2013 - Coaching Spanish Soccer

This ebook has been licensed to: Tomasz Oleksy (olkier@op.
pl)
Coaching
Spanish
Soccer
by
Jordi Pascual
Published by
WORLD CLASS COACHING
First published June, 2013 by
WORLD CLASS COACHING 3404 W 122nd Terr (913) 583-0030
Copyright WORLD CLASS COACHING 2013
All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the
publisher.
Author - Jordi Pascual

Edited by Antony Penna
Front Cover by P2 Creative
Published by
WORLD CLASS COACHING
INDEX
1. INTRODUCTION
2. THE 1-4-2-3-1 & THE TIKI-TAKA
3. THE MIDFIELDERS
4. THE FLANKERS/WINGERS
5. THE STRIKER (OR NOT)
6. THE DEFENDERS
7. THE GOALKEEPER
8. THE BOSS
9. THE KEY PLAYERS
10.THE CLUBS
11.THE COMPETITION
12.THE SCOUTING SYSTEM
13.TRAINING IN SPAIN (I)
14.TRAINING IN SPAIN (II)
15.THE SPANISH FA
16.COACHING COURSES
17.EXERCISES
18.FOOTBALL IN SPAIN
19.FACTS AND FIGURES
20.SOME CONSIDERATIONS
21.THE FUTURE
APENDEX 01. THE END OF THE BOOK
APENDEX 02.THE AUTHOR
1. INTRODUCTION
When Iker Casillas got the EURO 12 Cup in his hands and showed it to the
spectators in the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, for the people watching the
match on TV, it was the first time that the captain of a National Team was
doing this for the third time. But, more than this, it happened for the third
consecutive competition. Yes, Spain won EURO 08 in Vienna, WC 10 in
Johannesburg and this EURO in Poland-Ukraine. Nobody has done it before
but, will we see it again?
Spanish players celebrating EURO2012
A lot of people would consider this a big surprise. For others, especially in
Spain, it is not. Since the mid 90s Spanish National Teams have reached,
and won, many Tournaments at young levels such as the UEFA U-17, U-19
and U-21 and FIFA WC U-20 and U-17. These tournaments have seen La
Roja reach finals, with several players been awarded as MVP of these
Tournaments
Casillas, Xavi, Iniesta, Fbregas, Mata, Torres, among others have replied,
when asked about it, I have a room in my house just to keep all the
Awards Ive got: Champion, Runner-up, 3rd place, Best Goalkeeper, Best
Coaching Spanish Soccer 2 WORLD CLASS COACHING

Midfielder, Best Scorer, Best whatever and, all of these players clinched
one or more of this prizes and recognitions.
Spain won the EURO64 playing at home, in a final against the former USSR
(2-1), in a match at the Santiago Bernabu stadium (Real Madrids home),
with dictator Franco in the stands. It was considered the beginning of a
new era (in both terms, sports and politics), but the fact is, that the only
other time Spain has reached the finals was in 1984, when the EURO was
played in France. Spain lost the final against the host team France, where a
certain Michel Platini (yes, UEFAs President), was the best player. The final
was played in Parc des Princes in Paris, and Spain lost 2-1, due to a free-
kick delivered by Platini that passed under the body of Arkonada (Spanish
Goalkeeper, and one of the best in the World at that time) giving the title
to the French. So from 1964-2008 Spain was unable to reach the Quarter
Finals in any competition. Too much time? Its possible, or better, sure, but
the fact is that neither the Spain NT, nor the Clubs, were really competitive
in Europe; yes, they were close to, but, if you look at history, youll find that
from 1966 to 1992 no Spanish team were Champions in the Champions
League; no Spanish Champion in UEFA Cup from the late 60s until 1985
and 1986 and, from there on, nothing until 2004!! As a curiosity (probably
coincidence space/time?) the team that won these two UEFA Cup finals
was Real Madrid, with the famous Quinta del Buitre, with players like
Butragueo, Michel or Sanchs, or others like Camacho, Gallego or Hugo
Snchez; also, in 1986, Barcelona reached the Champions League final in
Sevilla, losing eventually to a penalty shoot-out against Steaua. The
stadium of 70,000 spectators all supporting the Catalan players like Urruti,
Victor, Calder, Carrasco, etc. which were all in this squad. The Spanish
National Team consisted of these players and others like Zubizarreta,
Maceda or Seor. Spain reached the QF after an amazing match against
Denmark in Quertaro (5-1); Laudrup, Lerby, Molby, Morten Olsen were in
this Danish squad. Spain lost the QF against Belgium (in a penalty shoot-
out). But that was all: 84 and 86 having a great group of players, but no
success and, nothing in between.
For many years, watching the Spanish NT playing football was a kind of
fight. Spain was known as La Furia (The Fury), meaning football played
This ebook has been licensed to: Tomasz Oleksy (olkier@op.pl)
basically with heart, and not with intelligence, just as a kick-and-rush, but
played more with aerial balls just like teams in England or Scotland, it was a
run and chase without too much sense.
Things started to change in 1988. After the defeat mentioned earlier of FC

Barcelona in the CL final of 1986, the Club went down, on the pitch and
outside of it, with a final mutiny of players on TV during prime-time,
claiming for the resignation of the President Josep Llus Nez. The history
is known as El Mot de lHesperia (The Mutiny of Hesperia) as the players
were concentrated in the hotel of Barcelona, not far from the Camp Nou
(Baras Stadium). Nez hired Johan Cruyff as Manager for the First Team.
Cruyff had previously played for Bara during 1973-78, gaining accolades
such as a League Title (the first one after 14 years), and one Cup (1978),
and losing in CL Semi-finals against Leeds United, in 1974.
Cruyff didnt come alone; he brought with him all the Ajax experience.
Remember the Dutchman played for Ajax for several years, getting 3 CL
titles (1971, 72, 73), before moving to Barcelona in summer 1973. Ajax and,
as a consequence, the Dutch NT were famous for the so called Total
Football, where players were moving constantly around the pitch, without
losing the shape of the team. Rinus Michels was the Manager (he also
moved to Barcelona at the beginning of the 70s), of that team.
Cruyff had met Laureano Ruiz when he arrived at Barcelona for the first
time. Laureano was working with the Grassroots Teams at Bara (he was
the First Team Manager after the dismissal of Hennes Weisweiler), and he
was the first one in Spain to introduce the rondos (keep away games or
monkey in the middle which it is called in some places), as a part of the
training sessions. In the seventies, rondos and SSG (Small Sided Games)
werent known and as popular as today; only a few had been starting to
work in a different way. Think about a lot of running laps, long physical
sessions during pre-season, and so on. This continued for many years
(today also you can see a lot of it), but Ruiz was the first one to introduce
something different in practices. Also, Ruiz, together with Oriol Tort
(another Grassroots Coach at Bara, who died in 1999), sold the idea of
creating a place where youngsters coming from other parts of Spain or

abroad, could live together, and train together. The idea took form at the
end of the 70s and finally a place called La Masia started. La Masia is
actually known as Barcelonas Academy; with the new facilities in Sant Joan
Desp, 10 km away of Camp Nou, outside of Barcelona, it is not a
coincidence that the new Masia is called La Masia-Centre de Formaci
Oriol Tort (La Masia-Centre of Formation Oriol Tort).
Rondos at FC Barcelona training
With Cruyff, everything changed, but not only in Barcelona. The Club finally
got close after 40 years of competition, the desired Champions League, in
1992. And that was playing a fantastic style of football. Everybody turned
thier eyes to Barcelona, both inside and outside of Spain. A lot of Spanish
Clubs started to see that it was possible to play nice football and win
trophies. Clubs started to learn about the Dutch and the Bara way. It is not
a surprise that the players that are World and European Champions have
been developed, in their youngest ages throgh possession games,
rondos, high pressure and similar concepts.

2. THE 1-4-2-3-1 & THE TIKI-TAKA
Tiki-taka is the popular way to describe this possession style used by
Spain. The journalist Andrs Montes made the name very popular, and a lot
of people think that he was the first one to use it; but this is not true. The
term tiki-taka was first used by a Spanish Coach called Jos Mara
Maguregui (known as Magu), when he was Manager of RCD Espanyol
from Barcelona, during the beginning of the 80s. With that, he gave the
name to a style of playing based in keeping the ball and not going so
directly to goal.
The important thing here is that the tiki-taka, together with the
formation 1-4-2-3-1 is used by all Spanish National Teams, from U-16 to the
A team. Everybody is playing the same way, which makes the players
know how it works when following the entire path from U-16, until they
arrive to the A team. Of course, some players arrive older to the National
Team, but it is also obvious that the older they are, the more knowledge of
the game they have, so it is not difficult to fit within the team.
As can be seen in the picture, there are 4 Defenders, playing in a Flat-Four,

2 Defensive Midfielders, 3 Attacking Midfielders (1 centred a 1 at each
flank) and 1 Centre Forward or Striker.
First of all, let me say that Im not a fan of formations. Formations, for
me, is just a number or a name written on a chalkboard or a sheet of paper,
and saying where a player will be at the beginning of the match. Also, it
says, more or less, where the area of influence will be of that player, thats
all. Roles and responsibilities of players are given by the coach/manager of
the team, not by the position you have. But thats another story.

The formation 1-4-2-3-1 used by Spain
In the Spanish case, the Back Four is a classic from the last years in football.
That means two Full-Backs and two Centre-Backs, with none of the last two
playing the sweeper/libero role. It depends also who is playing and who is
at the front. The most frequent has been Piqu/Puyol, but, in EURO12,
Puyol was injured so it was Ramos (normally the Right FB), who played
there, while Arbeloa (usually starting on the bench), took the position of
Ramos. Alba is now the Left FB (before, Capdevila played there). Well go
back later with the Defenders.
Two Defensive Midfielders (Alonso and Busquets), one Attacking Midfielder

(Xavi), two men on the Flanks (Silva and Iniesta) and one Striker
(Torres/Villa) complete the team. Obviously, we cant forget the
Goalkeeper (Casillas), one of the best in the World, well go later into
details. The first thing to notice is that the Wingers/Flankers play with their
opposite prominent foot, for example, Silva is left footed and plays at the
right, while Iniesta is right footed, playing on the left. Why? Simple: as a
general rule, the Spanish game is not about crossing from Wingers (in the
classical way); its about to touch again and again until a gap/space behind
defenders is found; then, the ball is immediately placed there for someone
(can be also a Full-Back; remember Alba scoring in the final match of

EURO12 against Italy) to score or, to make a back pass with 3 or 4 players
arriving to face goal. And, the natural movement of Iniesta and Silva is from
outside to inside. Thats the reason.
Also, well talk about the 9 (or the false nine, as Spain is now using this
combination or position which is working so well for FC Barcelona), and the
differences between playing with a typical Striker or non-typical striker.
Once all this has been said, lets go back to the formation as itself. As a
general idea, the Flat Back-Four is considered one of the best ways to
organize your defensive line. You are wide enough to cover all the pitch
and, also, one or two of the Defenders can join in the attack (this will
happen especially in the case of the Full-Backs).
In fact, this is more the shape youll find when the team is attacking. As you
can see, when the team is attacking it looks something like a 1-2-3-2-3
(with the LFB in a Winger Position!). The next picture will show what
happens when defending.

Now, we are showing a case where the ball is on the right side of the
defence; in this case, the RFB is pushing, to provide cover, together with
one of the DMs. As the team is moving to the right, the LAM (weak side),
must come to close the pitch. Depending how the other team plays, he
can be in the position of the LFB. Now, the formation looks like a 1-3-4-2-
1.
So, as I mentioned before, formations are just names and numbers

written on a piece of paper or a chalkboard. The important thing is how
everybody is moving according
to the position of the ball, and the opponents. Also, the players are very
close, No more than 25-30 meters from Piqu/Puyol to Torres, and
everybody is ready to provide cover in case the first defender is beaten.
Thats the important thing that must be remembered!
Back to what happens, in general, during matches, in the Spanish case, the
main problem is when theres a counter attack; not because there are 3, 4
or 5 players, but because they are at half pitch when the team is attacking
positionally; and this means a lot of space at your back, even if the

Goalkeeper is out of the box, there can be close to 30 meters between GK

and DF; and, of course, this is dangerous.
Here it can be seen how much distance is between the Defenders and the
Keeper when Spain is attacking; as you can see, theres a lot of distance,
with the Centre Backs on the half-pitch line and the Goalie at the edge of
the box.
The 5 Midfielders (in fact, we can say 2+3, but they act just as an unit);
thats why we say its 2+3; this shape covers all the wide of the pitch and,
at the same time, create a lot of triangles because this disposition of the
players

These are the triangles created by the 5 Midfielders. In any defensive shape
triangles are basic to keep the team cohesion; if we add the 4 Defenders,
well see how many triangles appear on the pitch.
The result can be seen in the next picture; now, we have the connection
between Defenders and Midfielders; a lot of triangles are formed, which
means that a lot of support can be offered to any player by his teammates.

We find that, with this disposition on the pitch, Spain has created a very
crowded area. Think, also that there isnt more than 20 meters from
Piqu/Puyol to Xavi (We said earlier 25-30 to Torres). That also means that
passing lanes will be quite difficult to find and, as a consequence, it wont
be very easy to create scoring chances. Its a fact: Spain only conceded 1
goal in the EURO12; it was in the first match of the Group Stage, against
Italy. From there on, 6 matches with clean sheet. But, if we go back to the
WC2010 in South Africa, well find something similar: 2 goals in 7 matches,
with all the knock-out matches with the same score: 1-0 for Spain, 4 clean
sheets in a row and the WC title flying to Spain.

3. THE MIDFIELDERS
In modern football, Midfielders have become the key players of the game.
Depending how they are, your way of playing will be one way or another.
Actually, the two Central Midfielders are Xabi Alonso and Busquets (who
entered in the squad in the place of Senna after the EURO08). Both, Alonso
and Busquets are very similar, but, at the same time, very different.
Busquets is the perfect balance for any team, a player that makes
complicated things look easy: tackling, recovering and passing. This pass is
very important: it takes the ball out of the zone of influence of the
opponents; it can be played backwards, to the Defenders, or forward, to
the Wingers or Attacking Midfielder (Xavi). Alonso is as powerful as
Busquets, but he is able to play very long passes (behind opponents
Defence). Alonso needs someone close for short passing after recovering;
Busquets finds this player very natural. Tactically, both are great players
and this means that it will be very difficult to find them out of position. This
is one of the reasons why Spain concedes a very small quantity of goals in
open play: the position of Alonso and Busquets makes it very difficult for
the other team to find spaces quickly to exploit them; one of them is
always keeping the shape of the team, while the other is giving a more
offensive support.
I mentioned earlier that Xavi; the same as it at happens at FC Barcelona, is

the same for Spain. Xavi is what the Italians call il metronomo, that
means, the person who dictates the pace and the rhythm of the match:
faster, slower, slower, faster, top speed, etc. Its closer to what the English
call the skipper to what the Americans call the play maker. Its not only
the boss: its more than this. Its curious to see when you check some
statistics of matches, that Xavi is one of the players that covered more
distance on the pitch (if not the most); he always explains that his job is to
look for space: here or there. At the end of the day, football is about time
and space. And youll find him dropping a lot of times, while Alonso or
Busquets are in the place where he should be. Because, as for his position
he might be the player that makes the last pass, this is not the main
function for him; hes simply The Passer. All the attacking game of Spain,
except in the case of a very fast counter starts and finishes with Xavi.
Finish with Xavi? Yes, he finishes the attack. As I said before, the ball goes
back several times while the space is created, because, if theres no space,
then it has to be created, because its needed. So, the players are moving
around the pitch for a non expert viewer it looks like they are moving
randomly- always keeping the shape of the team; Silva goes inside, Arbeloa
goes up, Busquets arriving to fill in the place of Xavi, Torres/Cesc drops off
and... boom!! Xavi to Iniesta who was at the left side and Don Andrs
passes to Alba that appeared from nowhere. Alba has a lot of... YES,
SPACE!!!!, so he can put the ball to Torres/Fbregas, Silva, Xavi, etc. A lot of
players are inside the box, ready to receive the pass. But it was Xavi, with
his movements back and forth the one that decided the moment to put the
ball where it was needed. So, Xavi finished the play when he found it to be
the right moment; if not, touch and pass again until the place to put the
ball is found; how long? How many minutes/passes? Youll never know;
sometimes, just 4 players and 10 passes are needed. Others, Spain might
keep the ball for more than 1 or 2 minutes using all the players, including
Casillas having at least 1 touch of the ball, until the moment Xavi decides to
finish the play.

