David Gordo on Spain’s playing style

Having coached at several clubs in Spain before working extensively in the country’s youth set-up, David Gordo is in the perfect position to comment on Spain’s football philosophy. For years he has worked to embed a possession-based attacking style in his youth national teams. In this interview, Gordo provides captivating insight into how Spain reshaped their style of play across the national teams and how coaches work to adapt their approach based on the opposition.

The key factors behind Spain’s football identity:

• A style of play adopted by all the youth national teams and suited to the type of players that the country produces

• Excellent technical skills, decision-making and football understanding

• The Spanish Football Association prioritises coach education to develop players

Part 1: Spain’s football identity now and in the past
In part one of his interview, Gordo describes Spain’s national teams as those that can dominate the ball, create multiple scoring opportunities, defend competently in the opposition’s half and recover quickly after losing the ball. This style of play is embedded in every youth category and cultivated by the Spanish FA. But Spain did not always favour this particular approach. According to Gordo, it was devised by Luis Aragonés towards the end of his tenure as manager of the men’s senior national team. He helped the side transition from one that delivered euphoric moments but fell to defeat all too frequently, to one that produces players with excellent technical ability and gives primacy to midfielders like Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Andrés Iniesta. Their style complements the players, who develop a clear understanding of their roles at a young age.

Part 2: Teaching game principles
Establishing a playing identity is the first step, but coaching the underlying principles takes time. Gordo feels that the biggest obstacle that national-team coaches face is a lack of contact time with the players. With games coming just three days after the players arrive for training camp, national-team coaches must make the most of their time with the players. This means creating the perfect sessions to improve specific elements of their game. Gordo admits that video-analysis tools make it much easier for coaches to pass on their knowledge to players. But they still need time to absorb and apply that knowledge, which can only be done on the training pitch. For Gordo, teaching the players new concepts and seeing them execute the game plan under pressure is one of the most gratifying aspects of the job.

Part 3: The skills needed to succeed
In order to excel, various skills are needed in different phases of the game. The attacking phase demands excellent technical skills. Controlling and passing the ball are essential to Spain’s possession-based style. But most importantly, Gordo looks for intelligent players who can read the game and anticipate where they need to be to provide the best option for a team-mate. When transitioning from defence to attack, players must quickly recognise whether there is space to play forwards. When recovering the ball in deep-lying defensive positions, playing safe is the priority, but further up the pitch players should look to capitalise and get on the front foot quickly. Defensively, it is imperative to regain possession as swiftly as possible. The first three to five seconds are key, and the players closest to the ball must apply pressure to force a turnover. Gordo says his players enjoy pressing because they know that if they do it well, they will not have to run as much during the game. Decision-making is key in every situation. Coaches give the players the tools to understand the game, but players must make the right decisions and perform under pressure in order to succeed.

Part 4: Adapting to opponents
Spain have a clear possession-based style that requires shifting the ball quickly, lots of movement and quick defensive recoveries. However, in part four of the interview, Gordo admits that certain opponents can make this difficult. In his side’s recent encounter with Mexico, they were unable to escape the opposition’s press and therefore struggled to build out from the back. Adapting to their opponents is particularly challenging, as youth national teams tend to be hindered by a lack of information. They often go into games with little to no knowledge of the opposition’s system and without any prior scouting information available to them. This means that Gordo and his staff must make changes to the team's structure during the course of the game and find solutions only after they have seen the opposition’s patterns of play. This can help strengthen the players’ ability to read the game and become more independent in problem-solving on the pitch.

Part 5: Spanish coaches around the world
Despite the national team’s established identity, the methodologies applied by Spanish clubs are more varied. Many of them opt for a different playing style, which means that the players must adapt to a new system when they join up with the national team. These different methodologies are symptomatic of a strong coaching pathway. Spanish coaches are in demand all over the world and working in a host of far-flung locations. The Spanish FA has invested money and built infrastructure to bolster its coaching academies to help the country produce better educators and thus better players. Big-name title-winning coaches like Xabi Alonso and Pep Guardiola grab the headlines, but there are countless Spanish coaches, fitness experts, analysts and psychologists doing excellent work at grassroots level all over the world.