Tough Time Ahead For Spain

Vicente del Bosque, Spain Manager is aware of the fact that it is not going to be easy for his team to win the Euro 2012.

Winning it for the first time in 2008, Spain followed up that victory by lifting the World Cup in 2010. And now Spain is working overtime to become the first country to win three major football championships in row. In terms of betting, SBOBET outright Euro market, SBOBET odds of Spain lifting Euro 2012 is 3.95.

There is no doubt about the fact that the Spain has a talent to handle pressure situations and on a day can beat any side. But this time around, other teams are more prepared to nullify the attacking play of a Spanish side that has so many superstars in the attacking front.

Majority of the teams are going to follow a strategy of packing the midfield and ensuring that Spain does not able to play their natural game of free passing. If teams are able to frustrate Spain through this strategy, counter attacking can pose serious threat to the Bosque side.
This strategy worked in the opening game of the Euro 2008 competition when Switzerland manages to beat Spain 1-0. After that match, Spain does not lose any match in the tournament.

And while they are favorite to lift the trophy once again, teams such as Germany and the Netherlands are not far behind them. Any relaxation on the part of Spain and they are going to be knocked out of the competition.

There are plenty of factors that make this Spanish side a tad weak. First and foremost, the overall fitness level of the team is not in the same level as was the case four years back. Lots of players are coming out of a tough and grinding season by playing for Real Madrid and Barcelona.

In addition, Spain is going to play this time around without two of their most influential players because of injuries. Carles Puyol is not in the fray and is going to be replaced by either Ramos or Albiol. In the attacking front, Spain is going to play without David Villa who is suffering from a broken leg.

Good news for Spain is that they have the best goalkeeper in the world in Casillas, while wide array of midfielders, including Fabregas, Iniesta and Alonso are going to create quite a bit of headache for other teams.

Italy is going to test Spain in the opening match of the competition while Croatia and Ireland can also give them a game but looking at the broader picture, they should qualify from this group.

Spain lifting this year Euro will be dependent on the kid of tactics that is going to be employed by the manager. If he kept on playing same players throughout the tournament, fatigue factor can come in, so he should rotate players and keep the energy going in the squad. Another important thing that Del Bosque needs to do is to make sure that team does not get over confident, as quality of opposition this time around is quite good.