In the picture you have the movement of the 3 Midfielders; the arrows
representing the Attacking Midfielder are bigger: Xavi is moving a lot
around the pitch. Also Alonso and Busquets are moving, but mainly from
own box to 3/4 of the pitch, while Xavi is moving from box to box and also
very wide; as explained, he dictates the tempo, so that means he will be
moving around, while Alonso and Busquets will be covering his area or
escorting him.
The idea is always the same: to keep the shape of the team and, that
means to keep the shape within every line. The Midfielders are key to this
aspect: if they are too close to Forwards (Wingers+Striker), then theres a
big gap with Defenders, and this space can be used by the other team for a
fast counter; if they are too close to Defenders, then this is very
complicated to connect with the Attackers; its important to find the right
balance and distance among everybody; and the same applies individually:
if 2 of the 3 players are too far from the third one, unless someone is
covering this area, the connection and support will be very difficult.

Here you can see what happens when Wingers and Striker are too far from
the rest: A big hole in the middle that can be used by the other team to
create chances, given that 3 players will be out if the ball goes into this
free space.

Now, the players are much too close to each other, especially the
Midfielders; it will be very difficult to counter or just to start playing. Only
short passes can be done, while players are going wider and, this will give
time enough to the other team to retreat to defensive positions.
There is a common thread in all Spanish Midfielders: more or less, they are
all very gifted technically and/or tactically: Xavi, Alonso, Busquets, Cazorla,
Iniesta, Fbregas, and Javi Martnez. Theres no Midfielder in this squad
that looks like the old Midfielder, strong and powerful, good with heading,
tackling, etc. but unable to give a decent pass more than 5 meters away or,
unable to keep his position when the team has the ball. I always say about
Busquets that he is the kind of player that someone would sign because of
his physical aspect (1,89m.), but he always plays because of his intelligence.
All these are players with no fear when having the ball at their feet and
that makes it quite difficult for the opponents.
Also, all the Midfielders are different but some of them are quite similar.
You wont find any other Xavi or Iniesta, because they are so exceptional
players but, the combination of other players can play the same way (style)
but, of course, with some different details. Cazorla and Fbregas can give
you more chances to score, especially with the second one. If Javi Martnez
plays together with Alonso or Busquets, perhaps the team loses quality
when building up from the back, but Martnez is a very strong player, sure
stronger than Alonso and, maybe, similar to Busquets. So, the replacement
of players is always done looking for the ones that can be complemented
with the others. Thats the idea that you can see on the pitch. Depending
on the players, youll have more control of the ball, longer possessions, etc.
If other players are on the pitch, there will be more room for counter
attacks or the possessions will be shorter. Its always to find the time and
the space.

4. THE FLANKERS/WINGERS
As mentioned before, Silva and Iniesta are the men closest to the side lines
of the pitch. When talking about the normal conditions of the game, their
main role would be to make the pitch as wide as possible, in order to
penetrate as deep as possible for crossing, looking for a header or similar.
But this is not a normal thing in normal conditions of playing. As playing
wrong footed, what they do is cut from outside to inside and not run along
the line; this is creating two things. The first one is the space for the Full-
Backs to use and overlap them; the second is that, together with
Torres/Cesc, Xavi and Alonso/Busquets, they create superiority: 4v2, 5v3,
etc., this superiority is in the Midfield, but very, very, close to the box.
Again, if the space is not found on the sides, then to find space here means
that a player can be inside the box, with the ball under control and only the
Goalkeeper in front of the player. Interesting situation, isnt it?
In the next picture you can see the space created when the winger goes
inside. Room for the FB to arrive, cross and the Striker, together with the
other Midfielders (including the Winger from the other side), will be ready
to score.

Also, we are not talking about two average players. Both are among the
most technically gifted players in the history of football and, probably,
Iniesta is the most. For many people, Andrs Iniesta has become The
Wizard of Oz applied to football. He has explained several times that he
watched a lot of Michael Laudrup (the man that could play football
dressed while smoking). The Dane was playing for Bara when Iniesta
arrived from his hometown of Fuentealbilla (Albacete), at 12 years old. He
became the artist of the croqueta (a movement that consists in playing a
very fast 1-2 with both feet (from right to left or vice versa). The most
incredible thing is that he does all the movements, included the
croquetas, sotanas (nutmeg) and so on with the same natural
movement as if he was drinking a glass of water. Its just amazing to watch
him!
David Silva is close to as good as Iniesta but, while Iniesta is not a scorer,
Silva has more presence inside the box, so he scores more goals than
Andrs. He is also a player that looks like he has a glove as feet, so sweet
the ball goes from one place to another on the pitch. We could say that
Silva is closer to Fbregas than to Xavi. Silva is not a play-maker, but his

participation in the final third is very important for Spain. When hes not on
the pitch, the situation changes a lot.
Another option that Spain can use is to have real wingers or players able to
do that): Pedro, Navas, and Villa, can play in that position. But theyll never
play as British wingers; first, Spain, in general, dont have finishers like
Toshack, Jordan, Crouch or Carroll they have the kind of Striker that is
closer to Wayne Rooney; a fast player, technically quite good, but not able
to jump over the Defenders to connect the winning header. That means,
when these players are on the pitch, they have to cross, but not crossing
from the edge of the box; they have to run, to arrive at the end line to cross
backwards; then, Strikers and Midfielders can arrive from behind facing the
goal; and, of course, this is quite complicated for the Defenders, because
nobody has eyes in the back of their head. When this happens (Playing with
real wingers), the formation will seem more a 1-4-3-3 with an inverted
triangle in the middle.
This is how the Spanish formation will be when right footed players (Pedro
or Navas are on the right side and Villa at the left side), are on the pitch.
Also its possible to see Xavi dropping and Alonso and Busquets going up;
then, you have a real 1-4-3-3, and this happens when the team is attacking.
Less with the wrong footed wingers, but it can happen at any moment of
the match. This is not very usual (as starting team), but what does happen
very often is that Villa is on the left side, and Torres is the Striker; then,
Iniesta goes to the right but, obviously, hes not a real Winger and with
his natural movement moves from outside to inside to find Iniesta and
Torres. The left side works in a normal way (WNG+FB), but now, the right
side is totally opened for Arbeloa. In fact, nobody plays there; Iniesta is not
as wide as the other side, so each side are different. Theyll look for
combinations for Arbeloa having a fast lane, because nobody is covering
the area.
There are more possibilities, of course, like Xavi passing to Villa and Alba
overlapping, or putting an inside ball to Villa for the back-pass to Torres or
Xavi or Iniesta; or maybe passing the ball inside to Iniesta, while Arbeloa is
closer to give support and cross, this creates many options.
With the original disposition (wrong-footed), youll find that when playing
with a Striker, that this player is living at the edge of the off-side position.

The first thought will be to always find the run of Torres/Villa; if not, start
again.

5. THE STRIKER (OR NOT)

I dont remember any match of Spain without a Striker; in fact, I think
nobody has seen that. But this changed when Spain started the road to
EURO12. The first match, against Italy and with all the media, fans, etc.
wondering if Torres or Llorente would be a starter, Fbregas appeared. He
played (and not only in this match), a very similar role to Messi at Bara.
That means a Striker that is never too close to the Keeper to profit from
bad saves or similar after a long range shot, or a Striker that runs in the
direction of the corner, to take a ball and cross it for a teammate arriving in
the box, nothing like that. This position (or better, this role), is called the
false 9 because the player starts in the place where a normal Striker
would be. But, from there on, there are no more coincidences. Its a
Midfielder, but dressed with the suit that Strikers wear.
You have to think that in the possession style football it is where the idea of
team goes to the top, more than any other way of playing football. The
constant movement of players around the pitch can only have sense if they
know why and how; if the players understand the importance of the
constant movement in order to find the right space and the right time
behind Defenders, then, everything becomes easier. As written before, Xavi
decides when to finish the attack; so, its not necessary that this or this
player is in a good position to receive the ball, but simply, someone
(whoever) is needed, and they will get the ball.
This makes a new midfielder that is really appreciated. As more people

are able to make combinations with the ball, it will be easier to keep the
ball. At the same time, this new player isnt just in one position; sometimes
the Centre-Backs of the other team will have nobody to mark, because the
player has dropped off to help. And this creates a lot doubts to the
defenders: Who must follow the 9? Must we follow him? There are too
many questions and problems for the Defenders.

As written in previous chapters, one of the things created when this 9 is
dropping, is the superiority (4v2 or 5v3, or other). Midfielders can combine
with him (and vice versa), and youll find 2 or 3 opponents in the middle
that dont know exactly what to do. As the players on the outside (that
means the team with the ball), can see everything, they can decide, at any
moment, which is better: a pass between Defenders, switch the play to the
other side, a back pass, or to open space.
In the picture you can see the 4v2 situation created when the Striker drops
off to help the Midfielders; as the CM (Alonso/Busquets), are giving
support from behind to the AM (Xavi) and LW (Iniesta), when Torres arrives
you can play easily in this situation. From there, play can be switched to the
other side of the pitch or, put a ball splitting the Centre Backs of the other
team. In any case, the situation will always be dangerous.
If the ball is sent to the other side, which is the weaker side of the
defending team, it can be a very clear 1v1 situation for Silva; meaning that
the closet CB should cover, leaving many gaps inside their defensive
system.

If the ball is sent splitting the CB, then the best option is for the player to
score, as normally he will be alone in front of the Goalkeeper.
The biggest problem for the pair of CM (Defensive Midfielders) of the other
team; is if they go for the ball, a lot of space can be given on the other side;
if they dont, Xavi can dictate whatever he prefers and look for the better
option without any kind of pressure.
The next picture shows one of the options when the False 9 is dropping.
The CB is following him and creates a big hole in the middle of their
defensive system; a fast combination between Fbregas and Xavi can put
the ball through for Silva, who can arrive from either side, in front of the
Defender or behind him. That will make the rest of players (Fbregas, Xavi,
or Iniesta) arrive for a second chance if the first shoot wasnt successful.
Playing with a false nine is an option, but not the main one. Normally,
Spain will play with one Striker (if Torres is fit, hell be the starter). But, as
usual, nothing in Spain is like what it looks. Talking about Torres is talking
about a very fast Striker, able to make a lot of runs (diagonally or with the
ball into the space); also, Torres is very fast with the ball and has a very

good definition. Hes not a static player waiting for a cross from one side or
the other, and he cant be static waiting for crosses because hes not one of
the best when heading. Similar to Villa: both can run, score with accuracy,
able to play with both feet, good vision and anticipation. But not the kind
of players that "hide inside the box or the Goalkeepers pocket, just in
order to profit from any ball.
As a fact, Fbregas (as a false nine), or Llorente (as a real one), are more
the B and C plan. Llorente was considered to be more the second
option, as hes a tall, classical Striker, with very good body, shielding balls,
heading, etc. Now, it looks like that situation has changed. If Torres or Villa
are not fit or, Del Bosque considers that the rivals will do this or that, then
Fbregas becomes the first option, even if that means to send Torres to the
bench. It happened in EURO12; Ill bet it will happen again in WC in Brazil
next 2014. No doubt about it.

6. THE DEFENDERS
There are many theories about defending; the vast majority say that to win
you must have a solid defensive system. Sun Tzu (The art of War) said
that Invincibility lies in the defense, the possibility of victory in the attack.
There were other managers that said that the best attack was a good
defense. Johan Cruyff always said that he wouldnt mind at any moment
that his team concedes 5 goals... if they were able to score 6 or more (We
would win and it would be also very entertaining for the spectators to
watch 11 goals!). The LOTG say that the winner of the match will be the
team that scores more goals when the match finishes but, sometimes, it
looks like that the winner will be the team with less goals against. In any
case, no matter which philosophy is applied, defenders have, more and
more of a very important role.
The first that youll notice with the Spanish Defenders is that only Piqu
(1,92), is a tall player. Puyol is just 1,78 and Alba is 1,70. But they are very,
very fast. In fact, Alba and Puyol started as Forwards; Alba was a Winger
(he just moved to FB after Unai Emery arrived to Valencia CF, so, not too
long ago), while Puyol was Striker at his hometown club of La Pobla de
Segur. When he arrived at Barcelona, he was sent to Midfield and, later, as
RFB. Frank Rijkaard was the Manager who put him is the position of CB.
Defenders always needed to be fast but, in the particular case of Spain, its
more than ever. Playing so far from the box when the team is attacking
means that, when the ball is lost and there is a fast counter, players have to
be very well positioned, first, and of course, be very fast running
backwards. Too much space behind them means that, if they arent fast,
the opportunity of scoring for the opponents will be higher and higher.
And, as we have seen, Spain has a lot of clean sheets. So, its very probable
that having quick Defenders help.
When defending, they are in a Flat Four position. If the ball is closer to one
of them, he will pressure the ball carrier and the other three will align. The
player behind will be the one that normally will cover this first defender.
Normally, also, in 2v2 situations (FB+DM/WNG v WNG+AM), the FB will

follow the player that goes to the outside and the DM/WNG will follow the
ball if it goes to the inside. This can sound common knowledge, but if you
remember the Netherlands in the WC2010, the FB never followed the
outside player, nor the inside player; the aim for the orange was to keep
the Back Four shape. Spain was different: if the ball goes to the outside, the
second player will keep this position until the end of the play. Really, its
the classic concept of the Zonal Marking system: Follow your player until he
leaves your zone. Someone will keep the area while this is happening!
If the Winger is beaten, the FB will cover for him, while the DM takes the
place of the FB and the WNG goes to keep the position of the DM. It can
be, and it depends on the situation on the pitch, that the WNG goes to FB
position and the DM remains.
The next two pictures show how are the Spanish Defenders on the pitch
according to the position of the ball and the carrier. The first is when the
attack is coming from one of the sides and, the second one is when the
player is central. In both cases, the other players in the Defensive line keep
the shape and continue with the flat line. The players are flat, meaning that
all they are on the same line, to keep a clear offside line. This line is given
by the defender that provides cover and the others will have to adapt to it.
Why this player? Well, his function is to be ready to provide cover (he will
be the first one to act), so, he wouldnt be in a position to monitor where
the offside line is; the other players are not immediate intervention, so,
they can see where the ball and the other players are and, move according
to that. In the picture below, the CB offering cover cant see his
teammates; but they can see him; so, its normal that the other two players
(Second CB and LFB), are positioning according to it.
The next picture is quite similar; CB is marking the player, he can go right or
left; Defenders know what the most normal thing that can happen is. If the
Attacker is left-footed, normally he will go to the left; so, the cover must be
given by the FB; if the Attacker is a right-footed, normally hell go to the
right. In this case, the other CB will provide cover. So, the other players will
keep the offside line according to this.

