Spain vs England - Cultural differences

In my comparison between Mata and Rooney, there were clear differences in play style, which when you look at them typify the differences between Spain and England. When you look at English players, we tend to appreciate and accentuate the need for physical attributes and energy. How many other countries would Scott Parker start for? In England he is loved by the media for his 'drive and passion', which basically equates to running around and slide tackling. In comparison to Spain, who have Xabi Alonso. A man who was quoted as saying:

"Tackling is not really a quality, it's more something you are forced to resort to when you don't have the ball,'

'You would come across an interview with a lad from the youth team and they've asked him his age, his heroes as a kid, and his strong points. And he would say things like shooting and tackling. I can't get into my head that footballing development would educate tackling as a quality.’’

Why do we bring midfielders up to tackle and run around, rather than pass and move? Only English fans would pick Steven Gerrard over, say, Sergio Busquets. Don't get me wrong - Gerrard is a terrific footballer, but not as good as Busquets. However, in England, Busquets isn't held in high regard, probably because he doesn't run around sliding into challenges, giving the ball away or smashing a shot 30 yards over the bar.

The most Spanish-like player we have is Michael Carrick. You'd think we would treasure him and play him every game, right? Nope. 'All he does is pass it sideways' and 'He doesn't score enough goals' the English fans cry. 27 caps at the age of 31 tells you everything you need to know. We just don't want footballers to play for our country.

Running around a lot and tackling are very useful to have, of course, but you don't need to tackle if the opponent can't get the ball. You also don't need to tackle if you read the game well enough. We English cheer a tackle like a goal sometimes. A full-blooded tackle is something that defines English football and we wouldn't want it any other way. We train defenders and midfielders to tackle, rather than intercept. In Europe, making a tackle is often seen as a last resort, in that you've misread the game.

In Spain, youth development is different. They choose players based on football ability because, you know, they are supposed to be  football players after all. We pick athletes and teach them to play football, which is stupid, as they won't have the same talent. One reason for this is the emphasis on playing on bigger pitches from a young age, rather than small pitches and small sided games that improve ball control and possession. 

It's scary to think that had Messi been English, he probably wouldn't have made it as a footballer. Think about that for a second. Lionel Messi would have been playing semi-pro or Sunday League football. Imagine a 37 year old pub player trying to defend against Messi. He would have avoided a lot of attention due to his lack of strength and whilst he is quick, he isn't as quick as a lot of young players due to his size. Even if he was picked up by a scout, due to his technical ability, he probably wouldn't have ever got his chance. When he was younger, Messi was deemed too small and weak to be a footballer, but Barcelona saw his ability and potential and paid for his hormone treatment. Here, he'd get released. 

Obviously, it's all hypothetical and you may think I'm stupid for saying it. But just think; how many skillful players have we had in the last few years? How many players in the mould of Fabregas or Mata? You could argue Joe Cole was incredibly skillful, but he's a one-off really. Wilshere is the closest we have to Fabregas, but he isn't as good as we'd like to think. He just stands out in terms of English players, due to being better technically, but he isn't as good as Spain's midfielders. There are so few technically gifted English players, that surely it can't be coincidence.

To summarise, we need to bring up footballers not athletes. We need to bring up Iniesta's and Busquets', not Parker's and Gerrard's. If you're still not convinced that Busquets is better than Gerrard, then take a look at this: 

All by the age of 24:

Honours	Champions League : 2009, 2011 (FC Barcelona); Club World Cup : 2009 (FC Barcelona); Club World Cup : 2010, 2012 (FC Barcelona); Copa del Rey : 2009, 2012 (FC Barcelona); Euro : 2012 (Spain); European Super Cup : 2009, 2011 (FC Barcelona); Liga : 2009, 2010, 2011 (FC Barcelona); Spanish Supercopa : 2009, 2010, 2011 (FC Barcelona); World Cup : 2010 (Spain) Thanks for reading. .