Spain’s Tiki-Taka: Power in Possession

Spain’s National Team celebrating a Euro Cup Trophy in 2012. Football.ua [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

by Andrew Jordan

Like the British, the Spanish used to employ an outdated style of football that relied on hard-work and relentless aggression called”La Furia Española” or Spanish Fury (Murphy). This strategy failed time and time again on the international stage. The difference between the British and the Spaniards; however, is that the Spanish eventually adopted a new system. This style of play would be known as tiki-taka and made an international football superpower out of Spain. The philosophy of tiki-taka is that if your opponents don’t have the ball, they can’t score. Therefore, it’s best to keep possession for as long as possible and only go for goal when the chances of scoring are at their absolute highest. After that goal is scored, all one has to do is maintain possession of the ball until the match ends. It’s like a 90-minute game of keep-away. In basketball, they have a shot clock to prevent the monopolization of the game by one team, but, in soccer, it’s legal and it’s effective (Murphy).

The development and implementation of tiki-taka came as the result of a perfect storm. It was the ideal combination of players, managers, and club team dynamics. Tiki-taka is a difficult system that requires very versatile and talented players who are adept in both dribbling and passing. Without the right people coming together at the right time, it wouldn’t have worked out.

Spain Page

An Old Tactic Made New

Good, But Far From Perfect

How to Cite this page: “Spain’s Tiki-Taka: Power in Possession”, Written by Andrew Jordan(2016). Olympic Football 2016 Guide, Soccer Politics Blog, Duke University, http://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/tournament-guides/olympic-football-2016-guide/team-playing-styles-in-soccer/spains-tiki-taka/spains-tiki-taka…er-in-possession/, (accessed on (date)).