Spain can't take the moral high ground any longer.

Morality is a human attempt to apply notions of good and bad, light and dark to some exterior thing, whether it be behaviour toward others, politics, executions... etc etc. This has included football and the debate is again apparent on the eve of the World Cup final. When the Netherlands, the inventors of Total Football take on Spain on Sunday evening there seems to be an assumption that the game is yet another example of morality. The Netherlands, it is argued, have abandoned their ideals and style for a more pragmatic approach, one that ensures winning is the most important element of the footballing philosophy and style has taken a back seat. It has become secondary, because the art of winning is the more important and enjoyable form of pleasure. The Netherlands have never won a World Cup and are 90minutes away from achieving that success. The team that stands in their way is a Star-studded, reigning European Championship side, which has apparently reinvented Total Football. Spain are the overwhelming favourites for victory, and not just with the bookmakers, their team's style is the most admired in world football, they are many people's preferred team to win.

Yet there is a sense that 'Tiki-Taka', the Spanish variant of Total football shares many of its less likeable qualities. For proponents of that style of entertainment whilst playing, there seems to be the same moral high ground mentality, as if they have a right to such superiority. There is no doubt that it takes consummate skill and outstanding ability to be able to dissect a team as Spain can do, but taking a moral righteousness form such play is dangerous and arrogant. Whilst watching the formation of this style a few years ago, when Barcelona went to Rangers in the Champions league. The match was a dour affair and the scoreline was 0-0. A young Lionel Messi reflected the views of his team-mates and fans by claiming the Rangers had simply played "anti-football" and that their part in the match was the weaker, inferior one. For me, this is a misunderstanding of football. Rangers battled to a draw, they worked hard and gave teams a template in order to stop this style of play, admittedly, devastating at it's best. Rangers' heroics at least earned them praise from Thierry Henry that evening, perhaps a pointer as to why he didn't do as well as he might at Barcelona. I would like to say here that "tiki-taka" for all it pretends to be, the perfect passing game, is still reliant on individual brilliance to win matches. Lionel Messi is the complete example of how, when plan A doesn't appear to be working for Barca, there is always the little flea as a back up, to invent something that can win the match.

This is not to say that it is not a commendable to attempt to mesmerise the opposition with pinpoint passing and dizzying movement. It still is an achievement; but it is not better football. Against Germany, Spain controlled the game from start to finish by retaining possession almost permanently, I didn't feel at any point that the Germans could beat this team, and as such Spain sucked the life out of the match, acting like a boa-constrictor suffocating it's victim, slowly, methodically. In it's own strange way, "tiki-taka" is almost as anti-football as the defensive stance taken by Rangers. It is so apparent that players like Iniesta and Xavi are ruthlessly trained to pass rather than to shoot, and it robs them of that individuality that the very best have. After the Germany game, Miroslav Klose had commented that his team, once they had got possession, if only fleetingly, were so tired from chasing Spanish players that they couldn't do anything with the ball. Spain ensured a one-side match through their tactics, but also a very uninteresting game. This presumes that the object of the game itself is to ensure a contest between evenly matched sides, to entertain the audience, a view that it is also presumed Spain have adopted, the heirs to Total Football . This is categorically untrue. Spain's tactics are as pragmatic as the Netherlands', they aim to win, even if they have to control a match from start to finish, they proved against Germany that to them, only one goal matters.