When the team is attacking, the two CB stay at the halfway line, keeping
the defensive shape. One of the DMs will also stay closer to them.
Normally, this player will be Busquets, playing a very similar role to the one
he plays for FC Barcelona; but this in not strict, meaning that, if for any
reason Busquets has moved forward, Alonso will keep the balance of the
team.
The next picture shows what happens in that case; CBs are quite open and
one of the DM comes to cover the space created.

The FB will go up a lot of times; as explained in previous chapters, when the

Wingers move from outside to inside (when playing wrong-footed wingers),
the space on the flanks will be used by the FB, especially the left side.
Arbeloa (when he plays as RFB), is more of a defender than staying in a
Winger position, while Alba (LFB), is a defender that arrives from the
back. This has no relation with the fact that Alba was a Winger and Arbeloa
wasnt. Its only how each one of them play; when Alba was playing for
Gimnstic or Valencia as a Winger, he played exactly the same; mainly, he
needs space to exploit and run; Arbeloa is more of a player that receives
the ball and crosses. Also, Alba is really much faster than Arbeloa, and
youll notice that when the team is attacking; Arbeloa will go up, but not as
quick breaking into space. If he is opposite to the ball position, hell drop
a little bit; it wont be a Flat Three, together with the CB; he will be more
aligned with the DM (it doesnt matter if one is on the centre of the pitch
and the other is on the flank); as hes not as fast as the others and has to
keep his position better, in order to come back when the ball is lost.
With Alba it is different; hes so fast that he can go up, the ball is lost and
hell be able to recover to his position again; and also, if the ball is on his
side, you can see him tackling, after running 50 or 60 meters. Hes one of
the fastest FB Ive seen in my life and, as a former Winger, he crosses the
ball very well, no matter who is there for a header, a volley or similar.
In fact, when Spain won the WC2010, Ramos and Capdevila were the FB;
Alba is very similar to the last one; so, if Puyol continues playing in the
National Team (at least, until the WC2014; then, he will retire from NT; he
wanted to do it after WC2010, and Del Bosque asked him to continue), its
going to be very possible to see a Defense with Ramos, Piqu, Puyol and
Alba; that means two very fast FB, and also the kind of FB that break with
long runs coming from behind. More danger for the opponents, but also a
more concentrated attack for Spain, which may give more chances to the
opponents to score with these attack minded offensive FBs.

7. THE GOALKEEPER
When talking about modern football, it is said that the Goalkeeper is the
last defender, and the first attacker. All the teams that have dominated the
game for a certain period of time (Club level or National Team level), have
had an excellent goalie. Sometimes, these Goalkeepers were considered
the best in the World at that time. Banks for England, Maier for Bayern
Munich and Germany, Clemence for Liverpool, Schmeichel for Manchester
United and Denmark or Valds for Barcelona are examples of this.
Spain has in the squad three of the best Goalkeepers in the World (Casillas,
Valds and Reina), with a fourth one coming from behind (De Gea), and
with a lot of people considering Iker Casillas the best in the World in his
position.
More than the saves he does, its his personality on and off the pitch which
makes him one of the greatest; EURO08 and EURO12 saw a penalty shoot-
out; in both cases, Spain won, because the GK was Casillas (8 penalties
together, only 4 were goal). Right now he has been capped more than 140
times. Still young for a GK (Hes just 31 years old), which means that he
could get to 200 matches with Spain if theres no injuries and the National
Manager (whoever he is), continue to select him.
Probably the best in goalie, although he misses a little bit when trying to
catch aerial balls. The other big issue is when playing with the feet. While
Reina or Valds are graduates from La Masia (both born in 1982), with
Franz Hoek being the GK Coach for several years, Casillas is a product of
Real Madrid. Coming from Barcelona, in this case, means that the Goalies
are not afraid of playing with the ball at their feet, so, even under pressure;
the ball will continue to be in possession of the team when theres a back
pass. Whereas Casillas is different; he doesnt have this habit, so he doesnt
feel as comfortable as others are with the ball; if theres a back pass and
theres not much time on the ball hell clear the ball without any problem
(the same as he does when playing for Madrid). Also, because the way the

team plays, he has to be positioned for long periods out of the goal, as the
Spaniards have the possession of the ball, and it goes from right to left or
left to right. So, the concentration needed here is higher, as he is saving
less than when he plays for Madrid.
As a principle, Spain will start playing from the back, so it means that
Casillas will be the first. Again as he doesnt have the accuracy of Valds or
Reina, in the case of closer opponents the kick service will be long. When I
say closer, it doesnt mean to be marking, just not so far.
When catching the ball (from a cross or from a shot), most of the time the
first option is to look for a long punt to Torres/Villa; if not, and there isnt
any other option, hell wait until his teammates are well positioned and will
start with the build-up from the back once again.

8. THE BOSS
When talking about the success of any team (no matter which sport), it is
obvious to refer to the Manager. In the Spanish case its not only one.
There are two. The first, who got the EURO08, was Luis Aragons; the
second one, who conquered the WC2010 and the EURO12, is Vicente del
Bosque. Both have more in common with each other that you would think.
Aragons played the vast majority of his career for Atltico de Madrid,
while Del Bosque played for the other team in the Capital of Spain, Real
Madrid. Both were Midfielders, and both were quality players. Aragons

was also very good with free kicks (a lot of people still remember him
scoring for Atltico in the CL final against Bayern Munich (1974).
Unfortunately for his side, the Germans equalized the match and, when
replayed two days later, Bayern clashed (4-0) Atltico).
So, being creative players, with good skills and ball movement, is not
strange that the National Team play that way. To be honest, for several
years, all the Grassroots Teams of Spain have played this style, based on
ball possession, so when a new Manager is appointed, the idea is that he is
not adverse to this type of football.
Aragons was in charge from 2004 (after the defeat in the EURO04, where
Spain failed during the qualification pool). He was the manager in WC06
(Germany), where Spain was beaten by France in the round of 8. Since
1984, Spain has never passed this round. And yet he qualified the team for
EURO08; some months before the Final Tournament he announced that he
would retire after the competition, regardless of the results. Del Bosque
was appointed a few days later (End of 2007), to be the next Manager for
Spain.
It wasnt an easy job for either of them. Being as popular as football is in

Spain, you can imagine that there is a lot of media involved in it. So, every
decision taken by the managers is more than analyzed, with a lot of
journalists in favour of it, and others against it. Remember that Spain is
different, Still.
The decision that made Aragons quite (if not a lot), unpopular (especially
in the areas close to Real Madrid), was not calling up Raul for the EURO08.
He was, at that time, the most capped player (102), the top scorer (44), the
Captain and, also considered a symbol for the team and for all the country.
Some considered this a good decision, as his performance was decreasing;
other people considered it a disaster. Spain won the EURO and critics had
to stop. What could happen if Raul was there? Well never know.
Del Bosque wasnt questioned over the squad (of course, always you call up
players, there will always be some people saying yes to this, no to that). He
was questioned about their style of playing! As mentioned before, Spain
started to play more with the brain and less with the heart when Aragons
arrived. The success of FC Barcelona (won the CL 2006, 2009 and 2011), has
made the squad plentiful of players from the Catalan side: Valds, Piqu,
Puyol, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Fbregas, Pedro and Villa are regularly there
(and the new Alba, who spent some of his grassroots years at Bara),
with mostly of them starters usually.
This means that the way of playing for Bara and Spain are very, very,
similar. And, as it happens with the Blaugranas, it happened with La
Roja. Spain lost. And not a regular match. It was the first match in the pool
of the WC2010 in South Africa, against Switzerland (1-0). Immediately, the
voices of those that didnt like this way of playing could be heard: This is
for Clubs, not for National Teams; Spain is the fury, not the tiki-taka;
because there are so many Barcelonas players, it doesnt mean we have
to play like them. But Del Bosque stayed firm and calm: We have arrived
here doing that so, we wont change, he said. Well, the rest of the story is
well known. Spain won the WC and the EURO12 last summer, without
changing their style.
For those that like a little bit of history, Del Bosque was the last Manager
which won the CL (2002), for Real Madrid. With players like Casillas, Zidane,
Beckham, Raul, and Roberto Carlos, (The team known as Galcticos). He
was fired (in fact, his contract wasnt renewed), after wining La Liga in
2003. According to some reports from Madrid, he wasnt too galctico
enough for this team.
He is just 62 (born December, 1950) and, as its typical in the RFEF (Spanish
FA), the contract is renewed from competition to competition. So, he has
the job until the WC2014 in Brazil. For some players, it will be the end of
their career with the National team (Xavi will be 34, and he said he wants
to finish with the MNT after it; Puyol wanted to retire after WC2010, but
Del Bosque convinced him to continue until EURO12 and now, later, as he
couldnt play because of injury, to Brazil; Alonso and Villa will be 33 at the
end of 2014). Del Bosque will be 64. Is it time to retire for an amazing
group of players and manager? Of course, Piqu, Ramos, Alba, Iniesta,
Busquets, Fbregas, Javi Martnez, Cazorla, or the youngers like Isco, Thiago

or De Gea will have a lot to say, but life wont be the same without the
others.

9. THE KEY PLAYERS

A very typical starting team for Spain would be: Casillas (GK); Ramos (RFB),
Piqu (CB), Puyol (CB), Alba (LFB); Alonso (DM), Busquets (DM); Silva
(RWNG/RAM), Xavi (CAM), Iniesta (LWNG/LAM); Torres (ST).
This could be the Starting lineup mentioned before, with the typical 1-4-2-
3-1 formation of Spain
In a football team everybody is important; there are 11 players on the pitch

and 5,7 or 12 more on the bench, and all of them play an important role.
Well take a look about them.
Starting from the back, Casillas is the first one. He is the captain, the most
capped, and one of the most influential on the team (inside and outside the
pitch). Hes a warranty in goal (I dont remember a match where Spain lost
because of the mistakes of Casillas, at least, any important match), and his
saves, some of them in crucial moments, like the 1v1 against Robben in the

Final of the WC2010, helped to keep the team in the match. And, of course,
the penalties he saved, as mentioned, that allowed Spain to go to the next
stage of the competition.
Among the Defenders, Puyol is The Marsall. His winning character, his
effort (such as times when hes injured, and he returns several weeks
before the doctors recommendations), his headed goals in special
moments (the SF against Germany is an example), and also the fact that
hes considered a very clean defender (very difficult to remember a dirty
tackle), not getting too many faults against him, nor yellow or red cards,
making him the perfect example for a lot of fans.
In the middle of the pitch, Xavi is the pace, the rhythm, the tempo. Hes
Il metronomo, the one who dictates when to accelerate the game, when
to slow it down, always looking for a space where to pass the ball. Here,
there, pass, go, pass, pass, an amazing player. Together with him, Andrs
Iniesta (The Wizard of Oz), has become the unpredictable player. His runs,
dribbling past 3 or 4 opponents in a rush of 10-15 meters is normal; also,
the way he goes past 5 or 6 opponents in a tight space, with the ball as it if
it was part of his feet, which has made him one of the most loved players,
everywhere in the World.
Finally, we have Torres, who is a very good footballer, creates lots of

chances. but, if you havent a good finisher then, its all for nothing. And
Torres is a finisher. All his life, since he was 11-12 years old, he has been
scoring goals. More or less, sometimes depending which coach he has
more (Rafa Benitez, before in Liverpool, now at Chelsea), or less (Di
Matteo, at Stamford Bridge). And it doesnt mean the coach is guilty;
simply, as everybody, some players have a better relationship or feeling for
some coaches and, of course, it helps.
These are in my opinion, the most important but, the squad has other
players, with secondary roles but, not for that, these players have to be
forgotten.
On goal, we have Reina and Valds. Both are born in 1982 and spent some
years together at FC Barcelona. Their quality was so good and they were
something never seen before: when they were playing for the second team
of Bara, they played two matches each one (home and away). Think about
that the second team plays in the 2nd Spanish Division, which means
professional level. At these stages, one GK is starter and, the other waits
for his turn on the bench. Reina is also the showman of the team. His
speeches and presentations of the other players have become popular
after every Title conquered by the Spaniards. The kind of colleague most
would like to have.
The Spanish squad for EURO-12
Ramos, Piqu, Alba, Juafran, Arbeloa and Albiol are at the Defence. There
were doubts about Ramos and Piqu playing together as CB in the last WC,
as its said that their personal relationship is not very good. On the pitch,
their performance was excellent. Being as young as they are (26 for Ramos,
25 for Piqu), means they can enjoy a lot more years in which they can play
together. If Reina is the showman, Piqu is the Joker. Its strange,
during a week, not to hear something funny happening and Gerard Piqu is
close to 100% to be involved in.
Alba plays as LFB after Capdevila who is no longer in the squad, we have
explained about him. Arbeloa and Juanfran are used when one of the
others are not fit, being the first one used as first option as FB. Albiol
played in the past but, as hes not playing for his Club, it looks like hes
going to be called up less and less.
In Midfield, we have Alonso, Busquets, Fbregas, Cazorla, and Javi

Martnez, together with Mata, Pedro or Navas. Cazorla looks like he could
be the new Xavi when he retires. His campaign with the Gunners in the
Premier League is really impressive. Martnez can play in the position of
Alonso or Busquets; as Busquets, he can be used as CB if needed (in fact, he
did it with his former Club, Athletic Bilbao, before moving to Bayern). Mata,
Pedro and Navas are the men used in the flanks when Spain needs to move
to another way of playing, with real right footed wingers. Fbregas, as
explained, can do a lot of roles. He can be a DM, an AM (as he was at
Arsenal) or, also, the false nine, giving all these options for the team.
Finally, we have the strikers: Villa and Llorente. Llorente is a classic Striker,
Very tall, strong, good finisher. Used a lot as plan B, when the situation
gets complicated and its needed to put balls inside or closer to the box. He
can win a lot of these balls, and serve them to the Midfielders to play with
the Wingers. Llorentes role is more important when Pedro and Navas are
on the pitch, they will cross and look for headers. Villa can play as a real
Striker (as he was most of his life), but also as a LWNG. Hes doing mainly
that role for FC Barcelona; with the National Team, he can play both: he
can be started as Striker, or move to the left as WNG; in this case, Iniesta
goes to the right side.
So, there are many, many options for this group of players. Depending who
is on the pitch these options will change and will be different, but having
the passing style as the idea for them. Finishing will be different, but
sure they find ways to do it.

10. THE CLUBS
Its obvious that producing such good players its not a casualty. Its also
true that some players are born and developed in the streets but this is
less and less common. In South America or Africa you can find a lot of kids
playing football in the streets. This was also a normal thing in Spain until
the end of the 70s. Today, only in small villages where everybody knows
everybody can you find kids playing, but not in large cities. Not anymore.
The main place where kids play football is in the Clubs. We will talk in
another chapter about the Structure of the Competitions in Spain and its
influence on the development of the players.
The first thing that we have to notice is that Clubs are professional,
because the first team is a professional one. There are no large Clubs like in
US run professionally (Full time coaches and directors), dedicated to
grassroots. Youll find also, with the exception of some very old Clubs run
by Schools or by a factory (and we are talking about a few number), that all
them have a first team, that can play in Spanish La Liga or, in 3rd Division
or lower.
The second thing is that coaches arent professional. Only a few Clubs (and
its something that had started just 10 years ago), have professional (full-
time) coaches for their grassroots teams. And we are talking about the Top
Clubs. Clubs in 2nd B or 3rd Division dont have that. Maybe they can have
a Technical Director (or the name you want to give), full-time employed if
there are too many teams within the Club, but thats all. And coaches only
work for one Club. There arent coaches running one team in one Club and
another team in another Club.
Another thing is that the majority of Clubs in 1st and 2nd Division have their
own facilities for Grassroots teams. Maybe the Stadium, where the 1st team
plays, is owned by the city, but the training facilities are owned by the Club.
Of course, when we move to lower Divisions, in smaller cities and quarters,
the facilities are owned by the city.
Big Clubs will have a 1st Team, a 2nd, sometimes a 3rd, and then from U-19 to
U-9, 1 Team per age group; sometimes, they can have 2 in the same age
group. The smaller Clubs will have 1st Team, U-19 (Juveniles, from 17 to 19
y.o.), U-16 (Cadetes, 15-16), U-14 (Infantiles, 13-14), U-12 (Alevines,
11-12), U-10 (Benjamines, 9-10) and U-8 (Benjamines, 7-8); this can
vary from city to city, as some small cities dont have enough kids for one
category; then, some cities very close to each other (10-15 km.), make a
Club all together, so all kids can play football. Its very normal to see players
always in the same Club all their life, starting at 8 or 9 years old and
finishing when they are older than 30. More and more Clubs have also girls
teams, as the sport is becoming quite popular (for playing, because for
watching games has been quite interesting always; a Club like FC Barcelona
has around 30% of ladies as members (socios) of the Club).
In the Top Clubs, all their Coaches have a badge. Mainly, UEFA Pro, but
also with UEFA A and B (B not very often). In the small Clubs, as they
are also in the lowest divisions (grassroots), Licenses arent needed, and
also is quite difficult to go to courses, because of time and distances. Most
of these grassroots coaches are the players of the first team. You wont see
parents coaching (unless he was coaching before his kid was in the team),
but there arent volunteer parents as you can see, for example, in US.
In the small Clubs, kids have 2 sessions per week and 1 match on the
weekend; for older ages, maybe 3 sessions per week
At the big Clubs, until U-10, they have 2 sessions per week; at U-14 they
can have 3-4; U-16 can be 4-5 and older than this 5 or more per week.
The following table can help to understand a little bit more what its being
said.
TEAMS/AGE BIG CLUB SMALL CLUB

A TEAM 1 1
B TEAM 1 1 (0)
U-19 (Juvenil) 1 1
U-18 (Juvenil) 1 0
U-17 (Juvenil) 1 0
U-16 (Cadete) 1 1
U-15 (Cadete) 1 0
U-14 (Infantil) 1 (2) 1
U-13 (Infantil) 1 (2) 0
U-12 (Alevn) 1 (2-3) 1
U-11 (Alevn) 1 (2-3) 0
U-10 (Benjamn) 1 (2-3) 1
U-9 (Benjamn) 1 (2-3) 0
The numbers show how many teams in each category. In the case of small
clubs, its not always possible to have a team in each category, according to
how big the city is, etc.
What is shown here is that the big Clubs have, at least, 1 team per age
group; when they are very young, they can have more than 1, especially
when playing 7v7 (U-12 and youngers).
Also, there are differences between staff members for one kind of Club and
another.
For a normal U-14 team, in a big club you have:

1 Coach
1 Assistant Coach
1 Physiotherapist
1 Kit Manager
1 Administrator (Team Delegate)
Also, you have to add

1 Technical Director
2-3 Goalkeepers Coaches
2-3 Fitness Coaches
1-2 Doctors
A normal U-14 team in a small Club will have

1 Coach
1 Administrator
The rest of the staff will vary according to budget and similar.

More than this, mainly given by the budget of the Clubs, the big difference
comes about the style of training and playing. Youll find that the vast
majority of Clubs have a defined style of play for all their grassroots teams,
but not for the 1st Team; this one plays according to the Manager that they
have, but the youngsters mainly play the same way. Clubs have a
philosophy, and coaches are hired according to what they know or
understand. The planning is done according to the age and, in general, the
coaches of every team run the sessions according to that. Most of the
Clubs, at this level, if not all, have a Database of drills and exercises so, the
coaches, when preparing the sessions choose the drills according to the
theme of the day. When kids get older, they go the gym following strict
and individualized plans, according to their needs.
Sessions, obviously, vary with the age; at younger ages, theres a lot of
technique, but tactics are very soon introduced; kids at 9-10 y.o. know the
most important things about tactics and how to move around the pitch all
together as a team. As they get older, more tactics are introduced.
In small Clubs, the big difference is that, normally, every team in the Club
plays in the way the coach likes to do, and also the same with the training
sessions. But this is changing; now, the vast majority of Clubs have a
Technical Director (that, normally, is one of the coaches), to organize
practices, philosophy, ways of training, etc. In this aspect, Clubs have
improved a lot. The impact of the success of FC Barcelona (at Club level),
and the National Team, is so big, that actually everybody believes in the
idea of having a common way for all the teams within the same Club. And
of course, this is very good.
Another big difference is about fees. Big Clubs dont charge anything to the
parents; also, most of them, provide education, a place for living, etc. for
those young players coming from outside the area (La Masia of FC
Barcelona is, probably, the best known example). But there arent
Academies as they are in England. Every Club runs free grassroots
system. There are no levels or Categories for being an Academy. And, as
it works, and also the typical latin mentality of doing everyone by his own,

makes that nobody never asked about that; they can imagine that the
answer would be NO.
In small Clubs, fees go from 15 to 35 (10 months); which means that the
access to the game is quite easy for everybody; Clubs are not seen as
business, and are not organized in that way. Clubs dont have an owner
(small Clubs in lower categories); they have members (socios), that elect
the President and the Board every 4-5 years (according to regulations,
etc.); the good thing of this system is that, if the Board is doing bad, you
can put another person there later. The bad thing is that its quite difficult,
for the same reason, that someone is investing a lot of money.
What is also quite normal in Spain is that small Clubs have an agreement
with the big ones; that means, the small Club receives some money and
some technical support; in return, the big Club has the first option if theres
a very good player and some Clubs are interested in him. This has been for
many years, the way of working of the Basque Teams (Athletic Bilbao and
Real Sociedad); a big number (not 100%, but very close), of Clubs there
have an agreement with one or the other Club. The other Clubs in Spain are
quite similar; mainly, the agreements are with Clubs in the area/region, but
it can happen that they have agreements with Clubs in other regions and,
also, outside of Spain. This is giving a lot of control over players and, also, a
simple mouth to ear strategy: A team with agreement with big Club plays
against another team (without agreement); theres a very good player in
the second team, so a telephone call (or whatever), informing about the
player; someone from the big Club will appear to scout the player, sooner
or later.
After that, the trials process goes on. But these trials are different. First
thing is that players go to the trials invited by the Club. The parents dont
pay any fees and, also, if the player has to stay for a couple of days in the
city, the Club will provide a place for a couple of days.
Small Clubs dont organize trials. When the season starts, there are always
players that go to the session with a friend that wants to play or similar.
The player who is in the Club has always preference to stay. The
philosophy, for everybody, is very clear: You were here before so, the
newcomer has to show that hes better than the others; and this applies for
all kind of Clubs (Top and lower; larger and smaller). I wrote before that
there a lot of players with only one Club in all his career; one of the reasons
it this. And everybody is proud to be part of a Club, no matter a very big
one or a very small one. And thats also very important. The Club is where
football is played in Spain. There is a said here: You can change your wife,
your job, you car or your house, but youll never change your feelings. And
Clubs are about feelings.

11. THE COMPETITION

Latin people, and specially Spanish, are very competitive, by nature.
Sometimes, too much. We dont like losing, and thats a fact.
The first thing to notice is that theres only one Governing Body: The
Spanish FA (Real Federacin Espaola de Ftbol, or RFEF); every region has
its own FA, but they under the RFEF. Of course, anyone could organize a
League, but this wouldnt be official and the Clubs and players wouldnt be
protected by the Laws of RFEF, UEFA and FIFA.
The structure is quite simple: 1st Division (La Liga), 2nd, 2nd B (4 groups)
and 3rd (17 groups), and it works with a promotion/relegation system.
These are considered National Categories; from there on, every
Territorial FA organizes the competition according to the number of Clubs,
but always with the same idea: a 1st, 2nd, etc. Division with a
promotion/relegation system; the winners in the First Territorial Division
(whatever name is given), are promoted to 3rd National Division (and, of
course, the last in the Standings there go to the Territorial competition).
They arent closed leagues.
Here is the structure, at National Level

First Division (La Liga) (20 teams)
Second Division (22 teams)
Second B Division (4 groups of 20 teams)
Third Division (17 groups of 20 teams)
For the Second B and the Third Division, theres a Play-off system,
where the winners are promoted to the upper category.
At Amateur levels (meaning the Territorials FA), it is not very different; as

an example, here is the Catalan FA:
1st Catalan Division (2 groups of 18 teams)
nd
2 Catalan Division (6 groups of 18 teams)
rd
3 Catalan Division (17 groups of 18 teams)
4th Catalan Division (30 groups from 14 to 18 teams)

As mentioned, every Territorial FA organizes the competition as its

convenience, but the structures are very similar.
For grassroots, the structure changes a little bit, but not too much. There
are only National League for Juveniles (U-19), with 7 groups all around
Spain, called Divisin de Honor and a second tier called Liga Nacional
(17 groups, one for each Territorial FA), again with a promotion/relegation
system; from there on, every FA organizes the competition, but, again with
the same structure of 1st, 2nd, Divisions and promotion/relegation. For the
rest of Categories (Cadetes, Infantiles, etc.), the competition is only in the
Area of the FA, with Spanish Finals for Cadetes and Infantiles.
This is how the competitions are structured. As before, the example is the
Catalan FA:
JUVENILES (U17-U18-U19)
Divisin de Honor (7 groups of 16 teams; all Spain)
Liga Nacional Juvenil (17 groups of 16-18 teams; all Spain)
This is the only category played as a League in all the country. For what it
refers to Catalan FA, we have
Preferente (4 groups of 16 teams)
st
1 Division (13 groups of 16 teams)
nd
2 Division (30 groups of 14-16 teams)
CADETES (U15-U16)
Divisi dHonor (1 group of 16 teams)
1st Division (16 groups of 16 teams)
2nd Division (32 groups of 14-16 teams)
INFANTILES (U13-U14)
st
1 Division (16 groups of 16 teams)
nd
ALEVINES (U11-U12)

2nd Division (15 groups of 16 teams)

3rd Division (40 groups of 14-16 teams)
4th Division (48 groups of 14-16 teams)
BENJAMINES (U9-U10)
nd
rd
PRE-BENJAMINES (U7-U8)
1st Division (51 groups of 12-16 teams)
So, only the little ones dont have a promotion/relegation system; there are
standings, but if you are the first or the last is not decisive for the next
season.
The distribution is made according to geographical reasons, meaning that,

teams in the same Division are put together according to city/area; this
allow, in general, very short travel times.
With this system, any Club can be at the Top Division for the Category
concerned; everybody has the same options; of course, the Top Clubs (Pro-
Clubs) of any area are always at the 1st Division, but this allows to a lot of
Clubs, with good working to be also there. And you can imagine, for young
kids, to play against Bara, Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla or Athletic. Someone
will be watching the match and, if you are good enough... you never know.
In general, groups have 16 teams, playing a regular league, with home and
away matches. That means 30 matches per season, running from end of
September until beginning/half May. Matches are played on weekends
(Saturday all day and some on Sunday morning).
Some things about the main rules for these competitions, I will talk, again,
about the Catalan FA, as it is the one that I know. For the others FAs, some
rules can change but, in general, they are quite similar.
The first thing is that for U-12 and younger (Alevines), they play 7-a-side
football. Older players play full pitch (11-a-side); there are some voices in

the Spanish FA asking to play 8v8 and not 7v7, as it is considered a better
transition to 11v11; but, many of the people in the Territorials FA are not
convinced yet, so, at this point is in a mute question.
For 7v7 matches are divided in quarters and every player must, at least,
play a complete quarter (unless injury, of course). Players can re-entry after
being substituted.
For 11v11 matches, players can also re-entry after substitution, but it is not
compulsory that all players listed in the match sheet participate in the
match.
The next table shows the playing time, together with number of players
and pitch dimensions for each category
AGE TIME PLAYERS PITCH

U7/U8 4x10 7v7 60x35
U9/U10 4x12 7v7 60x35
U11/12 4x15 7v7 60x35
U13/U14 2x35 11V11 Full Pitch
U15/U16 2x40 11v11 Full Pitch
U17/U18/U19 2x45 11v11 Full Pitch
A very important point is what is referring to players going up and down. As

the categories are for two years (players have an Infantil or Cadete
license, not U-13 or U-14), you could put all your older team in the lowest
tier if needed; to avoid that, only 3 players can go down and also, theres a
minimum of 20 hours between two consecutive matches for the same
player.
Another key point is that Clubs are only allowed to have one team in the
same tier and group (Unless its the last tier). As Teams in the same
category are into pools of groups according to Geographical areas, it means
that if you want to have 4 teams in 4 different groups its very, very
expensive. The most normal thing (as noted previously), is to have 1 or 2
teams in the Category (i.e. Cadetes). And the teams are formed according
to ages; so, all the U-13 players are together in the same team
(Infantiles), and the U-14 are also Infantiles, but always going together;
unless a player is quite good for his age, he wont be playing for the upper
team. And, of course, this is a technical decision. Managers, coaches, etc.
will decide if a player can be promoted or not.
As you can see, there are no recreational or travel teams or similar.

Simply, every Club decides which kind of competition they can play. More
players, facilities, budget; hoping you can try to be at the top. Less of all
this, youll probably will be at the lowest levels. But you never know. Its a
question a good working. There are many Clubs working quite well with not
too much things, and they are at the Top Division or, maybe, a Second Tier.
During season there are no Tournaments. Only when the competition stops
(Christmas Holidays and Easter Holidays), its possible to organize them.
There are two reasons; the first one, as explained, is that all teams and
Clubs are in competition, so you cant organize a tournament because
nobody will go: all they have matches. The second is that pitches are full of
teams. Matches start at 9:00AM and they run all day, until 9:00PM; so, no
place for it.
These are the system of Club competition, but there is another one: the
Selections competition. The Spanish FA organizes every year U-16 and U-
18 National Championship. Why these ages? Easy. International
competitions (UEFA) are for U-17 and U-19, so the kids are scouted the
year before and, its supposed that the majority of them will go next year
for the U-18 and U-20 FIFA Tournament. Regional Selections meet twice
per year (yes, you guessed: Christmas and Easter!), in pools or 8 Teams (4
are U-16, 4 are U-18, but they are the same Territorial FA, so, costs are
cheaper); the second tournament is played with the same formula, but
different teams; this means that every Territorial FA will play against other
6; with the total of points won, the better 4 will play the Final pool of the
Spanish Championship in May. Having all this teams together, the Spanish
FA send the Managers and Staff of the U-17 and U-19 NT to these
Tournaments and its quite easy to identify the best players. Also, the idea
is that every Manager/Coach/Scout goes to a different place every time, so

the Technical Committee can have different views about the same player,
and, of course, this helps a lot.
Also, think about having 6-8 teams together: its having more than 100
players together; so, a large database can be created and used. So, for the
Managers and Coaches is easier to find a player, and to send someone to
check how this player is improving.

12. THE SCOUTING SYSTEM

I didnt mention before another competition. I did it deliberately. Its the
Spanish Championship U-12. There are two of them. One is organized by
the LFP (Spanish League), with all the teams of 1st Division. The other is
organized by the Spanish FA, with all the Territorials FAs participating. The
set-up is similar: pools, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. All teams
together in a place for 3 days.
The important thing is that Coaches of the National Staff are attending the
matches; this means, again, that the players, since they are very young, are
followed by Regional and National Coaches. And this is one of the
advantages of being everybody in the same place. Being everybody
together, you can know where the best players are. Also, the sites of the
different FAs provide (in general), complete information about matches,
scores, standings and players. So, you just need to check and will see what
are the most attractive matches, with the most attractive players, at what
time the match is played and, city/stadium where the match is.
Lets go, more detailed, with the Clubs system for scouting. You have to
notice that this is a general idea, and it can vary from Club to Club,
according to population, budget, etc. The first thing is that the Club says to
the scout the kind of player theyre looking for. And the kind of player they
want is according to Club philosophy. So, it wont be any surprise if I say
that Barcelona looks for very talented, gifted players, no matter if they are
bigger or smaller. Ath. Bilbao (that has a policy of only having Basque
players or players that were raised in the Basque Country), wants more
physical players. Madrid looks for a mix between the physical and the
gifted, with a higher tendency to the skilful player. But, in general, the
Spanish Clubs has turned the head to the intelligent player, with an easy
way to play, able to understand clearly the tactical details and with a high
degree of versatility. In todays football is the capacity of players to adapt
to different positions. I want to remember just one thing: A few weeks ago
(October, 2012), Barcelona played against Madrid at Camp Nou. Central
Defenders (Piqu and Puyol were injured); Abidal, that can play the
position if needed, was also out because of his liver transplant. So, what did
Vilanova do? He put Adriano there. He never played in that position before;
hes quite short (1,73), so, one can think: What is he doing? The answer
was very easy. Hes very, very fast and the big problem was the long balls
behind defenders: Adriano will arrive. And it worked!
Maybe you can be surprised, but early specialization is normal in Spain, In

all aspects. They only play football (or whatever sport they play), as the
seasons are all running September-May. And, at 12-13, they are CB or RFB
or DM. Goalkeepers go further. Spain has been always a country with a lot
of good GK, so, its quite normal to find an U-9 with two full time
Goalkeepers. Kids want to be in goal. They love Casillas, Valds or Reina, as
they loved Zubizarreta, Arkonada or Iribar. No option.
For this, as one of the mains reasons, when scouts go the different pitches
to watch matches its not only what a player is doing; its also to be able to
discern what other kind of things can do this player on the pitch. You can
have 3 Strikers in your team, and you see another Striker, who is not better
than the ones you have; but he could adapt (for whatever reason seen on
the pitch), to be CB or a WNG; then, this player becomes very interesting.
But, in general, the first think that scouts check for a player is speed,
physical speed. Fast players are the best considered. If a player is not fast
running, then the scouts check for other kind of speed: the mental
(thinking, decision making speed), and the execution speed.
In general, Clubs have a very strong network of scouts in the area/region

where they are (and that includes the agreements made with other Clubs
that I mentioned in a previous chapter). Then, they have 1-2 scouts for
every region (depending on population and distances, the scout can cover 1
or 2 regions), and also, the Clubs linked. Then, they have international
scouts, of course according to budget and possibilities. In general they are
non full-time people. As mentioned several times, matches are on weekend
so, people are not working and they can attend matches. Its quite usual
that you can see one of them watching 1 match on Saturday at 10:00AM,
another one at Noon (in another place), etc. And, the same on Sunday. Its
a lot of matches that can be watched in a weekend. Sometimes, is the
same Club that sends the scout to an specific match. They received news

about a player so, as fast as they are more possibilities if the player is good
enough.
Of course, the system is not perfect, but it works quite well. A lot of players
are scanned every year; sometimes, a player is not considered good
enough this season, but, next season he is; thats why a lot of people check
and check and check.
Another key point is (in general, also), the discretion of the scouts.
Everybody knows everybody in this world, but nobody says anything about
which player they are following or, what kind of player they are looking for.
There are several reasons for that. One is that, if nobody (other Club)
knows about your interest for a certain player, you can negotiate easily.
Another one is about players. In general, players that know that a big Club
is following them tend to be more nervous and the performance is not so
good. We are talking about young kids (12-15 y.o.), not an easy age.
Back to National Teams, I explained about National Competitions for

Regional Teams; every FA has the own Scouting system, according to
population and area (Madrid, Cantabria or Asturias are Regions with just 1
province; Andaluca are 8 provinces and a big area). But, even at those
younger ages, youll find that the Clubs in the 1st Division (La Liga Clubs),
are always represented. There are also some small Clubs (or less big, if you
prefer), also some of these Clubs that only work with Grassroots. Of course,
there are always missed players. Theres no place for everybody and, there
are very good players that never went to a Regional Selection, and they
played for the A National Team. Not so much. Not a normal thing, but it
happens.
But, in general, the players are mostly under control; from one side or
another, theres someone who has seen playing a Keeper, Defender or
Striker. And theres a rapport about the player. Scouts must send rapports
to Clubs. Even the player is not considered potentially to join the Club,
there must be a rapport if the player is good enough. Because, suddenly, it
happens: someone from a big Club (Technical Staff), is watching a match
and I like this player; if things are well done, there will be a rapport
anywhere about the player. And you never know what can happen later.
13. TRAINING IN SPAIN (I)

Ive decided to split training in two parts for a very simple reason: In this
first one Ill talk about the organization and, in the second one, Ill talk,
more properly, about training as itself.
The first thing to notice is the schedules. As I wrote before, only Top Clubs
(and not all them), have full-time coaches. Also, kids finish school around
4:30PM or 5:00PM; living in big cities mean, that youll need close to 1 hour
to arrive to the training pitch, so, its quite difficult to start training before
6:00PM (whatever age).
Top Clubs have a lot of pitches and facilities, so, every team has its own
pitch for training; normally the material is stored all together, so, the
coaches only have to go and take what they need.
Small Clubs in small villages are quite similar, in the aspect that theres only
one Club with 5 or 6 teams. Training 2-3 times per week, if the schedule is
well prepared means that everybody (or almost), can use the full pitch for
training. The material is also kept all together, so the same as before
applies.
But the situation is different when we talk about medium/small Clubs in

medium or large cities; in these cases, youll find, normally, 2 teams
training in the same pitch, one in each half; and when they finish,
immediately another two teams go inside for training. In general, also the
material is kept in the stadium.
The Top Clubs are the owners of the facilities; for the rest, the vast majority
are public facilities (Local Government in general, but also Regional
sometimes), but, there are also some medium/small Clubs that have their
own facilities for different circumstances and also, some other Clubs are
the managers of the facility they use, but, as said, not too much.
The amount of training its also according to this distribution of pitches and
time. For the Top Clubs youll find 2 sessions/week for U-10; 3 for U-12, 4
for U-14 and 5 for U-16, with 6 or more for U-19. Of course, with a match at
the weekend as it has been explained. Because of we explained about non
full-time coaches is quite difficult, for small Clubs, that they have more
than 3 sessions per week: 2 for U-14 and younger and 3 for the rest. Thats
the most normal thing you can find.
The next table will show a little bit better about it (sessions per week)
AGE/GROUP BIG CLUB SMALL CLUB

st
1 TEAM 6-7 3-4 (2)
U17-U18-U19 5-6 2-3 (4)
U15-U16 4-5 2 (3)
U13-14 3-4 2
U11-12 3 2
U9-U10 2-3 1-2
U7-U8 2 1-2
These numbers are not absolutes; they are, mainly, what happens in
general. You can have a medium size club with the U-19 in the Divisin de
Honor or Liga Nacional and the Club puts all efforts into keeping them
there, because it means playing against much better teams, with all the
benefits of it. Thats why there is (4) in this case or (3) when talking about
U15/U16.
For the same reason, some amateur Clubs only have all the players for the
weekend, as they are students and they dont live in the city. The Club will
have a session in mid week and another on Friday, when all the players are
at home after a week away.
Facilities are built with dressing rooms (everywhere); its supposed than the
athletes are coming from home, school or working, so, they change the
clothes there and, after the practices or matches they can take a shower,
put normal clothes again and go. For the vast majority of Clubs, taking a
shower after practice or match is compulsory. Only in small villages, where
distances are very short, you will see players going home directly, because
theyll take the shower there.

When training 2 days per week, these days are, normally, Tuesday and
Thursday and, for 3 days are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. In grassroots
football, the majority of matches are played on Saturday, while adults play
on Sunday.
Also, the stadiums have a bar where parents, friends, etc. can eat or drink
something while waiting or watching matches, practices, etc. Think about
football as a social element in Spain, and when you go to small villages or
popular quarters in bigger cities is quite usual to find the old people of the
village watching U-little matches while drinking a coffee and explaining
histories about players, referees, parents, controversial matches and so on.
Another common thing with the majority of Clubs is when travelling for
away matches. In general, teams travel by bus. Grassroots and adults,
unless both teams are from the same city or, very close cities (10-15
minutes by car, with players that can be in both cities), for long distances
(more than 50km.), this travel is done by bus. There are differences in how
its organized. For some Clubs, it doesnt matter if youre a young or adult
team, everybody (players, parents, etc.) travel in the same bus. For other
Clubs, the bus is only for players and staff. Parents, friends, etc. will travel
by car if they want to attend the match. Pro-Clubs do it with all their teams,
but a lot of Amateur Clubs also. There is nothing worse than parents
complaining after a defeat inside a bus, together with the players and
coach. So, the best way to avoid it is that it cant happen.

14. TRAINING IN SPAIN (II)

The first that youll notice, when youre watching a training session in Spain
is that, in general, the ball is always present. Laps, physical circuits, etc.
are less and less present every day, especially at grassroots level. As more
the coaches are educated and, new people are having new ways of training
and new methodologies are used.
Also, the use of technologies is very important. You can find coaches
recording the sessions and the matches, having video sessions with young
kids (12-13), where the coach shows the mistakes that happen. And this is
not only at the highest level. At lowest level there are more and more Clubs
doing it. For the kids, its a very interesting experience: if you tell anyone
that his position was wrong in a certain moment is one thing but, if you
show him on a screen, the player realizes very soon about that. Kids learn
very fast. They are able to absorb a lot of information, especially if this
information is given to them in the right way and, with the correct dosage.
As the kids have also a PC or similar, some information is given to them as
Power Point presentations or Word documents. The use of Social networks
(Twitter, Facebook), is also increasing day by day. Updates about training
schedules or matches are sent via these tools to the players, and answers
are back to coaches.
What are the things done in a training session? Lets break it down. At
grassroots level, and, for the U-littles, theres a lot of technique: games
with ball, technical circuits, skills, etc. Programs like Coerver are used
quite often at the top level to develop and increase the technical quality of
the players. Tactics are introduced at 7-8 years old. Dont forget that all
teams are in competition every weekend so, the players must have a
certain knowledge of tactics before entering the pitch for their first match.
But, as said, the main part is technique. More and more, the technique is
worked together with the tactics, but there are a lot of coaches who prefer,
at these ages (and for older players), to separate both things.

Theres a big difference when teaching technique in Spain, compared to

other countries. Moves (Cruyffs, Maradonas, Zidanes, etc.), are not, in
general, part of the teaching technique, as themselves. As said some
technical programs are used, but as a helping tool, not as the tool. The
coaching courses of the Spanish FA, when talking about Technique,
explain about the correct use of the different parts of the feet, body and
head: how to touch properly the ball, with the different parts of the feet
(inside, instep, laces, etc.), or the body (chest), or the head (side, front).
The idea is that the player has to master the ball. Once he can do that, he
can try to do other things. Foundations are first. To teach a 7 y.o. kid to do
Ronaldos scissors (btw, in Spain this move is called bicycle), when the
player cant just kick the ball 10 meters away is a waste of time. So, the
technique is focused in passing, shooting, control of the ball, dribbling,
running with ball, heading, or technique without ball (defensive technique),
like interception or tackling. Of course, all this dont mean that theres no
room for creativity. Yes, there is. But creativity is a very different concept in
Spain. Here, the concept means something like do the unexpected or do
what the others dont do. With that, any of the moves written before is
considered creative, if they are done at the right time, at the right moment.
With this, its meant that, being the last defender and having the ball, you
shouldnt use (even better, you dont have to), to beat the attacker
dribbling or with any move. Doing these kinds of things is considered more
stupidity and not creativity. Think about that cultures and approaches
are different from country to country so, something that can be considered
right in one place can be wrong in another, and vice versa.
When talking about tactics, the concept of team shape is one of the first
to be introduced, together with marking concepts, cover, etc. The same as
technique, the Spanish books explain tactics in a different way; its all about
principles and, the principles vary from country to country, also. These
principles can be offensive, like counterattack, free space, support or delay
or defensive, like marking, surveillance, delay, interception or pressing.
Another important thing is that the concepts are out of any formation,
meaning that players are taught about the concept of pressing; then every
coach will apply the concept according to the way the team is playing. If the
concept are properly taught, for a player is not a problem to move to one
formation/system to another one, as the concepts remain always the

same; the only thing that will change will be the set-up.
When practising, the main tool will be the Small Sided Games (SSG), that is,
drills in tight spaces (from 5x5 to 2/3 of pitch), depending on number of
players, aim of the drill, age, etc. From 3v1 to 10v10+GKs, with Goals,
without Goals, with Neutral players, without them, etc. the options are
unlimited. Whatever kind of activity can be approached with the
appropriate SSG: offensive, defensive, transitions, possession, finishing,
countering, etc. Think also, because all that has been said before, the
Spanish sessions are not the same as sessions in other country. The
sessions are always about the concept (i.e. width), and then different
drills are applied to look for this width. The session wont be Width in the
final third (i.e.), if not, Width, and then we decide how to apply this
width.
Another different point in the Spanish training is that progressions have a

different meaning. In Spain, when talking about progression in practices
mean from the easiest to the most difficult; it doesnt refer to number of
players, as a general rule. Also, when physical or fitness training is
introduced around 13-14 years old, theres a rule: every day has a different
physical aspect to work and, for example, technique must be worked
with speed and tactics with aerobic work. With that any practice starting
with 1v1 or 2v2 is an anaerobic work, while and scrimmage or similar is an
aerobic work (mainly); so, different energetic systems are used and this is
not according to the general rule. All this can be applied both for young and
old players. In this aspect there are no differences.
For older players, things are different, but not so much. Of course, theres
more fitness work (whatever kind of), but mostly of it, again, is done with
the ball. Still, there are coaches working with laps, etc. but more and more
the Integrated Work is the main for the majority of coaches, without
forgetting the Structured Microcycle (FC Barcelona with Paco Seirullo) or
Tactical Periodization, which every day gets more adept coaches. But the
ball is the king. It is fair to say that, in general, the latin player is lazy,
where lazy means that he doesnt like to run; of you have a group player

and tell them that they have to run for 15 minutes, theyll do it, but they
dont like it; if you give them a ball, probably theyll be running for 3 hours
without stopping. So, the introduction of the SSG and training with ball, in
the middle of the 80s, has helped a lot in this aspect, also because the
Spanish kids/players love the ball.
As expected, there are a lot of rondos (keep-away games) and possession

drills (3v1, 4v2, 6v2, etc.), with different purposes, more than simply keep
the ball. They can be more technical or more tactical (introducing different
aims into the activity); this will depend on the coach, the planning, etc.
Also, there a lot of SSG with GKs and goals (4v4+2GK, 5v5+2GK), as mostly
of the situations given on the pitch and close to the goal involve this
number of players.
This is just a general overview about training. Some drills, activities and
exercises will be found in next chapters.

15. THE SPANISH FA

As it has been mentioned, the Spanish FA (Real Federacin Espaola de
Ftbol or R.F.E.F.), is the Governing Body for football in Spain. It was
founded in 1913, but there was a Clubs Association since 1909. The RFEF is
affiliated to UEFA and FIFA. The actual President (since 1988), is Mr. Angel
Mara Villar. Villar played for Ath. Bilbao in the 70s as a Midfielder and was
capped several times. There are 19 Territorials FA (for the different Regions
or Comunidades Autnomas), and some are older than the same FA (as
the Catalan FA, founded in 1907, but existing as Clubs Association since
1900). Historically, the FA Office was in Madrid, until 2003, when the
Ciudad del Ftbol (City of Football) was built in Las Rozas (outside of
Madrid) and all the Administration, Technical Staff, etc. moved there.
This facility has 5 football pitches (1 of them with Athletic track), and 1 hall
for indoor sports (Futsal, Basketball, etc.); also, a Hotel/Residence, together
with Medical Services, Gym, Restaurant, Conference Rooms, etc.
Since its opening, it has been the place where all the National teams meet
before a competition/match. Also, it has been used for UEFA Mini-

Tournaments in different categories and also, its the Office of the Coaches
School and where the Pro-Level is done.
According to the internal regulations of the FA, all coaches of the different
National teams must hold a Pro-License (or equivalent). Coaches of the
Regional teams (they are appointed by the Territorial FA), must hold, at
least, the UEFA A License or equivalent. As a curiosity, the former
Technical Director of the FA, Fernando Hierro, didnt have the Pro-License
(but he wasnt in charge of any team).
Its obvious that it isnt possible to forget the role of the Spanish FA (As
Governing Body), in the success of the different National Teams during the
last years. Some numbers (all teams, also Clubs included), from the last 10
years will show it:
2 World Cups - 14 European Cups - 3 World Cup Clubs - 5 Champions

League - 5 Europa League
7 European Supercup
And, the majority of these have been won in the last 5 years; so, it doesnt
have to be a big surprise the Spanish domination, especially when a large
number of the Trophies were at Grassroots level.
It has explained before: the Technical Committee of the Spanish FA chose a

path several years ago, for all their teams, based on the formation 1-4-2-3-
1 and, with a clear and defined style of playing. More than this or that
formation or style, what has lead to the success, further than the excellent
group of players and the good management, has been consistency.
Consistency applied the path, without changing it when results were as
good as expected. You have to take also in consideration the difference
when preparing the A squad or the U-17 squad. In the first case, you can
have players from 18 or 19 y.o to 33 or 34; there are no limits; on the other
side, the U-17 is limited by age, which means that older players cant take
part in it. They go the option before and, not all the groups are the same.
We can see it in or daily work with our clubs, especially those who work at
grassroots level: maybe, the 97s is a very good group, but it doesnt mean

that 98s will be the same. So, sometimes you are not so successful. But, it
doesnt mean to change all your system.
Also, as mentioned the Scouting system inside the FA is quite good, with
regular meetings of the coaches, and also, with the coaches of the different
Territorial FA and Club Coaches. Think that a lot of these coaches were
professional players, sometimes in the same team, so, therere quite good
relations among them. Other times, these coaches have been involved for
many years in the grassroots system, so, everybody knows me, and I know
everybody. All this means that, in general, communication in both
directions has a high degree of fluidity so coaches can know, just with one
phone call, about the players and their circumstances. Also, one important
thing is to know as much as possible about the environment of the players
(parents, brothers and sisters, relatives, friends, school, etc.). Knowing all
this helps a lot the coaches to understand some behaviour. In the case of
U-17 or U-19, we are talking about young players, earning earlier important
money so, its good to know what happens with that. Just a couple of
shorts stories about that.
Some years ago, one of the coaches of the National Staff explained to me
about a young player who signed his first contract as Pro-player with a
team; after that, he went and bought a house for his parents. A second
player in another team, after signing the contract, went and bought a very
expensive car. My colleague thought about the first player that he would
be successful; about the second, he wouldnt. In both cases, he was right:
but, like these, there are many cases and the coaches want to know whats
going on around them.
I wrote in another chapter about the fees that parents pay, and I said that
in big Clubs, they pay nothing. Also, the Clubs provide education for the
kids (they pay the studies, until the age of 18); and one common thread
with all the Top Clubs is that if player doesnt pass the exams, hes out of
the Club, no matter how good he is. A player that arrives at 18 y.o. in a big
Club, at least has to complete the equivalent to High School.
In National teams, things are quite similar; when players go to International

Tournaments (UEFA, FIFA), that sometimes can be 3-4 times per year, being
away 10-12 days, a teacher is travelling with the staff, and every day, after
o before training, after o before match, theres 1 or 2 of study together
with the teacher, so, the parents know that their kids, even not attending
classes during this period, will continue studying. And, of course, its not
only Spain in this aspect; the majority of European FAs do the same: If you
are not good enough for football, you have studies and can do something
in life is the idea. The football player of the seventies with no studies,
short minded, etc. has changed a lot. Today you can find more and more
players with a University Degree and speaking several languages. I would
like to remember a player that wanted to be a Doctor. He played for many
years in the Spanish First Division and he only moved to cities with
Medicine Faculty so, he could play football and study at the same time.

16. COACHING COURSES

In different chapters we have talk about some aspects about coaching;
now, well take a look to the Coaching Structure and Courses.
Since the Coaching Convention of UEFA came into force, there are, in
Europe, 3 kinds of Licenses: UEFA B, UEFA A and UEFA Pro. Not all
the countries in Europe offer all the licenses (Andorra, San Marino or
Lichtenstein are among them), and not all countries ask for the same
license to be a Manager in the 1st Division. Also, every country has own
licenses (UEFA C, D, Youth, GK, etc. according to their needs)
In Spain, to be a Coach in the 1st, 2nd or 2nd B Division, you need the Pro
license (or equivalent); for 3rd Division, A license is needed and every
Territorial FA will ask for a certain badge (A or B), to coach the teams
inside the area. This includes also grassroots teams; every FA is free to
organize the badges needed for U-16 or U-14.
CATEGORY COACH ASS. COACH

st
1 DIVISION UEFA PRO UEFA A
2nd DIVISION UEFA PRO UEFA A
2nd B DIVISION UEFA PRO UEFA A
3rd DIVISION UEFA A UEFA B
You can notice that the Assistant Coach doesnt need to have the same
badge; also, in the contract is written is someone is the Coach or the
Assistant, so, they know what kind of license you need, but in general, all
Assistant Coaches in these Categories have a PRO Licence.
The main topics are Technique, Tactics, Fitness, Methodology,

LOTG, Managing or Technologies, among other. What changes from
level to level is the complexity; Technique in 1st Level (B), is lower than in
the 2nd (A) or, in the 3rd (Pro). For those interested in the complete
Curriculum, you can check the website of the Spanish FA (www.rfef.es),
where all the information is available.

As mentioned also, Coaching Courses are about Concepts (Technical,

Tactical, Defensive or Offensive). Its a not about the movements of a
certain player (i.e. the DM), in a certain formation (i.e. 1-4-3-3), because
the roles and responsibilities are given by the coach, not by the
formation/system used. Because of this, and also, probably because the
early introduction of tactics in training, the Spanish players are considered
among the ones with more tactical knowledge in the World.
At this point, one explanation must be given, just to ensure that we all in
the same page of the vocabulary.
Spanish FA defines Tactic as all the actions of attacking and defending

that can be done to surprise or counter the opponents during a match
WHEN THE BALL IS IN PLAY; so, whatever movement done with a non
stopped ball is Tactics
Strategy is defined as all the actions that can be done when the ball is
stopped, meaning set-pieces, throw-in, corner kick, kick off, etc.
I write this because it can create confusion, as the words are used in
different way according to the country, area or coach. In our case, these
are the meanings.
The amount of hours is around 200 hours (plus 80 in practices), for the B,
course, 275+200 for the A and 300+300 for the Pro. Compared to other
countries, its really much more, but you have to take in consideration that
the Youth Module offered as another Course by different FAs is included.
This number of hours (in-class hours), also include practical classes on the
pitch, especially for Technique, Tactics and Fitness. The hours of
practice must be within a Club, with a contract as Manager or Assistant
Manager according to the level desired, etc. Think about that Coaches are
linked, in general, to a Club. That means, and it happens very often, that
players start their studies as Coach when they are playing. So, its normal
that the player is the Coach for a U-10 or U-12 team. The 200 and 300
hours are considered the amount of hours that a junior and semi-pro team
spent in training and matches.

So, when a coach take the final exams to get the badge, the questions and
activities/exercises will be about these concepts; about Marking or
Support or whatever but not (i.e.) Penetration on the final third trough
the right winger. I dont mean this is good or bad, simply is a different way
to focus in the courses.
In the next Table, you can see the Topics in the different courses of the
Spanish FA. As mentioned, mostly are similar and the difference is in the
level of difficulty, but the topic is the same.
Level 1 (B) Level 2 (A) Level 3 (PRO)

Anatomy (1) Anatomy (2) Physiology
Psicopedagogics Psicopedagogics Biomechanics
(1) (2)
Sociology (1) Sociology (2) Psychology
Organization/Laws Organization/Laws Sociology
(1) (2)
Fitness (1) Fitness (2) Management
Technique (1) Technique (2) Training
Tactics (1) Tactics (2) Technique (3)
LOTG (1) LOTG (2) Tactics (3)
Methodology (1) Methodology (2) LOTG (3)
Team Team Methodology (3)
Management (1) Management (2)
Team
Management (3)
Professional
Develop
New
Technologies
Foreign Language
We have to say that the Topics in the 3rd Level (UEFA PRO) are all them
referred to High Sportive Performance. Its considered that, when someone
is going to this course its to become a Pro-Coach, working at high level,
From there, the Topics.

As it has been also mentioned, the concept of Academy doesnt exist in

Spain as in UK, Germany, France or US. For this reason, there arent
qualifications needed to be an Academy Director or member of the Staff;
only those that are Managers in any of the teams will need a badge
according to the level of the team. No badge or degree for that. The same
applies for the Technical Director of a Club. In fact, Spanish regulations
dont say a word about Directors of any kind. Every Club is free to
organize its own technical staff at its convenience. There are courses also
for Technical Directors organized by the Spanish FA, but it is not
compulsory to have the badge.
Something Ive found quite different is when we talk about Principles of

the Game. In Spain, these principles are very well defined; there are
Offensive Principles (when the team has the ball), like Attack,
Counterattack, Free Spaces, Support, Delay, etc, and Defensive
Principles (when the team doesnt have the ball), like Marking, Retreat,
Cover, Delay, Tackling, etc. In some countries there are no Principles
defined or, they are not clear and you can find interesting conversations
about what can be considered principles and the problems that sometimes
they have when they move to another team/coach, as the set-up is not the
same.

17. EXERCISES
We talked before about how are the sessions organized in Spain and what
is mainly the methodology. In this chapter, well see some of the most
typical exercises used in Spain.
The first thing to notice is that these activities can be used (and they are
used), at all levels and ages. Rondos and possession games are
introduced at early stages of development. It wont be estrange to find kids
of 9-10 doing it. Its just a question about how to adapt the size of the grid
or the number of players and coaches.
The first one is one of the most typical in warm-up, being used, first, by FC
Barcelona (as far as I know, it was used in the 90s, when Cruyff was the
manager; probably, its one of the exercises he took from Ajax) and,
actually for a lot of teams, included the National Team; its a 8v2 in a grid of
10x10 meters. At this level its played with just one touch and, and the
worst that can happen is that the defenders are nutmeg or split by the ball.
The key point in this, and all the positional exercises is this: they are
positional; this means that the players with the ball must stay just on the
line; these are not games where players go dribbling inside or whatever;
the idea is always look for the best pass; this implies a lot of awareness and
decision making. The player is waiting for the ball, looking for the options
to pass and knowing that theres no time to control the ball and pass it;
when the ball arrives to the player, immediately is kicked to another player;
if you are bad positioned, not ready, etc. you fail (passing or receiving,
depending where you are) and, you must go to the middle to chase the
ball.
The next activity is another rondo, but this, more than a warm-up, is a
real positional SSG with implications in the way the team plays. This one
is 4v1 in a 5x5 grid. Again, at high level is played with just 1 touch, so, the
same we told before can be applied here, about awareness and/or decision
making; of course, technique is also very important: you can be ready but,
if your technique is not good, you wont be successful when passing. This is
used a lot to improve the quality of the first touch (no matter if its a pass
or a control of the ball). As we said, this game has real implications on the
way of playing. Why? Easy: Imagine that the player at the bottom is one of
the CB; the players on the side are the other CB and one of the FB and, the
player at the TOP is one of your DM. This first diagram just show the drill,
and nothing else; just how to an activity.

This is the game as itself (4v1); now, well show a new picture, with names
written on it; probably, its easier to understand the idea of this exercise
and how it can be used. I think that all of us have seen several times this
disposition on the pitch, and also this kind of movements with the ball.

Here is the result: the four players (3 Defenders and 1 Midfielder) can play
the ball in this keep away game but, as written, its a real part of the
time. You have seen the players several times positioned in that way and
the ball moving from one to another: also, if the man at the bottom was
Casillas and the two men wide were Piqu and Puyol, with Alonso at the
top, we would find that this is a normal build up from the back for Spain.
The next situation is closer to opponents goal, but with the same set-up:
one player at the bottom, two on the sides, and one at the top. Exactly the
same as before, but with names and situation of the pitch changed. But,
the important thing is that this drill (as many others), can be used no
matter your formation or where you are on the pitch. Change players, go
right, left, up or down, but youll also find this disposition several times on
a pitch during a match. And thats the important thing.

