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Spain Should Test Aduriz and Morata in 2-Striker Systems in Friendly vs. Georgia
- Updated: June 5, 2016
There’s something you can do when you have two strikers: play them both. Together. And on Wednesday, that’s precisely what Spain manager Vicente del Bosque did.
For the final 30 minutes of his side’s 6-1 friendly victory over South Korea ahead of Euro 2016, Del Bosque introduced Aritz Aduriz to play alongside Alvaro Morata and shift to a two-striker system.
For La Roja, such a method is largely unfamiliar—it’s unfamiliar for most sides in an era dominated by single-striker systems such as 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3—but in the dying stages of Wednesday’s contest, Aduriz and Morata gave a glimpse into the potential of it for Spain.
With the score at 5-1, Sergio Busquets played the ball toward the feet of Nolito, who’d drifted centrally from the left. Immediately, South Korea centre-back Hong Jeong-Ho went to press the winger, and at that instant, Aduriz—who’d pushed into midfield—made the sort of gambling run only a striker makes, bolting toward goal even before Nolito had won the contest.
The result? Aduriz surged into space, collecting Nolito’s flick. He then threaded it through for Morata.
Goal.
In such circumstances, with the game buried and with little on the line, acts of this sort are often insignificant, but this one felt a little different. For a Spanish outfit defined by its plethora of central technicians, this was incision and purpose delivered by two strikers and a supporting quartet that included a pair of genuine wingers in Nolito and Pedro.
It was a late goal in a rout, yes. But it was also Spain experimenting and finding something—something else.
It’s worth trying again. On Tuesday, they’ll get that chance in Madrid against Georgia.
Trial “Plan B”
A two-striker system will never be Plan A for Spain and Del Bosque. That’s just not the way the Spanish do it, and going into this summer’s tournament, a 4-3-3 with David Silva and the in-form Nolito either side of Morata in attack looks the most likely setup.
As ever, though, the concern around Spain ahead of Euro 2016 is the way their dominance in general play doesn’t always translate to dominance on the scoreboard. La Roja can often lack end product despite their technical brilliance—of their 23 goals in qualifying, 14 came against the whipping boys of Group C in …
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