Film Focus: How Diego Will Make Spain Better

Much has been made about whether Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa should be playing for Brazil or Spain at the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Whatever the "right" answer is, his decision has been made.

Costa has committed to the defending champions and will likely take the field for them right throughout the tournament as a result.

And even though we likely won't get the chance to see him play for La Roja this weekend given his injuries, there's no doubt that the in-form striker will significantly benefit Spain in their quest to win back-to-back World Cup tournaments.

Just how will Diego make Spain better? Let's break down the film and find out.

Spain's Situation and Style Up Front

While Spain's defense also has some issues—which were exploited by Brazil in their recent 2013 Confederations Cup victory—there's little doubting that the situation up front is the area which La Roja need to address the fastest.

It's not that it's bad, per se; it simply isn't up to par with the slew of world-class midfielders who are currently playing in behind the striker.

Fernando Torres, Alvaro Negredo and Roberto Soldado have all struggled to make an impact up front (even in the false nine), which has led to the likes of David Villa and Cesc Fabregas played up front.

Some would argue that neither are being played in their best position; they simply were the best option for Spain up front given the demands that their possession-based attack has.

With their intricate passing style, the striker (or false nine) in Spain's system is required to do far more than simply stick the ball in the back of the net when asked.

They are forced to drop deeper down the field and become involved in intricate build-up play. By them dropping back to help with the midfield (ala what Lionel Messi does with Barcelona), this creates space in behind the centre-backs and isolates the wide defenders.

Multiple attackers then run into the box—midfielders, wingers, fullbacks—looking to isolate defenders and take advantage of the space created by the striker.

In many respects, they are a decoy runner more than a finisher.

We saw this when Spain played France earlier in the year in their World Cup qualifier, particularly in the early chance that Spain created for Xavi (which he somehow missed). Keep in mind, also, that this movement came about five minutes into the match, meaning that France were hardly stretched at the back, and were really looking to play a good line across the back.

David Villa is the man playing at the top of the attack, and you'll see him drop back to receive a pass from midfield—bringing Laurent Koscielny with him.

Villa then lays a quick pass off to Xavi, and the attack is away.

France are holding a pretty high line at the moment, but due to Villa's run back to the ball and then to goal, both Koscielny and Raphael Varane are looking to drop back into the box. They've realised they're under pressure, and their instinctive reaction is to protect the goal.

Unfortunately for them, those instincts are what Spain use to their advantage.

Xavi—knowing that he has Christophe Jallet isolated on the left wing—shapes a quick pass out to Andres Iniesta, who is certainly a goal-scoring threat to watch for. Sami Nasri has been caught a little high up the field, which allows Iniesta to isolate Jallet and play the best option.

Jallet half-commits to Iniesta, so the Barcelona man plays through left-back Nacho Monreal into the box.

With Koscielny tight to Villa and Xavi attracting plenty of defenders in the middle of the field, you'd think that the attack peters out here, but this is what Spain are so good at. Monreal cuts a ball back to the top of the six-yard area, and Xavi (with a well-timed run) is there for the shot.

The chance was so good that, nine times out of 10, you'd expect Xavi to score.

Credit on the move will no doubt go to Xavi, Iniesta and Monreal for the final pass, but the truth was that it started with Villa coming back to receive the original pass.

That's the system that Spain love to operate in.

Diego Costa Fits with Spain

With that in mind, then, it's easy to see why Costa is such a perfect fit for the Spanish national team. Costa isn't a natural striker in the sense that he prowls on the final defender all game and looks to get in behind the last man like a Javier Hernandez might do.

In terms of comparisons, Costa is more like Zlatan Ibrahimovic than anyone.

At Atletico Madrid, Costa loves to drop back and pick up the ball from midfielders. He's an active worker in whatever build-up play his side is trying to muster, and he loves to use the full width of the field in order to try to break down the space around his opponents. Such non-stop movement and work-rate is pertinent in a possession-based attack like Spain's.

When the Atleti played Los Blancos at the Bernabeu earlier this year, Costa was often left very isolated at the top of the attack. Diego Simeone tried to ensure that either he or David Villa were dropping back in defense to try to cover the runs of Sami Khedira and Asier Illarramendi from defensive midfield—an effective technique, but one that left the striker very isolated at the top of the attack.

For much of the game, Sergio Ramos and Pepe were all over Costa.

Thus for Costa to be in the space that he is in the image below is truly quite remarkable, and again, it's all down to his willingness to come back and get the ball.

After a swarm of Atletico defenders win the ball deep inside their own half, the ball is quickly played up field to Costa, who's dropped well back ahead of Ramos. In fact, he's dropped so deep that Luka Modric (now on for Illarramendi) is trying to mark him.

But look at his quick movement here.

Recognising that there are few attackers or defenders ahead of him, Costa quickly lays the ball off to David Villa and tries to bring about a two-on-two situation.

Pepe and Ramos are isolated—just like the Spanish system tries to do.

What happens next is astounding.

Ramos and Pepe are both trying to drop off Villa and Costa to see what they'll do, but the pace of the two attackers simply causes them all sorts of problems.

The headstart that both defenders have on Costa is clearly evident, yet by the time the final pass is laid through (or even by the time Costa picks up the ball at the other end), there's a clear gap at the other end. Ramos is beaten; Pepe is forced to cover too much ground.

Were it not for a brilliant save from Diego Lopez, this would have been a goal.

And again, it's all down to the willingness to come back and receive the pass. 

The same happened in Atletico's most recent home game against Athletic Bilbao. With Villa picking up the ball in his No. 10 spot (between the midfield and defensive lines), Costa comes back to receive the pass from his now international teammate. Yet in this instance, Jose—recognising the threat—pulls across to cover the space in front of Costa and stop him receiving the pass.

Rather than give up on the attack, Costa simply rolls with the punches, so to speak, and adapts. Having created the space in behind Carlos Gurpegi, Costa then turns sharply and looks to try to exploit it himself—catching the eye of Aymeric Laporte in central defense.

The probable pass for Villa is a cross-field ball into space, but he knows what Costa is trying to do, and he knows that he's done it, so the through ball comes in.

Both Gurpegi and Laporte are within distance to make a play, but Costa is simply too strong and clinical. He runs into the box, steadies and fires home for a goal.

And therein lines the alternate threat that Costa can provide Spain.

But He Also Offers an Alternate Threat

On paper, Simeone's side at Atletico Madrid plays in a 4-4-2 formation. Yes, that dreaded formation considered to be part of the "dark ages" and easy to beat.

So why, then, are Atletico so tough to beat this year, if they're in a 4-4-2?

It's all down to the movement and flexibility of Costa and Villa.

Costa, in particular, offers such a dynamic threat in attack because he gives two options to the midfielders and wingers around him—which are both deadly.

The first is that he can come back to the ball.

We've seen that above, and there's little doubt that when he comes back to attacking midfield looking to receive a pass, he's looking to create something. It might be a little layoff to Villa or a quick pass out wide, but when Costa comes back, something is always in the works.

He's also quite skilled here at keeping the ball when he comes back. Costa loves to run at defenders and use his deceptive turn of pace and dribbling skills to beat a man one-on-one. Any doubts about his ability to do this were vanished when he simply tore open Austria Vienna in the Champions League (albeit not the strongest defensive unit, but still, a pretty impressive goal).

Espanyol fans will no doubt remember the problems Costa caused as well.

Yet, while Costa offers the threat of coming back to the ball, he also provides an alternate threat for Spain in his ability to play as an out-and-out striker if needed. He doesn't always sit on the final man, but he can, and that's the multiple-threat that makes him so dangerous to defend against.

Look again at that game against Bilbao, later in the first half.

Atletico have just started to get into an attacking position, and it's about now that—if this were Spain—Villa or Fabregas would look to come back to the ball.

They'd either come directly to the ball and try to isolate the defender on the left flank or they'd lead away from the ball, try to drag Laporte with him and open up the space for Koke in behind. The three attackers labelled would be the danger men to watch.

Much like Iniesta, Monreal and Xavi were the threat from before.

However, Costa is different, and it's this flexibility that makes him so dangerous. Instead of coming back to the ball, the striker realises that he's actually in behind the two circles defenders here, and looks for the pass through the defensive line. And not only is he right, but he also has the power and strength to win the ball and beat the defenders toward goal as well.

That makes defending against Costa a nightmare.

While it's by no means easy defending against Spain—as we've seen in the past half-decade—there's little surprise in their attacking system. Their front men will come back, try to create some space in behind, the ball will shift wide and inside the penalty area.

That's the Spanish attacking system, but with Costa at the helm, there's a dual-threat in existence now that all of a sudden makes defending a little harder again.

Defenders don't know if he's actually coming back to the ball or if he's going to turn on the spot and accelerate quickly toward goal. As a result, they can't play as tight when he does look to come back to midfield which, in turn, makes it easier for him to do just that.

And when he does have the ball in the middle, is he going to lay it off quickly like Villa, Fabregas or even Torres would, or is he going to run at them directly?

Costa poses a threat on so many levels, which will make Spain better.

Spain showed at the 2012 European Championships that you can win against the best teams in the world by playing in their favourite false-nine, space-creating style. But what the Confederations Cup showed was that they can't do it all the time, and that it's very easy to get bogged down in possession.

What Costa does is offer an alternate threat in attack while suiting the same system that's in place. He offers something that neither Fabregas nor Villa can with his movement and direct running, and if used correctly, he will make Spain very, very strong at the 2014 World Cup.

Perhaps even better than before.

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