We are now going to a drill than that can be considered a progression from
the last one; in this case, its a 4v2; quite similar, but players are working in
pairs; this means that the chasing players, no matter who of them can get
the ball, will go to be players and, for the same, if a player loses the ball is
he a his mated the ones that goes in. Its a easy drill to introduce the
concept of team; its not my self alone: its me and my partner. If the
pressure over the carrier/kicker is good and the second (cover), is well
positioned, its possible to recover the ball easily or, force the team with
ball to a mistake. And, at the same time, as you can see, the concept of
pressure/cover is easily introduced.

In this case, the grid will be no larger than 10x10. If its bigger, too much
space for the chasers and it will be quite difficult to get the ball; for very
advanced and experienced players, a smaller grid can be possible. As
written, 1 or 2 touches (maximum) for the players, unless they are young
and beginners and we want to show them about these concepts. As before,
this drill is still a positional one, so, the players must stay on the line and
cant go in dribbling or whatever. Again, the accuracy of the pass is a key
for the success of the drill.
The next drill offered is a different category. Its still among the possession
drills, but now we have 3 different teams. 2 of them have the ball and the
third one has to recover. This is not a positional drill, meaning that the
players will everywhere on the grid. The size of the grid is around 40x40
and normally is played with 2 touches maximum. Again, it depends of the
quality of the players and how familiar they are with this kind of drill.

The idea is that 3 teams with the same number of players (if possible), in
each team, so it can be played from 12 players (4+4v4) to 24 or 27 (9+9v).
The drill have several variations, and it can be played by time (which team
will recover more balls in a certain period), or, simply, just the team that
loses the ball has to recover it. Also, drills like that, in the Integrated
methodology are used as fitness exercises, just making the grid bigger (i.e.
half pitch), but whit the same rules.
Another possibility, with the same general idea, is the next one: 10v10+N,
where 2 teams, with the Neutral player giving support to the team in
possession, try to keep the ball as much as possible. As usual, as a coach,
one can decide if the game is played with 1 touch or 2 or free number or
touches if you want the players dribbling inside the grid. This grid will
around 40x40 meters.

All the drills we have seen have a common topic: to keep the possession of
the ball. And all of them have a large number of variations: more players,
less players, bigger or smaller area, number of touches, etc. but its always
the idea of keeping the ball. Also neutral players are used very often in
these games, to give more options to the team with ball and, at the same
time, to make that the team without ball has to work harder to recover it.
All these drills have another common topic: they are non-directional drills;
there are no goals where to shot or to score; the winner will be according
number of passes or time with ball possession.
The following exercises are directional, meaning, with goals. The first one is
a drill that can be used for a lot of different things. Its a 4v4 (+2GKs), that
can be also 5v5, depending on number of players, etc. The grid is around
40x30 and, as said, there are many options.

Options that can be used in this drill: limited number of touches, minimum
number of passes before scoring, compactness of team (all team in
opponents half to score a goal), whatever technical element that you can
add (goal only heading, one touch finishing, add points for tackling, etc.).
Other option can be, for example, having a large number of players to
organize a Brazilian tournament (the team that wins stay on the pitch,
and the losers go out; another team comes in), and also with all the
technical elements that you want to add.
The second one is another directional, with a multi-goal system. Theres a

big goal with Goalkeeper and 2 small goals. The idea for this SSG is that
players and teams learn to move from one side to another, especially when
then play is quick switched: as theres a goal on each side, is not enough to
avoid the cross. Players also have move in order that a goal cant be scored
into the small goals.

Another typical activity in Spanish training is a match in small spaces. We

are talking about a normal match, but in a place that can be, for example,
half pitch. One of the teams (the starters for Spain), will play the normal
formation of Spain (1-4-2-3-1), while the other team will play as the next
opponent (in this case, its a 1-4-3-3)

You can see the situation described before.
Another option, in this case of matches with all the players, but in smaller
areas, is to use channels. The channels are used to facilitate the action of
the wingers; can be used by own wingers or, in case Spain will face a team
with good wingers and crosses, to make the opponents play in this way.
What will happen then is that Spain will play the normal way and the
other team will use the free channels for crossing.

This is what we explained, using the cones to have the channels clearly
limited.
A classic activity used by all teams is Crossing and Finishing; there are two
possible options; the first one, is a player that runs with the ball and
crosses; the second option is a player running, receiving a pass (that can be
vertically or diagonally), and crossing. In both cases, 2-3 go for finishing;
remember that, when we were explaining the way of playing of Spain, we
talked about this crosses and finishes. This is a very simple way to practice
it.

Another kind of activities used is those referred to ball possession and

passing. We are not talking about rondos or similar, if not about simple
passing games among some players. The two following diagrams show it in
two different ways.
The first one is a simple passing game with 4 players and following a
pattern. Normally, these kinds of activities are done clockwise and anti-
clockwise, so the players can practice both side. All the activities like that
(without opposition), requires a high level of concentration to make a pass
with real accuracy.
The second activity related to creating passing patterns is a game with

3v3+2GK+4N. The 4 Neutral players, locate 2 of them at each end, give a lot
of passing options and allow for creation of patterns.

The first drill is the passing pattern and the second shows the exercise
related to the creation of a passing pattern.

As we have mentioned, a lot of drills are possession based. The next

exercise is a clear example for that. In the picture you can see three teams
(Red, Yellow and Black), two at each end and one in the middle; the teams
at the ends have the ball and they can decide to pass the ball to a
teammate of the same team or, at the other end; a player from the third
team, can enter into the area to chase the ball, while the other two player
will try to intercept the ball if it is passed from end to end.

Here is the drill mentioned.
The use of Neutral players is very common in Spain. The following drill is
one of them, with the same number of Neutral players than Non-neutral
players. Its a 2v2+4N, where the Neutral players are outside. They provide
width and support, both at the same time.
When preparing the movement of the players, an exercise that has all the
players of the team working at the same time is the next, 6v4+GK; 6 are the
attacking players, 2 DM, 2WNG, 1AM and 1 ST; the 4 are the defenders of
the team, also located in their natural position; this means, RFB, RCB, LCB
and LFB. This exercise is highly recommended for the defenders, as they
work a lot on keeping their shape, also pressure and cover and. Also, its
god to practice which player will jump when the Striker is moving from
side to side. A second option is to use the 6 Attackers as classical 2MF, 2
WNGS, 2ST. Both are possible.

A similar set-up, but with less players, is the following one: 2v2+GK; can be
used for stopping/finishing counter attacks (depending if you are the
attacker or the defender, of course) and, also, can be used for the
coordination of the 2 CB together with the GK.

Similar to the 2v2+4 put a few pages ago, is the next one; its a 6v6+4N;
again, the idea of using Neutral players for giving width on the pitch.
A variation will be the last exercise on the list; it`s another 6v6+4N, but, in
this case, there are 2 Neutrals outside and 2 Neutral players inside. With
this, we have width and, at the same time, we have 2 players helping to
create superiority. Drills like this are used several times, just changing the
number of players involved

All these are just examples of activities commonly used in Spain. Mostly of
them are used at all levels: Grassroots and Adults. As said, there are no
limits about ages or level of players; with adjusting the number of touches

or the size of the grid or the number of players, all them can be used by
everybody.

18. FOOTBALL IN SPAIN
It is not a surprise if a say that football is the most popular sport in Spain, at
all levels. But this isnt something new. The popularity of the game has
been high in Spain, even in all these years with no trophies at National
level. Some of the Stadiums are among those with high capacity in Europe,
like Santiago Bernabu (Real Madrid), Mestalla (Valencia, CF), or Benito
Villamarn (Real Betis), but the largest, also in Europe, is the Camp Nou
(FC Barcelona), with a capacity of 99,354 spectators. Watching Bara-
Madrid or Madrid-Bara, a match known as El Clsico everywhere and
only by the journalists in Spain, is one of the activities that I would highly
recommend to any football.
In fact the name of EL Clsico was originally only for the League Matches,
and not for Cup or European Competitions. It is more a marketing question
to call it in that way than anything else.
The picture in the previous page is from the last FC Barcelona v R. Madrid,
played at Camp Nou on October, 7th, 2012 that finished 2-2. No other
match in the World can be compared with this one, because it is more than
a match. Its a clash of two cultures, two ways of living, two ways of
understanding a lot of things in a different manner. Probably, the funniest
thing about these Clubs is that Bara was founded by a Swiss living in

Catalunya (Hans Gamper) and, Real Madrid was founded by two Catalan
brothers living in Madrid (Carlos and Juan Padrs).
There are two sportive newspapers in each city and that is plenty!, days
before and days later, with pictures, declarations of players, managers,
fans, etc. Also, according to the score, the referee, the performance of the
players, etc. more and more pages and hours of TV and radio will be filled.
Think about the programs on TV and radio dedicated only to talk about
football matters.
Of course, not all is about Barcelona and Madrid in Spanish football, but we
are talking about 2 of the Clubs with the biggest stadiums and attendance
in Europe; also two of the Clubs with the biggest budget in the World and
also, two of the Clubs with the biggest number of fans around the World so
probably they deserve a litle bit in the book. Another common thread
about these two Clubs is that they dont have an owner (person or society);
both Clubs are governed by a President and a Board, elected by all the
members (socios).
One particularity in Spanish is that several Clubs are owners of the

Stadiums where they play, as it was mentioned. About the half of the
teams in the First Division and, some in the Second, own the Stadium. But
more and more, this is changing; Clubs need modern Stadiums and, in
some cases, they dont have enough money to build a new one. Only
Espanyol, some years ago and now Ath. Bilbao (next season) have new
stadiums. Valencia or At. Madrid has postponed several times a new
Stadium.
Some other Clubs have Honours in the Spanish competitions, but not too
much. Bara, Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, At. Madrid, Ath. Bilbao or Espanyol
are among the Clubs who have won the League (that started in the season
1928-29), the Cup or both. But there arent too many. In fact only 9 teams
have won La Liga at least 1 time and, these 9 teams have also won the
Cup. There are other 6 teams that won the Cup at least once, but they
never got the League. That means, with more than 100 years of History in
Spain only 15 different teams has won any of the competitions, with
Madrid (32) and Barcelona (21) the Clubs with more titles. Only three
teams (Barcelona, Madrid and Ath. Bilbao), have played only in the First
Division.
In the Cup the situation is a little bit different; Bara has 26 titles and
Madrid, 18, but, between them you have Ath. Bilbao, with 23
Championships.
There are some particularities about Spanish Clubs. We have explained

who founded Barcelona and Madrid, but, Madrid was as subsidiary of RCD
Espanyol, as the founders were supporters of this team; something similar
with At. Madrid, which was founded by some Basque students in Madrid
and, it was a subsidiary of Ath. Bilbao. In some cases, also, the rivalities
between Clubs in the same city are given by the origin of the Clubs. In the
majority of cases, its because one of the Clubs was considered the Club of
the rich people and, the other one was the Popular Club; in the first
group, we have Real Madrid, RCD Espanyol, Valencia CF or Sevilla FC; in the
second, FC Barcelona, At. Madrid, Levante UD (from Valencia) or Real Betis
(from Sevilla). This was more in the origin, as, today, Clubs have supporters
form all conditions and areas. Also, familiar traditions are typical in Spain,
with a lot of members in a same family supporting a Club. The tradition, as
usual, is from parents to sons and daughters, grandsons, etc. Its quite
normal to see different members of the family going together to the
stadiums to attend matches.
As it has become more and more normal around the World, the League
(First and Second Division), is organized by the Professional League (LFP),
even it is the FA the one that have the decisions about referees, sanctions,
etc.
A big difference, between Spain (and the majority of European countries), if

you compare with US and the forms of competition there, is that the
League exist because the Clubs have created to improve their interests.
Its not a group of people creating a League and, later, giving franchises to
cities and clubs. So, no minimum salaries, or similar, as any Club decides, by
its own, what will be the best to accomplish their aims.

19. FACTS AND FIGURES

Before ending, I would like to put some numbers that show about the
reality of Spanish football.
The number of people living in Spain is around 47M. The number of

football licenses are around 740,000, with 700,000 players and 40,000
coaches, staff and team administrators; they come from around 12,000
Clubs and 49,000 teams in all categories. This gives an average of less than
5 teams per club and its according to the idea of small cities with 1 club
and 1 or 2 teams only.
Less than 2,000 are professional players. Around 130,000 amateur players
and the rest (around 570,000) are grassroots players, from 8 to 19 years old
or, ladies/girls (around 40,000). So, the pyramid has a very big foundation
and it gives you more about the idea that football is more social than
business.
If we look at these numbers more detailed, well found that U-19, U-16, U-
14 and U-12 have, each one, 100,000 players; U-10 are 80,000 and U-8,
50,000.
The distribution also shows, that, in general, theres uniformity in it,

meaning that, for every Territorial FA, the ratio is similar (1,000 U-19
means around 1,000 U-16 for each one).
What is very different from one Territorial FA is the number of registered

coaches, as not all the FAs has the same rules for what is regarding the
registration of them; also, some FAs dont ask for a UEFA B (or
equivalent) in many of the grassroots competitions; some of them only
demand an equivalent to UEFA C and they are not officially considered as
Coaches, as this only starts when holding the UEFA B.
We said that there are professional players, but there arent

professional coaches; only when a coach signs a contract it is written if

the coach has an Amateur or Professional status and, as it was said

before there arent a big number of Full-time coaches.
With all this number of players and teams, you can imagine the amount of
matches played every week-end. And these matches need a referee.
Number of referees is increasing in Spain (some people consider that,
because of the crisis, is a good way for some people to get extra money),
but the referee has been seen as the bad side of the game. The fact that
the game is so popular in Spain makes that everybody can have opinions
about this or that call. The situation has changed a lot in the last years, but
still today is possible to find news about referees kicked by players or
spectators, especially at the lower levels. But this is changing, for the good
of the game. But there arent enough referees yet, so, its quite easy to find
that some (a lot of, to be right), have to referee 3 or 4 matches in a week-
end. Just as information, a Top referee can earn 180,000 per year (all
included), while youll receive 40 for a U-12 match (it depends of every
Territorial, as each one has different fees). The fees for the referees are
payed by the Home Club normally, but, at grassroots level, the fees are
shared. For every official match, a referee will be appointed. Depending on
the age and category, there will be also Assistant Referees, but never for U-
12 and younger.
Some other interesting figures are the number of spectators and the
revenue for TV rights. The average of spectators was a little bit more than
26,000 for the season 2011/12; as mentioned, a lot of stadiums have big
capacities (9 Stadiums have a capacity of 40,000 or more), but they are not
full. If you compare with England (average of 36,000) or Germany (44,000),
you will see that theres a big gap. As indicated, crisis, prices of tickets and
schedules are the biggest issues to improve the numbers, especially when
you can see that the stadiums are half empty (or half full, if you prefer).
TV rights are actually in Spain being a problem; the total amount of money
is 600M; Barcelona and Madrid get, each one, 140M; which means that
for the rest of teams (18), they receive 320M; some Clubs get just 12M;
on the other side, England Clubs receive 1,000M and the difference
between the best paid and the worst paid is quite different compared to

Spain (68-44). In fact, Spanish Clubs want to make a new deal, and well see
how its going on; for some clubs, this could be the end if the money
coming from TV rights wasnt enough.

