On July 14, former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez spoke to Marca about the differences between English and Spanish football.
Why is Spain the best team right now?
“They have interception, they have duels, and they have speed. Modern football is about faster, more vertical attacks; most goals are scored with fewer than six passes. You don’t have to always play from the back, you don’t have to maintain a high percentage of possession. For example, in the Premier League, if there are too many passes, the fans get bored… until the threatening attack comes.”
Has Spanish football changed significantly?
“Possession without threat is meaningless. In 2008, Spain had around 57% possession, in 2012 it was around 65%, in 2022 it was around 77%, and now it’s back to around 57%. We don’t need such a high possession rate, being practical is key.”
Was this change necessary?
“Of course it was. If I had Nico and Gavi, plus Pedri and Olmo, I could unleash Fabian and use a 4-2-3-1 formation to get the most out of my players.”
What changes have occurred in English football since you managed in the Premier League 20 years ago?
“When I arrived in the Premier League, everything was about duels, maybe only Arsenal emphasized possession play. I asked them to play the ball into dangerous areas as quickly as possible, to execute tactical play, emphasizing fast dribbling and intense duels. This is what we brought: intensity off the ball and variability on the ball.”
What do you think are the differences between Spanish football and English football?
“Speed and intensity. The peak speed of Premier League players is 36 or 37 kilometers per hour. However, in Spain that figure is 34 or 35 kilometers per hour, only the very top players can reach 36 kilometers per hour.”
Why is England producing so much talent now?
“Their youth training has been improving continuously. England is different from Spain; they have a large amount of resources for youth training, and they are also replicating our Spanish training model. Eighty percent of our training content is ball work, reinforcing players’ ball skills in this way.”
“I was the first Spanish coach in the Premier League, before Reina there were no Spanish goalkeepers in the Premier League, before Torres there were no Spanish forwards. Our football culture is about possession, not playing with speed, intensity, and pressing like the Premier League does. The Premier League has evolved, La Liga is still progressing.”
Rodri is praised more in England than in Spain
“He is a player with character: physically strong, wide-ranging vision, calm mentality, personality, he is extremely well-balanced, and he can also maintain the balance of attack and defense for the team, Rodri is an exemplar in this regard.”