Editorial:The casefor the defence

Interview:Sir Alex Ferguson

Mañana

Tacticsfor the future

Autumn leaves

I n c l u d i n g

N EWS LET TE RF O R COAC H ES

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I M P R E S S U MEDITORIAL GROUPAndy RoxburghGraham TurnerFrits Ahlstrøm

PRODUCTIONAndré VieliDominique MaurerAtema Communication SAPrinted by Cavin SA

COVERHaving already won the UEFA Champions Leaguewith Juventus, Marcello Lippipulled off a unique double in winning the World Cupwith Italy this summer.(PHOTO: ANDERSEN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

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FABIO CANNAVARO UP

AGAINST THIERRY HENRY IN

THE WORLD CUP FINAL.

THE ITALIAN DEFENDER WAS

ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS

IN THE COMPETITION.

THE CASEFOR THE DEFENCE

E D I T O R I A LBY ANDY ROXBURGH,UEFA TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Italy won the FIFA World Cup 2006with a masterly display in the art ofdefending. Two goals against, one a penalty and one an own goal, wasthe sum total of their concessionsand tangible evidence of their abilityto thwart the opponent. They were, it should be noted, also very goodgoing forward. Even the finalists ofthe UEFA Champions League provedto be miserly in giving anything away.Arsenal, the runners-up, went tenmatches in a row without concedinga goal (a record); while championsFC Barcelona, with their flamboyantstyle, scored 24 times with only fivegoals in reply. Indeed, the season2005/06 produced the lowest goalsaverage in over a decade of UEFAChampions League football. As RafaBenítez said after the club final inParis: “There has been a big improve-ment in defending in top-level foot-ball.” Fortunately, the lack of scoringquantity was offset by the extremelyhigh quality.

From a structural perspective, thetrends were clear. The top 16 teamsthat participated in the 2005/06UEFA Champions League operatedwith a zonal back four, as did 14 ofthe sides that reached the World Cupknock-out phase. In addition, all of

the aforementioned teamsselected at least one

midfield holdingplayer, or screen, in order to protecttheir back line. In the World Cup,nine of the leading

teams used a two-man barrier, including

the French and, in the latter stages,the Italians. On the other hand, theUEFA Champions League finalists(plus seven other top teams) favouredthe deployment of one ‘vacuumcleaner’, as the late, great RinusMichels described the role. Interest-ingly, many of these deep-lying mid-field players have become the initia-tors of the build-up play, such asItaly’s Andrea Pirlo.

A side’s basic shape is ‘necessary forteam order’ according to Sir Alex Fer-guson of Manchester United. But, thesame system can operate differentlydepending on the philosophy andthe style employed, and the specialcharacteristics of the team. Duringthe last season, however, one com-mon feature was to defenddeep and in a compactdefensive block. The uncer-tainty created by the inter-pretation of the offside law isone of the reasons for this.Villarreal, the small Spanishclub that reached the lastfour of the UEFA ChampionsLeague, were an extremeexample of this approach.During the competition,coach Manuel Pellegrini said:“We defend deeper thanmost sides, and though itcreates more work for ourmidfield players, it doesreduce the space behind our defenders.” And Lyon’s Gérard Houlliersummed up the attitude to defend-ing when he said: “The trend is tobring the opponents into the defen-sive block and then to aggressivelypress the ball.”

Some of the outstanding players last season were goalkeepers anddefenders. Italy’s No. 1, Gianluigi Buffon and centre back Fabio Can-navaro were two of the best playersat the World Cup in Germany, andArsenal’s keeper Jens Lehmann and

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FC Barcelona’s centre back CarlesPuyol proved that star quality is notthe preserve of the glamour boys who play up front. Top defenders andtheir defensive team-mates provedthat good defensive play is a prerequi-site to team success in top-level competitions.

The dynamics of football mean thatthe game is always in flux. When thedefending qualities improve, attackingsolutions are pursued and devel -oped, and vice-versa. We, in thecoaching profession, can acknowledgeand appreciate the improvements in defensive play while simultaneousaccepting the challenge to find theantidote. Counter-attacks, set playsand solo actions have become crucial

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Manuel Pellegrini, advocate of a tight defence with Villarreal.

in breaking down sophisticated packeddefences. But significantly, the game is moving more towards the assets ofspeed and skill, and this augurs wellfor the future. Balance is the key word.It applies to team organisation, todefending and attacking, and to greatcompetitions. As Marcello Lippi said at UEFA’s recent Elite Club CoachesForum: “Balance is number one.” So is Marcello, Italy’s World Champion – a master coach in training the arts ofattack and defence.

