Learning from Spanish Football

Learning from Spanish Football

by rick olivares

Spain extended their Under-19 reign in the UEFA Championships defeating Portugal, 2-nil last Saturday, July 27, with Fernan Torres (who plays for Valencia) scoring a brace.

La Roja have now won their eighth title in that age bracket. Now this team, led by Abel Ruiz, lifted the U-17 trophy two years ago. So this batch of footballers will be taking over from Spain’s Golden Generation that led them to glory in the previous years.

Said head coach Santi Denia: "It's not just today – this group have been a family, there's been a continuity with our work in the federation and this is the product of so much hard work, so many journeys, and some bad times but today it was their time to produce the performance they had to give in order to become champions of Europe."

Europe? They might not stop there. They could very well lead Spain to another World Cup triumph.

They key word mentioned by Denia is this – continuity. While their grassroots program is well-known including their tiki-taka style of play that is cascaded all the way down to the lowest and youngest levels of football, here is one other fact. 

There are 473 pitches registered with the Royal Spanish Football Federation. Four hundred seventy-three. That excludes the impromptu fields and unregistered ones where people play. Now of that 473 pitches, less than 60 are considered dirt fields. 

Yes, fields with no grass. Your typical earth variety. But even that number is shrinking because of an edict to convert them into artificial turf. 

Imagine that. In the near future, all those fields will be covered with turf.

That will surely fast-track development more so now they are working on a women’s league.

In recent years, their “fidelity strategy” has seen 77% of all Spanish players playing in La Liga becoming eligible to suit up for La Roja. That is an incredible number. They can find other players to suit up if one isn’t available.

Furthermore, the fidelity strategy provides coaching and the opportunity to play for clubs. And it isn’t all football. There are specific teachers to guide the players into a life after football. This is seen as a welcome development especially by the parents of the kids who enter the program.

And one of the goals is to see more homegrown players suit up for the clubs. They federation is clearly bent on giving the Spanish player all the chances to succeed.

I believe this is something that the Philippine Football Federation should emulate. While of course, basketball is the top sport in the country and volleyball, second, the program that Spain runs can be emulated in some way. 

By next year, it will be the 10^thanniversary of the Miracle of Hanoi where the Philippine Men’s National Football Team and local football took off. The level of play has certainly improved across the board. I’m just wondering if there is a coherent plan. Nothing wrong with looking Westward to Spain. We might not have the support it has but at this point, it is all about mindset and attitude. 

I say, it is certainly possible. It is time to make serious inroads in local football.