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29 ally] English." Robinson hails Guardiola as the chief inspiration for the new mindset, lauding the City boss for "revolutionising Eng- lish football". Lauren, though, emphasises that this upsurge is not just about passing the ball, and has been particularly impressed by Klopp's ability to blend the tra- ditional English values of hard work and high tempo with more continental methods. "I love Klopp," Lauren en- thuses. "What I like about Liverpool is that they can play their style for long periods of the game. The manager has the mentality of quick transitions and pressing high up the pitch, and the way they can do that for 90 minutes is unbelievable." Teamwork trumps solo talent Within Spain, the failure of La Liga teams to land a Eu- ropean trophy this season is largely being addressed more on a club-by-club basis than country-wide, with endless hours of discussion devoted to the Champions League short- comings of Real, Atletico and Barcelona. There are, though, some common traits connecting the three clubs, such as an ageing core of players who have been allowed to enter into decline, and an inability to cope with the pace and intensity of vi- brant top-class continental op- position such as Liverpool. Former Real Madrid striker and manager Jorge Valdano - a World Cup winner with Argen- tina in 1986 - also believes this season's Champions League has highlighted "the impor- tance of the collective over the individual", making the point when appearing alongside Rob- inson on the #vamos broadcast. "Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't have done any more than he did, but it wasn't enough for Juve," he said. "Lionel Messi couldn't have done any more, but it wasn't enough for Barca. "Liverpool, though, had their big triumph against Barcelona without Roberto Firmino or Mohamed Salah, and Totten- ham had theirs without Harry Kane. "Individuals couldn't save their teams in this Champions League. Collectives were more relevant than individuals." Valdano believes his compa- triot Pochettino best embodies that approach, saying: "In the ideal Champions League team, would you have any Totten- ham players? For me, no. And that speaks well of Pochettino. Tottenham have been the most flexible team this season." And in the same way that English football has successful- ly integrated Spanish methods through Guardiola and Pochet- tino, perhaps there is the big- gest lesson to be taken now for La Liga teams from the English game: less fixation on super- stars like Messi and Ronaldo, and more emphasis on team- work. It's been a long time since Spanish football has been forced into a period of self- doubt. For now, though, the English game has been trans- formed from the pupil to the master. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 JUNE 2019 SPORTS FOOTBALL Managers Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino have helped change the style of football played in England's Premier League