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SIR ALEX FERGUSON OF MANCHESTER UNITED IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT COACHES. IN A COACHING

CAREER SPANNING OVER THREE DECADES, HE HAS WON THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (1999 WITH

MANCHESTER UNITED FC), THE EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS’ CUP TWICE (1983 WITH ABERDEEN FC AND 1991

WITH MANCHESTER UNITED FC), THE UEFA SUPER CUP (1983 AND 1991), AND THE EUROPEAN/SOUTH

AMERICAN CUP (1999). ALEX WAS ALSO NAMED THE UEFA COACH OF THE YEAR IN 1999. DOMESTICALLY,

HE HAS ACCUMULATED THREE SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIPS, FOUR SCOTTISH CUPS AND ONE SCOTTISH

LEAGUE CUP, EIGHT ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE TITLES, FIVE ENGLISH CUPS AND TWO ENGLISH

LEAGUE CUPS. HE MANAGED THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL TEAM AT THE FIFA WORLD CUP IN MEXICO (1986)

AND IS THE LONGEST-SERVING HEAD COACH IN THE ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP, HAVING BEEN THE BOSS

AT MANCHESTER UNITED FC SINCE 1986. IN ADDITION, ALEX, WHO WAS KNIGHTED FOR HIS SERVICES

TO FOOTBALL IN THE UK, IS A REGULAR, VALUED MEMBER OF UEFA’S TECHNICAL GROUPS AND ELITE CLUB

COACHES FORUM. CURRENTLY, HE HOLDS THE POSITION OF HONORARY LEADER OF THE UEFA COACHES

CIRCLE, A UEFA PROJECT WHICH PROVIDES A TECHNICAL SERVICE FOR PRACTISING COACHES.

IT IS THIS GROUP THAT SIR ALEX ADDRESSES IN THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEW.

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I N T E R V I E WBY ANDY ROXBURGH,UEFA TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

SIR ALEX FERGUSON1 • What are the main qualitiesrequired by a coach at the top level?I have thought about that a lot, andthere are a number of things. As I progressed as a coach, I learned thatobservation was vital. To coach andwatch at the same time is difficult. If you are involved too much in thecoaching, you miss many things. I started to delegate more things to myassistant and to stand back sometimes.Observation is definitely an importantissue in order to make sure that thequality is high and that you get out of a training session what you want.Next, I think you need perseverancebecause coaching at the top today isnot an easy job. If you come in on a

Monday morning after a defeat and you lack this quality of persever-ance, then it will show and that willaffect the players. So on Mondaymorning, you have the ‘fire in thebelly’, you are ready. The passion hasto come out.I also think that a top coach needsan imagination. When people askyou what was your best ever goal asa coach, you want to identify a per-fect goal that you influenced. It isabout your imagination, inculcatedinto a training session, and which theplayers take on board. They then doit by habit. I remember as a youngcoach teaching take-overs in impor-tant areas of the pitch which was

unusual at the time. So you put thisimagination into a player’s mind, andhe can then take it to another level,because he realises that you bothwant to try things. You create a chainreaction which produces thinkingplayers, and this is a wonderful thingto develop.It is also important to have simplecommunication. You see those train-ing sessions where the coach istalking all the time and the mes-sage is lost – the words get lost inthe wind. Keep it simple, be brief,but be decisive. Make it perfectlyclear what you are after in asession. Remember when wewere players – we were stand-

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ing there and we wanted to get onwith it and the coach was ramblingon. Talking too much is a big dangerfor a coach.

2 • How did you develop as a coach?Well, I was an apprentice tool-maker,and then at 22 years of age I got thechance to become a full-time player. I decided to take the gamble, but Iwas determined not to fail, so Iwanted to learn everything about thegame. I started going to the Scottish

coaching schoolwhen I was 23 years

old. In the firstyear, I got my B

licence, and thenquickly progressed on

to my full badge. I had decidedthat when I finished playing, I wasgoing to be prepared to be a coach.My ambitions were not necessarilyfocused on becoming a manager or acoach, but I did want to stay in thegame in some capacity and I wantedto be ready for that. I used to read allthe coaching books – not that Iwanted to replicate everything I read,but I was curious and hungry forknowledge. I was fortunate that theScottish FA’s courses were very practi-cal and the staff coaches were topprofessionals.

3 • What would your advice be to a young coach?Most young coaches have been play-ers, and they are cocooned, protectedby agents or coaches. Most playerslive in a fortunate environment. Yes,you need to sacrifice to be a topplayer. But make no mistake, whenyou become a coach there is a biggersacrifice to be made, because you aregiving up your whole day, every day.Coaches are not only working with

their team but travelling all over theplace to watch players or opponents.When you go into this game you haveto work extremely hard – you andyour family have to sacrifice. Youneed a natural work ethic. The reallygood coach is the one who is happyto work, and believe me, it is not easyto work hard in coaching for yourwhole life. The drive, the hunger, thepassion must be inside you, becauseplayers need to recognise that youcare. And, of course, the aim is to getthe players to care along with you. If the young coach has these qualitiesI have been referring to, and theyhave the ability, then they have achance. One last point, they must taketheir steps. I started the right way atthe lowest level and built my way up.But don’t forget, everyone needs a bit of luck along the way.

