Midfield
CDM : Sergio Busquets
CM: Xavi Hernandes
CM: Andres Iniesta
Xabi Alonso was immense for the Los Blancos this season, and would walk into most teams on the planet. But why disrupt the tried and tested midfield triumvirate of Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta? del Bosque did start all four of them in South Africa in 2010, but it seems highly unlikely that he will do the same in Brazil.
For the past six years, Xavi has been the midfield orchestrator for Spain. He makes the team tick, and is the La Roja’s CPU. He initiates the attack and brings the forward players into the game. But age and the constant football seems to have caught up on the midfield maestro and unsurprisingly, Barcelona’s first trophyless campaign in six years also coincided with a regression in Xavi’s performances, certainly in terms of the high standards he has set for himself.
And while Busquets and Xavi are known to utilize possession effectively and build play from the back, mobility could be an increasing issue for both.
Despite the talented group of youngsters coming through the ranks in Spain, Iniesta still remains Spain’s best hope in Brazil this year. Iniesta is the finest midfielder of his generation, and yet cruelly underrated. Iniesta comes into the World Cup on the back of a poor campaign in Barcelona colors, thanks to Gerardo Martino’s constant shuffling and changing in midfield. But the 29-yar old remains the vital link between Spain’s midfield and attack, and will be the transmuter of the La Roja’s concerted possession phase to their attacking phase. And with his special ability to rise in the big games, much like in Johannesburg four years earlier, Iniesta will once again be Spain’s biggest asset in Sambaland.