20. SOME CONSIDERATIONS

The first thing to say is that we are talking about a Golden Era in Spanish
football. Never, in all history, the National Team, the Clubs, the players and
the coaches were so well considerate. Every time an award was given
several players and coaches are among the nominated. Yes, its Messi and
Ronaldos time, and they are always (or close to always), the winners of the
trophies. But we cant forget that Iniesta got the award as Best European
Player for UEFA in 2012, for example. Xavi Hernndez was the third in
2009, 2010 and 2011; Iniesta was also the second in 2010 and he is one of
the three finalists for the 2012 edition. So, we can talk that this is not a
casualty. In fact, Xavi and Iniesta have been considered for a lot of fans,
coaches, players and media as the players that make the engine move so,
its not strange that they are among the players nominates and the
finalists.
If you take a look also, at the FIFA/FIFPro WorldXI, Casillas has been in for
the last 5 times; Puyol 2 times; Piqu and Ramos, 3; Xavi in 5, Iniesta in 4
and Alonso in 3; finally, Torres have been in 2 occasions and Villa, 1.
For the UEFA awards, the situation is very similar; Casillas, 5 times; Puyol 6
times (4 in the last years, the same as Xavi); Iniesta in 3; Piqu in 2, and
Ramos, Villa, Torres and Fbregas, 1 time. Really impressive
So, there are a lot of questions when people wonder about the success of
Spanish football. Is it all a casualty? Is it all a fantastic planning prepared to
arrive at the Top? Is it the players? Or the coaches? Or the Officials?
Well, its a little bit of all this and, a little bit of nothing about that. The first
thing to consider, of course, is the fantastic group of players, working
consistently, for several years with the same aims and ideas. As written
before, having an idea and believe in it, helps a lot. They have quality
enough by themselves. Obviously, having this as a starting point is very
good. After this, of course, another point is coaching. Spanish coaches (and
Spanish people, in general), were for several years like isolated, without
learning languages or exchanging experiences, etc. This has changed a lot
and now you can see that the coaches are able to speak in different
languages, with a lot of study and background about the game. The same
that happens with the players, its happening with coaches. A lot of Spanish
coaches are going abroad, to explain their experiences but, also, to see and
learn whats happening in other countries. And we are not talking also
about Top Coaches and Teams. At a grassroots level, there are a big
number of coaches working in different countries, so, the experiences that
can go from here to there or, from there to here are great.
Theres something that has changed a lot in Spain during the last years;
Clubs are more and more professional, in all aspects; we talked before as
how very day there are more and more professional (Full-time) coaches at
all levels in Spain. With the Officials (Boards, Administration, Marketing,
etc), its happening the same. More and more, youll find that these people
are graduated in Harvard, Paris or Oxford, with all the background and
knowledge implied by it.
Just to have an idea, a Club at the Top or, the National Team, can have the
same amount of players and Staff. Coaches, Administrators, Kit Manager,
Scout, Doctors, Physiotherapist, etc. make life easier for players and, of
course, the player know how important is all this people for them; they
only have to worry about football!!
Another point is about facilities; in the sixties, seventies or eighties, the

majority of pitches (out of 1st, 2nd and 2nd B Division) and, of course, at
grassroots level, were with sand and clay; no grass. This has changed and a
lot of teams have now artificial turf. This allows that a lot of people are
training/working at the same time; also, when its raining, pitches arent
muddy and matches can be played without problems. And of course, it
helps for the technical development of the player; its not the same to train
and play on an irregular surface that on a very regular one, with all the
advantages that the players and the coaches can find.
So, when you put all this together, the chances for improving are higher
and higher.
Of course, not everything is fantastic; the first point is about the financial
problems that have the majority of clubs, not only because the general
crisis, that in Spain is being really hard, but also for the laissez faire idea
in Spanish economy (buy today, pay maybe tomorrow... or not). This has
affected a lot of Clubs and, some of them are under Judges intervention
(remember that some teams couldnt play European competitions because
this bad Administration).
Also, there are still a large amount of coaches living in the stone age. Its
true that every day they are less and less, but, in some small Clubs, coaches
are still with old fashioned methodologies. Its also true, but, that the Clubs
at the Top, and a large number of medium size Clubs (Amateur Clubs), are
run in a very close professional way (even the Board and the Staff are not
professional), but working very well and doing a lot of good things. Its not
strange to find that a lot of players in the best teams didnt started their
career there and they arrived at 14 or 15 years old (older in some cases),
coming from other places which mean that the work done in this
medium/small Clubs were good, as they were able to develop good players.
But coaching, in some aspects, is still something that needs to be improved
more and more, especially at those lower levels.
With all that, is not meant that Spanish football side is in danger; at least,
from the sportive point of view, the health is quite good with the National
Team and the Clubs getting trophies and championships around the World
and with a lot of players nominated every year for all kind of awards (UEFA,
FIFA, Newspapers, etc.), as mentioned earlier in the chapter. The problem
can come, as explained, from the economical side. With the problems
explained, together with the high price of the tickets (a CL match can cost
180) and, the incredible schedules for the matches (at the beginning of
the season, some matches started at 11:00PM!!, with supporters attending
the match dressed in a pyjama, as a way to protest about it; the official
explanation was that in Spain it is very hot at the end of August; of course,
the coaches didnt agree with it, and, they said that playing so late meant
to go to sleep very late and training session the next day had to be
postponed for later).
In any case, we have to wait and see for whats going to happen in the
following years. Will we see Spanish clubs in bankruptcy? Will the find, with

all this prepared people new ways to raise and improve? Will we see more
and more Spanish players abroad because of these problems? Only time
will tell.

21. THE FUTURE

Its obvious that the actual situation is not going to last forever. There are
cycles, and some players will be retired or not fit and other players will
arrive to the team.
What is important, but, is that Spain is right now at the top. For several
years it has been we want, but we cant; now, Spain wants and can. The
generation of players like Xavi, Puyol, Alonso, Villa, etc. will go, but there a
lot of players with a lot of years to give yet. Casillas is 31 (for a GK this is
still young); Valds and Reina are 30, but De Gea is just 22; Iniesta and
Cazorla (28), Ramos and Silva (26), Piqu and Fbregas (25), Busquets,
Mata and Javi Martnez (24), Alba (23), etc. So, a lot of players with many
years still. If we consider that a player can be in a very good form (this, of
course, is not a general rule), until he arrives to 33 or 34 years old, well see
that some of them can have 7, 8 or more years before they retire.
On goal, it looks like that De Gea will have to wait for some years to
become the starter GK of the Spanish Team. Something similar to Reina
and Valds, that play only friendly matches or Qualification matches where
all is decided. Considering that a GK can last until hes 37 or 38, it looks like
De Gea will be starter around 29 or 30. Not the best, but when three of the
best GK in the World are before you, is quite difficult. In fact, this is
something normal in Spain. Irbar was the GK in the sixties and seventies,
Arkonada, in the seventies and eighties; Zubizarreta in the eighties and
nineties and now Casillas. With only 4 GK we are covering more than 40
years of National Team in Spain.
Montoya, Bartra or Muniesa (if the last one can finish with all the injuries
he had the last years), could be the ones that will arrive earlier as starters
(Montoya has made his debut for the A); all them have played with the
U-17 and U-19 teams; Montoya and Bartra are also usually called for the U-
21 squad. Thiago or Isco are among the midfielders that are called to have
an important role within the next years. They play quite usually for their
Clubs (Barcelona and Mlaga) and also, in Iscos case he is an usual starter
for his Club. Thiago is also a player that arrived to the U-21 earlier than his

correspondent age. This is also a very common thread in Spanish National
Team: if a player is good enough, hes promoted to the A team, no
matter how young he is.
As forwards, Munian, Jes, or Deulofeu are the ones called to be the next
stars. Or, at least, they should. Deulofeu is just 18 (born 1994) and made
his debut for the 1st team of Bara last season; hes been twice UEFA U-19
Champion, as a starter in the team (think about this season is the one the,
per age, is the correspondent for him to be in the U-19 squad), and also
had several calls and matches for the U-21 team. Munian and Jes are
different; the first one is starter at Ath. Bilbao, with just 20 years old (he
made his debut for the Basque side with 16 y.o., being the youngest player
in all Athletic history to play for the first team). Jes plays for Real Madrid
B and is a striker with a lot of options to be part of the first squad very
soon. Both, Munian and Jes, have followed all the path from U-17
National Team. Munian has made his debut for the A National Team and
Jes has played for the U-21.
We are just talking about those that have to be the first relay. Players that
are in the U-21 team or have made appearances for the A squad in the
last months. We cant talk about all the players that are in the U-19 squad
or U-17 squad, as the list would be really longer. How well will they
perform? You never know; this is impossible to say; sometimes, players
that looks like they get everything (just like Bojan Krkic), and now they are
really far away of the National Team. But, it is obvious that, with so many
titles clinched in the lower categories, it looks like that it should work.
You also have players that never were called, to any team, before they
arrive to the first team (Busquets or Pedro are examples of that), or players
that have to be retired before they want to, but thats another question.
Whats important now for Spain is that they finally reached the Top,
meaning that, from now on, Spain is always a favourite team to get any
title; of course, Germany, Netherlands, Italy or France are there, in general,
and when we talk about WC, we must add Brazil and Argentina.

This also has changed the Spanish mentality in many aspects. Today, the
players feel confident with themselves and now they can achieve more. But
also among the fans; its quite common now, when big Tournaments
(EURO, FIFA WC), to find a lot of Spanish supporters in the stands. It wasnt
normal before. Only in big Club Finals you could find a lot of supporters
travelling around Europe to attend matches; now, its becoming more and
more popular; the same as wearing the Red shirt of Spain. Another thing
that has changed. And, of course, the fact of being really proud of the team
and the players, something that wasnt so usual several years ago.
And, what about the next manager? Thats another 1M$ question. When
Del Bosque decides to leave (normally, after WC in Brazil, as he will be 64),
the lotteries and bets will start to work; at the moment, until that time (or
later, if the result is good and both, him and the FA decide to make a new
deal), everything is closed and theres no room for speculations. August
2014 is too far away.
The last question about this process could be: Will Spain change the way of
playing? It can sound a little strange but, in football, victories and defeats
go by cycles. Now, is the winning time, with a defined style and way of
playing. I bet that, for a short term, this is not going to change, at least if
victories continue. If defeats in top competitions come or, the team doesnt
reach the semi-finals in major tournaments, there will be voices, of course,
that will claim for another way of playing (as it was explained what
happened in the WC2010 in South Africa); for the younger teams, if they
continue in the way they are, meaning that not every year there is a
victory, but theres no more than two years without any trophy and also,
given that the pressure of the media is nothing compare to the first team,
they will continue for a long time playing that way. In fact, it wont be the
first time that the U-19 or U-17 were playing one way and the A team in
another, but that was long time ago. Actually, the consistency in the way of
playing is very high and it has been also noted, the players dont realize too
much when they move from one team to the next one.
Yes, the players wont be the same, even they have similar qualities, but
will they be able to deal with the pressure of winning (or the need of

winning) all trophies? Not all the players are the same (remember the case
of Navas, from Sevilla FC; he was several months out of football because of
anxiety problems; finally, he recovered and could play in the WC2010).
The same can be applied to the next manager, in this aspect: How will deal
with the pressure of winning yes or yes? With all the journalists and the
fans claiming for more and more (Thats Spain: we have 1, we want 2;
when we have 2, we want 3 and, if the third is not got, then, it is
considered a bad performance), its not going to be an easy job for the next
manager. Well see.

APENDEX 01. THE END OF THE BOOK
This is the first time I write a book. Im not a writer, just a football coach so,
I hope readers can understand some mistakes made when writing.
I have to say that I enjoyed a lot writing the book; it has been a fantastic
experience. Sometimes, I thought about it, but never found how to do it or
how to publish it; when, some weeks ago I received a message from Mike
Saif and the WCC team I was very surprised. And I said to myself Why
not? At least, I can say that I tried. So, thanks Mike, for the opportunity. I
hope this works!
The book is about the success of the Spanish football in the last years; it
doesnt want to be any kind of encyclopaedia or similar. As I said, Im just a
football coach and these are my points of view as coach and, as someone
interested in football. And this is written as a football coach so, my point of
view doesnt have to be the same as the readers, but I hope they
appreciate the effort.
I have put also some chapters with explanations about the Spanish football;
for those who dont have a background in it, I hope all this can help for a
better understanding and if it doesnt happen, sure is my fault and not
yours.
I want also to say THANK YOU! to my friend Chuck Bales. He helped me a

lot ideas about explanations and diagrams. Sure the book would be worst
without his help.
As I said, I really enjoyed writing the book. I hope everybody enjoys it when
reading.

APENDEX 02. THE AUTHOR

Jordi Pascual was born in Vic (Barcelona, Catalonia), in 1962. As a player, he
finished very young, at the age of 18. He played as Goalkeeper.
He started coaching in 1990, when the Dream Team of Johan Cruyff was
one of the best teams in the World. Being always a Bara supporter, is not
strange that he always liked this possession style of football.
He has worked for the Catalan FA with U-11 and U-14; also he has been
Manager in some different Amateur and Semi-Pro squads. Since 2000 hes
living in Andorra, where he has been Assistant Coach of the U-19 and U-17
National teams. He also worked with U-12 and U-14 for several years.
Actually, hes the Manager of FS La Massana, a Club in the Andorran 2nd
Division.
As a Manager, he holds UEFA B and UEFA A license, together with a

Monitor Course (similar level to UEFA C) by the Catalan FA, some years
ago.
He has also a Degree and a Master in Management of Clubs from a private

school in Barcelona.

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All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

Author - Jordi Pascual

Front Cover by P2 Creative

Spanish players celebrating EURO2012

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Things started to change in 1988. After the defeat mentioned earlier of FC

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Rondos at FC Barcelona training

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As can be seen in the picture, there are 4 Defenders, playing in a Flat-Four,

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The formation 1-4-2-3-1 used by Spain

Two Defensive Midfielders (Alonso and Busquets), one Attacking Midfielder

(can be also a Full-Back; remember Alba scoring in the final match of

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So, as I mentioned before, formations are just names and numbers

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Goalkeeper is out of the box, there can be close to 30 meters between GK

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I mentioned earlier that Xavi; the same as it at happens at FC Barcelona, is

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5. THE STRIKER (OR NOT)

This makes a new midfielder that is really appreciated. As more people

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Normally, also, in 2v2 situations (FB+DM/WNG v WNG+AM), the FB will

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The FB will go up a lot of times; as explained in previous chapters, when the

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It wasnt an easy job for either of them. Being as popular as football is in

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9. THE KEY PLAYERS

In a football team everybody is important; there are 11 players on the pitch

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Finally, we have Torres, who is a very good footballer, creates lots of

The Spanish squad for EURO-12

In Midfield, we have Alonso, Busquets, Fbregas, Cazorla, and Javi

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TEAMS/AGE BIG CLUB SMALL CLUB

For a normal U-14 team, in a big club you have:

Also, you have to add

A normal U-14 team in a small Club will have

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11. THE COMPETITION