Switzerland today & will play its 3º & last friendly match against
CROATIA on Wednesday. Thereafter the team will go straight
to its German camp just outside Dortmund & prepare for its 1º
official Group H World Cup match against the Ukraine on June
the 14th.
As usual there are debates - everyone is an expert - on how the
team lineup should be. It´s obvious from the 2 friendly´s already
played, that Spain has a Offensive & a Defensive lineup, where
coach Aragones can fine tune depending on match conditions.
Two of the main players which represents both aspects are
XAVI ALONSO (Offensive) & DAVID ALBELDA (Defensive),
& here is the debate ¿who starts?
XAVI ALONSO
With X.Alonso the side has a more offensive character, & he
co-ordinates the midfield nicely with Xavi Hernandez, & with
the wingers.
The virtues of Alonso are that he recieves short passes &
distributes long, he opens up the field & reads well the game &
wingers attacks, has a nice attacking style & a great shot a goal.
ALBELDA
By his "football nature", Albelda is more defensive & more
physical. His virtues are that he gives extra protection to the
defense, is highly competive & blocks opposition attacks, covers
well the gaps left by attacking backs/midfielders & steals plenty of
balls to convert into passes to start plays.
Two different players for sure, ¿but why debate?
I believe each should start according to the planned strategy &
tactics of their coach & the characteristics of the opposition team.
We all love "attacking football" ; but many a time, that alone
does´nt guarentee victory. Some games need to be played in a
"dirty" & tough fashion, if that is the way to defeat the opposition.
Here Spain lucky has 2 excellent specialists for each occasion.
REYES
Lastly, for the 3º friendly against Croatia, the talk is that Reyes
will start ahead of D.Villa. Reyes his playing with great form
& is winning his place. The team gains a dangerous attacking
player through the wings, were he combines perfectly with F.Torres.
Lets not forget, that coach Aragones will still be finetuning the team
& may give a run also to Joaquin ( very offensive structure, if with
Xavi, Alonso & Reyes on the field), Pernia ( get him rolling with
match practice) & Juanito ( match practice as well).
Thanks to Spanish daily "AS" for the pictures Tweet
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