Wow. And I mean that.
I was sat with an Italian friend watching the game, so I had to rein in some of the adulation that I wanted to lavish on an out of this world performance from Spain, but bloody hell, Spain were good. Imperious even. And very far from boring.
“A few years ago, there was a tendency towards a more physical game, a game that was more defensive and speculative. We have been lucky that players who were perhaps weaker physically have come through and now there is more of a trend towards playing a game that is more open, prettier, happier. This has been good for me and it has been good for Pirlo.” – Xavi Continue reading
“If you’ve ever played football, you know that moment where you are in a situation and the ball comes and you hit the ball and somehow every millimetre is perfect. When it happens to you, it’s a wonder and you are amazed by your luck because usually you will fail. And when you see it done on the pitch, you see a miracle. I love it when the defenders are in a line to prevent the forward breaking through, to keep him on side. And a player plays a curved ball back across the back of the defence. The players start to run back, but the forward, who was behind the line, gets the ball because it curls back to him. That’s a miracle.”
“One moment the pitch is crowded and narrow. Suddenly it is huge and wide.”
That quote about spatial awareness could have been written purely for Fabregas. In a game that is (perhaps too) often about the blood and thunder, there’s a grace and a geometric genius about the way he plays football.
honestpro 