“The system is our identity,” emphasised Spain coach Santiago Denia, before their first group game against Brazil, a little piqued at the repetitiveness of questions pertaining to tiki taka. His response sounded like a cliche, or worse still, a bail-out answer, as if imploring the floor to move on.

But he knew he couldn’t stop the answer there. To snuff the follow-up, he elaborated. “How cleverly we alter that system against opponents is the key to our longevity in the tournament, for one of the things that go against us is that everybody knows how we are going to play.”

It was more suggestive of the strategic evolution he and his team were to embrace in their journey to the final, which wasn’t always a stroll, but was replete with stutters and stumbles.

Denia, like all tactical theorists, realises the need for strategic and structural improvisations, without tampering with the quintessence. Spain, throughout the tournament, have advertised what’s been generically called tiki taka, but against different opponents and in different circumstances, they have illustrated the various manifestations of it, underlining that tiki taka, rather than signifying a sacrosanct method, has a wider and deeper scope.

“Tweak,” is the word that he frequently resorts to. He used the word right after his team lost to Brazil, a match Spain began at high tempo snatching the lead, but letting Brazil come back into the match. A shrewd central midfielder in his days for Atletico Madrid, a club which is antithetical in principals to Barcelona, he realised his defenders were getting easily dispossessed.

So in the second half, he deployed a two-fold defensive screen, but at the same time pushed Sergio Gomez upfront to give assistance for Abel Ruiz, besides bestowing the full-backs with more liberties. They demonstrated more cutting edge in the last 30 minutes, and it required some resolute defending by the Brazilian defenders. But the strategic flexibility of his team pleased him. “I’m happy with the way the team responded after we made a couple of switches. It shows we are an adaptive group, capable of changing to the situations,” he said.

This two-striker formation itself is somewhat contradictory to tiki taka, because they generally prefer the centre forward to play deeper because it enhances the fluidity of movement and creates additional angles to keep the ball moving. But here they were operating in a more conventional 4-2-2-2.

Against France, however, Denia knew such a ploy could easily backfire, as they had nippy wingers, and two full-backs on the prowl was ill advised. Hence, against them, only left-back Juan Miranda ventured forth, while Mateu Morey, the right-back, cushioned in at centre-back, in what was at times a three-man defence. The ploy efficiently strangled France’s wingers. As they sought more channels through the centre, Spain raised the tempo through the sheer intensity of passing. “I tell you from my experience, keeping possession for a long time frustrates the opponents. It tires them out mentally and physically,” said Denia, unusually conceited.

It did tire the Iranians — which would remain Denia’s greatest tactical coup of the tournament. Not just because it was Spain best performance in the campaign — glittered with skill, movement, bursts of unstoppable pace, with pass after pass after pass of outrageous simplicity and beauty — but because it came against a team that seemed genuinely capable of beating them through their radical non-possession football. Also because, he deconstructed the whole myth of tika taka as being a centrally-aligned game. Iran were overstrung by the lightening thrusts through the flanks, hatched chiefly by Ferran Torres, who was all shimmering class, defending and raiding in equal measure.

Spain also made their elaborate passing rituals even more elaborate. It frustrated as much as it unsettled Iran, who had to scavenge for scraps. “It was clear to us that if you attack or if you are very direct in attacking Iran, especially through the middle; we might give chances to counter. The key was to field more players on the sides of the field. And it was a job almost well done,” he complimented his team.

Against Mali, a no-holds-barred attacking side, he decided to meet fire with not fire, but a firestorm. So, for most part of the match, they played a highly attacking 4-2-4, with the full-backs overlapping at a furious pace, and the frontline incessantly pressing Mali’s defence. It unsaddled Mali, who like Iran were riding smoothly until they bumped into Denia’s Spain. La Rojita will be plotting another triumphant script against England in the final.