Spains triumph on Sunday evening in Austria was a win for football in a year that’s seen attacking play rewarded and will hopefully push the cautious approach even further back in the tactics of successfully teams.Chelsea’s cautious, and in truth boring, approach had threatened to take the entertainment value out of a sport that has become big business first and entertainment almost as an after thought. The same style, a 4-5-1 disguised as a 4-3-3, was readily being used in international football, where the pressure to succeed as brought about a low risk style of football amongst the big teams.With Manchester United following up back to back English Premier League titles with this seasons Champions League, paving the way for the likes of Arsenal to persevere with beautiful football and not revert to the less aesthetic type played out by most teams, Chelsea ended up trophy less, losing in the final of the League Cup, the Champions League, and the league. Their owner, Abromovich, has long called for attacking football, knowing that it will improve the brand name, increase their popularity around the world, and make them value for money. Mourinho, who delivered silverware, including back to back titles, was unable to deliver this, and Grant spoke about it, but if anything made them more boring. United were not only the top scorers, but also had the best defense.
Tuncay (R) of Turkey duels for the ball with Xavier Hernandez of Spain during the FIFA2010
Spain v Turkey
Spain v Turkey
Spain v Turkey
Spain v Turkey
Spain v Turkey
Spain v Turkey
Spain v Turkey