Euro 2012 Qualifiers – Lithuania vs Spain Preview and Match Comment Thread

March 28th, 2011 | by: Ade C. | Comments Off

Here we are, on the eve of the match, and the big question is… will we play, or not?
(ETA on Tuesday, March 29th, 11:00 AM CET: the answer is, of course, YES!. The referee just inspected the pitch and found nothing wrong with it. Another argument in favour of using blind referees.)

The Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas Stadium at Kaunas, yesterday (image from Marca.com)

That sandpit up there is where our precious, fragile players are supposed to play tomorrow. That sound you just heard was tens of club coaches and presidents having fits all over Spain and Europe.

“It won’t kill us to play there,” says Sergio Ramos optimistically, maybe secure in the knowledge that it’s unlikely that he will be one risking his ankles. “The pitch is not in a condition for football to played on it,” declared Our Wise Walrus, “but if we have to play, we’ll try to be positive and adapt”.

I suggest changing our kit for desert camo and giving everyone a paintball rifle; the winner will be whoever keeps his goalie from getting splattered in paint. Are you in?

If the UEFA were sensible… ah, who am I kidding? If the match gets suspended, it will have to be played in July; if it has to be played in July, La Roja would have to cancel their USA tour; if they have to cancel their tour, not only will a few of you cry, but the RFEF also not get important amounts of money.

So, get ready for the paintball war…

What’s irking more than a few people are the rumours (only rumours, as of yet, but apparently substantiated by the latest training sessions) that Marquis Del Bosque will rest a) the Real Madrid and Barcelona players, b) the Real Madrid, Barcelona and Villarreal players, c) the starters from Friday’s match. Whatever rumour you choose to believe, it looks a bit like the privileged someones get to play the pretty matches, and the underprivileged others from underprivileged teams get the ‘honour’ of playing in a potato field while their teammates rest.

I’ve stumbled over several Athletic de Bilbao fans ready to wage war on the RFEF/UEFA, and not exactly with paintball rifles.

What’s wrong with that rumour, apart from the fact that it might or might not point at Del Bosque playing favourites / being pressured by the heads of big football clubs, is that we simply don’t have enough players in the squad to make it happen. Take rumour a) rest the Real Madrid and Barça players from the squad, and you’re left with… 11 players (yes, technically you could field a 3-2-5 with them). Take rumour b) rest RMA-FCB-VLL players, and we’d have to concede the match or play Del Bosque. Take rumour c) rest away Friday’s starters and…

—————-Reina——————
Iraola–Albiol–Marchena–Capdevila/Arbeloa(?)
———–Javi Martínez———-
————-Cazorla——Silva—————
———–Mata———Llorente————-

Or you could try a 3-men defence and play Torres too, for all the good it’d do! Or play a Marchena-J. Martínez double-pivot.

I’ve been the loudest, most annoying proponent of change in the Spain squad, but this is a wee bit too rich even for my tastes… change is good, but gradual change is best. Throwing together a makeshift squad just because and playing them in an European qualifier (even if it’s played in a sandlot) is so unbelievable amateurish… which is not an adjective I ever thought I’d have to use in relation to Our Wise Walrus.

And let’s not forget that, yes, it’s Lithuania, which we ‘trashed’ 3-1 at Salamanca, but it’s the same Lithuania that defended solidly and in numbers and have Srna to hit Casillas on the counter. We can’t give the match for won and play a team that, as good as its individual players might be -I’m not complaining about *that*- is nothing but eleven players thrown hastily together, or we might get a nasty surprise… don’t forget, we’re top of our group with a comfortable lead, but we’re not qualified yet!

So, what do you think? Is this a conspiracy? Is this a good idea? Should the match just not be played?

(as I was finishing this post, Álvaro Arbeloa said on Twitter: “We’ve just finished training at the Beach Sand Stadium in Kaunas. No casualties for now, we’ll see tomorrow… any news from UEFA?” and Sergio Ramos posted this pic of the place; a short time later, Arbeloa returned to Twitter to show us his kit to play tomorrow…
ETA: and they keep coming! Now it’s Iniesta on Facebook: “We trained this afternoon and this how the “field” looks like, we still don’t know if we are playing tomorrow…what do you think?” Picture here)