather than losing patience, it makes the opponent lose it.

Explaining the team's strategy of frustrating opponents.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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