Well, as I said, I expected Spain to completely dominate ball possession (but not have that many chances as, say, Barca would have against a Primera team), and this is exactly what happened. I expected Germany to have at least a few opportunities to catch them on the counter though, but it didn't happen because Spain rarely lost the ball in midfield, and apparently Thomas Mueller indeed was sorely missed.
In general, the style of play of Barcelona, which Spain is trying to copy, is based on retaining possession, a high defensive line and constant pressure on the opponent in his own half when the ball is lost. The vulnerability is that if you lose the ball in midfield, you can be caught on the counter, and Barca has paid for this many times, especially in the CL, this year included. It works great though if you do not lose the ball and don't allow the opponent many chances to counter, which is what happened today. More on the subject here, it is quite in depth, although as a result somewhat longish too:
http://www.footballmood.com/2010/04/inter-barcelona-cl-battle-you-asked-for.html
The reason I had Spain being beaten by Brazil in the final is exactly the same. Basically this Brazilian team was built to play Spain in the final and beat them on the counter, which they would have had plenty of opportunities to do as they were extremely good both at counter attack and at closing passing lanes so that they get opportunities to counter attack. While although Spain fields 6 or 7 Barcelona players at a time, to the system is more vulnerable than when Barcelona plays because there is a big difference between Capdevilla and Sergio Ramos one one side and Dani Alves and Abidal on the other, and Messi isn't there to provide the pressure on the ball in the opponent's half, which he is very good at. But because Brazil decided to hit the self-destruct button in the quarterfinal, now it is open, and I really have no idea who will win it. Spain is the better team, but the Dutch have demonstrated that they can win without dominating in this tournament, and this is a characteristic of a champion team
In general, the style of play of Barcelona, which Spain is trying to copy, is based on retaining possession, a high defensive line and constant pressure on the opponent in his own half when the ball is lost. The vulnerability is that if you lose the ball in midfield, you can be caught on the counter, and Barca has paid for this many times, especially in the CL, this year included. It works great though if you do not lose the ball and don't allow the opponent many chances to counter, which is what happened today. More on the subject here, it is quite in depth, although as a result somewhat longish too:
http://www.footballmood.com/2010/04/inter-barcelona-cl-battle-you-asked-for.html
The reason I had Spain being beaten by Brazil in the final is exactly the same. Basically this Brazilian team was built to play Spain in the final and beat them on the counter, which they would have had plenty of opportunities to do as they were extremely good both at counter attack and at closing passing lanes so that they get opportunities to counter attack. While although Spain fields 6 or 7 Barcelona players at a time, to the system is more vulnerable than when Barcelona plays because there is a big difference between Capdevilla and Sergio Ramos one one side and Dani Alves and Abidal on the other, and Messi isn't there to provide the pressure on the ball in the opponent's half, which he is very good at. But because Brazil decided to hit the self-destruct button in the quarterfinal, now it is open, and I really have no idea who will win it. Spain is the better team, but the Dutch have demonstrated that they can win without dominating in this tournament, and this is a characteristic of a champion team
