World Cup: Is Spain’s elimination the end for tiki-taka?

A soccer fan holds his hands to head as he watches the World Cup match between Chile and Spain inside the FIFA Fan Fest area on Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, June 18, 2014. Chile defeated Spain, the defending champs 2-0. AP

RIO DE JANEIRO — Spain’s elimination from the World Cup by Chile not only spelt the end for one of the greatest national teams, but also threatened the demise of an entire footballing philosophy.

Spain’s intricate passing style, dubbed “tiki-taka,” swept all before it for the best part of six years, but the sight of Andres Iniesta and Xabi Alonso being harried out of their stride by Jorge Sampaoli’s hard-working Chile at the Maracana on Wednesday felt like the end of an era.

Argentina legend Diego Maradona is among those who believe that tiki-taka has become a tactical relic, but can an approach that has become so widespread be invalidated by the result of just one game?

As Spain midfielder David Silva asked British newspaper The Independent before the tournament: “Why would we change? We’ve done very well with this style. There’s no need to change it.”

Where Spain led with tiki-taka, winning Euro 2008, so Barcelona followed, dominating the European club game between 2008 and 2011 under Pep Guardiola, who subsequently installed the same playing philosophy at Bayern Munich.

Carlo Ancelotti’s counter-attacking Real Madrid got the better of both teams last season, however, routing Bayern 5-0 in the Champions League semi-finals and edging Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey.

Bayern’s loss to Madrid was particularly illustrative, with the Spanish side procuring a 1-0 first-leg lead despite enjoying only 36 percent of possession at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Counter-punchers arrive  

Indeed, all over Europe, teams have been relinquishing the ball and still enjoying success, with Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea in the vanguard of the new wave of counter-punching sides.

Rather than endlessly circulating possession in a manner that prompted some critics of tiki-taka to brand it “boring,” the counter-punchers rely on breathless industry and water-tight defensive organization.

It is on their opponents’ mistakes that they prey and in the tika-taka era, with teams falling over themselves to ape the Spanish style by taking more and more risks in possession, it is an increasingly effective approach.

Against such tactics, tiki-taka can seem naive in its steadfast commitment to conserving possession, but its impact already reaches so deep that it would prove impossible to fully uproot.

It was Barcelona, with Lionel Messi, who first brought the “false nine” tactic to a wider audience, while it is now commonplace to see goalkeepers methodically practising first-time passes during their pre-match warm-ups.

The cult of possession has forced players in every position to sharpen up their technique and has made the scrutiny of passing completion statistics an early port of call in any after-match post-mortem.

Its legacy can also be seen in the ubiquitousness of small, Spanish midfielders at Europe’s leading clubs, from Silva at Manchester City and Santi Cazorla at Arsenal to Thiago Alcantara at Bayern and Juan Mata at Manchester United.

‘Change names, not identity’  

While Xavi Hernandez may never play for Spain again, having been dropped for the 2-0 defeat by Chile, it is in his image — and with likeminded players such as Thiago — that the national team will be rebuilt.

The 34-year-old midfielder, a faultless passing metronome for Spain and Barcelona, typifies tiki-taka more than any other player and he believes that it will always be a point of reference for teams such as his own where waiting for the opponent to make a mistake is not an option.

“If you go two years without winning, everything has to change. But you change names, not identity,” he said in a 2011 interview.

“The philosophy can’t be lost. Our fans wouldn’t understand a team that sat back and played on the break.”

As Sampaoli observed before his side’s victory on Wednesday, Spain are paying the price for the fatigue and fading motivation of their players after six years of near-constant success, rather than any inherent flaw in their tactical approach.

Tiki-taka owed its origins to a unique set of circumstances, specifically the emergence at Barcelona and Spain of a group of similarly aged players who were coached in the same way.

Its figureheads, such as Xavi and Iniesta, were always destined to topple from the sport’s summit at some point, but with tiki-taka disciples now dotting the game, it would be precipitous to sound the death knell too soon.

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