Euro 2012: Spain are victims of their own success

Spain finished top of their group to qualify for the quarter-finals – but there was no sense of success or celebration

 

They are victims of the fact that they are expected to destroy the opposition in every single game, meaning that anything less is treated as failure. And they are victims of the fact that the teams that they are expected to destroy every game are content simply not to be destroyed. Every team Spain face adapt their game to protect themselves. Attacking teams become counterattacking ones, or simply stop attacking altogether.

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Euro 2012: Spain are victims of their own success | Sid Lowe | Football | The Guardian: