Style | Soccercapper

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has revealed that the style of play is at the forefront of the Spain (7/2 favourites to win Euro 2012) national side’s philosophy and that the team would be jeered by the fans if they played like England (9/1).

Spain’s technique and free-flowing style has been lauded for some time and it has now been rewarded with the Red Fury winning both Euro 2008 and the World Cup in South Africa earlier this year.

Fabregas, who set up the World Cup-winning goal for Andres Iniesta against Netherlands, admitted that the style of play is more important than the result and that they have no intention of changing their methods any time soon.

Fabregas told the Daily Telegraph: “The way we play is the most important. It’s about how you do it. You will never play the ball longer or do some things you are not used to.

“We want to win playing football. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen but we want to be the best this way. We did it last summer and we want to keep doing it.”

The Gunners ace also had a dig at England and insisted La Roja will never resort to a long-ball game.

“Here in England it is passion and the fans love it when there are hard tackles and you play long balls and counter-attack,” Fabregas added.

“If you do that in Spain they will boo you.

“They are used to another kind of football. Here [in England] if you play good football, good football, good football and you don’t win then they can boo you for the opposite. You have to believe in your style and go for it.”

Spain (1/10 to win Group I) cruised to a 4-0 win at Liechtenstein in their opening match of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign and now face a double-header to try and climb to the top of the standings.

First up on Friday is a clash with Lithuania, who currently have four points from two games but lie second on goals scored, and the defending champions are 1/16 favourites to maintain their 100 per cent record, with the visitors priced at a massive 20/1 and the draw at 7/1.

Vicente del Bosque’s men then travel to current table-toppers Scotland (11/2 to qualify) next Tuesday before resuming action next March with games against Czech Republic and Lithuania.

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FA Cup winners 250x300 Chelsea Take the Premier League Title In Style

Next On The Agenda For Chelsea

A league title can hardly ever have been secured more emphatically than via an eight goal victory as Chelsea swept past Wigan Athletic to end Manchester United’s attempt for a historic four in a row.

United beat Stoke City 4-0 in their last game but once Wigan had a man sent off and Chelsea scored a second from the spot, the final day turned into a romp.

In the process Chelsea’s tally of goals for the Premier League campaign reached an astonishing 103-the highest by a top flight side since way back in the 1960s. As well as the eight in the last game, the Blues hammered seven no less than three times.

The goals tally is significant but the statistic that stood out is that Chelsea won all their matches against the other members of the ‘Big 4. The sevens and eights caught the eye but the victories at Old Trafford, the Emirates Stadium and Anfield were the bedrock of their third title in six seasons.

On the last day, Didier Drogba slotted in a second half hat-trick which edged him past Wayne Rooney to be top scorer for the season. The Ivorian ended with 29 but it was Frank Lampard’s amazing 22 from midfield that really made the difference.

The Double Is A Sure Bet

Chelsea now go on to try and complete the club’s first domestic ‘Double’ against Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final. Their opponents are managed by former boss Avram Grant. And who would bet against that considering the disparity in talent between the two teams. Chelsea head into the game at 1.20 to lift the FA Cup, there’s no value to be had in the outright market so a punt on another high scoring game offers better value. Take over 3.5 goals in the game at 2.40 to maximise your FA Cup betting.

Arsenal disposed of a weakened Fulham side to make sure of third place- perhaps word that the Gunners were winning filtered through to Turf Moor as Spurs allowed Burnley to battle back fro two gaols adrift to end their season on a high.

Tottenham won their big result on Wednesday at Manchester City, so its not surprising they ran out of steam when the chance of pipping Arsenal to third place petered out.

Burnley ended with the mild satisfaction of passing Hull City to finish eighteenth. The Tigers held Liverpool 0-0 which probably says everything about Liverpool’s season.

The Reds did at least finish two points clear of Everton who won their final game against doomed Portsmouth. The Toffees must rue their opening in August when they lost three games out of the first four, plus defeats in both Merseyside derbies.