Word emerged from China this week that a 26-year-old soccer fan, Jiang Xiaoshan, had died after staying up all night for 11 straight days to watch live matches at Euro 2012. Reports that the poor lad succumbed to boredom while watching Spain pass the ball between themselves for 90 minutes, never allowing the opposing team a single touch, proved to be exaggerated. But only slightly.

With every step the reigning European and World champions take towards winning an unprecedented third consecutive major tournament title, a growing howl of anger (or is it jealousy?) can be heard rising from a cross-section of fans and media observers around the world. Could this team be so good that it's actually bad for the game?

Congratulations, Spain. You've joined the likes of the New York Yankees and Miami Heat as all-conquering objects of sporting derision. You're not a bunch of preening superstars, without an Alex Rodriguez, LeBron James (or even a Cristiano Ronaldo) in your midst. You're getting all this done without one of the world's premier defenders in Carles Puyol and without superstar striker David Villa, both laid low by injuries. But you can't catch a break from the critics, who claim your ball-control style of innumerable short passes, the so-called 'tiki-taka,' is taking the fun out of football.

Villa's absence has been a factor in coach Vicente Del Bosque's occasionally derided lineup decisions, like deploying six midfielders and no strikers at the start of last Saturday's quarter-final victory against France, and again in the latter stages of Wednesday's semifinal against Portugal, leaving goal scorers Fernando Llorente and Fernando Torres to languish on the bench.

Intimidated in the face of Spain's possession-driven philosophy, opponents like France have doubled up on defenders and dared not venture too far forward, shrinking into a protective shell. The result: Spain completed an astonishing 900 passes, or more than 10 a minute throughout the match, suffocating almost every hint of a French attack and moving on with a 2-0 win.

The boredom tag gets applied when too few of those passes are seen to be leading towards shots, when Spain's two banks of midfielders muddle themselves up around the penalty box without surging forward into space, when they try to tap the ball into the net instead of just hammering it home. That was the case at times in the France game, and also for much of Wednesday's semifinal win over Portugal, a match that featured more yellow cards (9) than shots on goal (4). Scoreless and somewhat stifling for 120 minutes, it was finally settled with the dreaded penalty shootout.

Spain are infuriating and exhausting to play against because, on those rare occasions that they actually lose the ball, they'll run like hell to win it back. Their average share of possession was 56 per cent during their Euro 2008 win, rising to 65 per cent at World Cup 2010 in South Africa and climbing still higher to 68 per cent at this summer's tournament. They can be relentless and controlling at times, like a group of soccer-playing robots.

Still, to say that watching Spain is bankrupt of excitement is an unfair accusation, or "the complaint of surly teenagers," as Telegraph soccer writer Duncan White put it this week. All La Roja do is win, and it's hard to truly find much fault with that. 

Not that some haven't tried. Midfield maestro Andres Iniesta appealed to Spanish fans to keep calm amid hand-wringing at home over the perceived lack of offensive intent, offering a gentle reminder that the big picture remained in focus while acknowledging the high standards of success. "We have made the exceptional into something routine," he said, "which means winning is the norm."

Even if it comes to resemble an extended session of keep-away, I've got no problem with Spain's style of play. Whether it's a string of pinpoint passes that culminate with an attacker sent in alone, or a series of quick, triangular touches to control the ball deep in their own area and force an opponent into rueful retreat, the results can be both mesmerizing and magical. Turn away if you find it boring, and try something else instead. But be warned: you're turning your back on history.