4 • What are the biggest problemsfacing coaches today?There is a player ego today that youhave to deal with. As a coach, the onething you must have is control. Youcan’t afford players to take charge of a training session. There has to be astrong discipline in the training and ingeneral. Simple rules must apply,such as time-keeping, concentrationat training, etc. Another thing, ofcourse, is the pressure of results. WhenI came into the game the mediademands were less than we havetoday. No agents or freedom of con-tract back then. More and more, weare dealing with player power. I grewinto all of that, but a young coachmust realise that he is walking straightinto all of that. They have to find away of navigating all of these pres-sures. Also, if you have a good chair-man and board, then you are lucky. If not, then you have to handle thatsituation as well. You need to under-

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stand your bosses and what theirexpectations are. There are somepresidents or chairmen who expectto win a title every day. The mainadvice I would give to a young coachis to focus on his job. Forget all theperipheral things, don’t get involvedin the politics, just concentrate onyour job, on your squad, becauseplayers are the best weapon youhave.

5 • Do you believe in the use oftechnology as an aid to coaches?Yes, I use the various IT toolsbecause it quickly gives me all theinformation I need about opponents,etc. In the old days, you wouldpainstakingly take notes. And for me,it has always been out of the ques-tion to read out notes at a teammeeting, or to give the notes to theplayers. We at Manchester United do

the video analysis very well now. Wehave two full-time people taking careof that.

6 • Many top coaches have a bigstaff – do you believe in that?In terms of staff, things have pro-gressed over the years. When I went toManchester United at first, I had a staffof only eight at the club. We had nofull-time doctor. Today, we have an opto -metrist who does all the treatment ofthe eyes (she did a great job gettingPaul Scholes back to normal after hehad blurred vision), we have a full-timedoctor, five physios, a fitness coach, aweight coach. I never thought I wouldwork with a backroom squad of thissize. As you get older, you learn to del-egate better. You can’t do everythingyourself at a major club. For example,with the youth programme, I put it ingood hands, and I simply oversee what

is happening – it’s not possible forme to immerse myself in the youthwork as I once did.

7 • Apart from yourself, who arethe role models in coaching today?I look at coaches who have a difficultjob and do well. And I look at coacheswho win with different clubs. BecauseItaly has been at the forefront foryears in terms of success, I look atsomeone like Marcello (Lippi) whohas won the World Cup, the UEFAChampions League and titles in Italy.Fantastic. And he started the right way– at the bottom end and worked hisway up. Also, he survived time. Fabio(Capello) is the same – he was asuccess at Roma, at AC Milan, at RealMadrid, etc. These colleagues aregood examples for young coaches,and if the young coach is still coach-ing in 15 years time, they will under-stand what I am talking about – it’snot easy to stay the course. It needs a good constitution, great stamina(you have to look after yourself), anda little luck. A young coach might say,“How am I going to reach Lippi’slevel? Even if I can, how many yearswill that take?” But there are alsogood examples of young coacheswho have quickly risen to the top.Look at Rafa (Benítez) who started asa youth coach at Real Madrid, went to Valencia, and then on to LiverpoolFC where he won the ChampionsLeague. Then look at José Mourinhowho entered the top level as an inter-preter, but had an ambition and ahunger to listen and to learn. He wenton to win the UEFA ChampionsLeague and the UEFA Cup. This showsyoung coaches what can be achieved.You have another two good examplesof young coaches in today’s football.Marco van Basten (who started as the Dutch national coach) and Frank

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Gérard Houllier, Rafael Benitez, Sir Alex Ferguson, Holger Osieck, Andy Roxburgh and Jozef Venglos with the prestigious Champions League trophy before the 2006 final in Paris.

Sir Alex with Sir Bobby Charlton and the new England national team coach, Steve McClaren.

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Rijkaard (who won the UEFA Champi-ons League with FC Barcelona). But I like to think about coaches whohave survived time and had successwith different clubs; clubs which pre-sented different challenges. These arethe coaches we should look up toand admire. Look at what they havedone, because winning in this profes-sion is not easy.

8 • Is coaching as a profession in good shape?I think it is as good as we can expect,given that there is an ever-changingprocess in our game. But it’s nothealthy that a coach can lose fourgames and then he is out of a job –this is not good for the football indus-try, especially if the coach has not

been given time to produce. I wishthat the presidents of clubs, and thesupporters, would have the samepatience that the coaches have. Weare asking miracles, of course. It is avery emotional game and sometimesthe expectations are too high. Thathas always been the case and won’tchange. For many supporters, theirwhole lives are intertwined with thefootball club, and that spiritual con-nection is very strong. You can there-fore understand that losing fourgames can’t be tolerated. Because ofthat, there is a frequent change ofcoach. There is no evidence to sug-gest that continual changing ofcoaches brings success. Coachessuch as Fabio, Marcello, Arsène(Wenger) and myself suggest the

opposite, that longevity can bring success. And also, the relationshipbetween the coach and the playercan be stronger when you are there a long time.

9 • As the honorary leader of theUEFA Coaches Circle, do you havea message for practising coaches?I can only think back to when I was ayoung man and how keen I was tolearn. That enthusiasm for knowledgeshould never be lost. For example, I had a great discussion with Marcello(Lippi) about Italy’s tactics in theWorld Cup. I thought the final wastactically interesting; he thought thesemi-final against Germany was bet-ter. And in terms of spectacle, he was right. The main thing is that weare curious and we talk. Apart fromstaying inquisitive, my message to allpractising coaches, including those in the UEFA Coaches Circle, is to per-severe. We all have bad days. I havehad some but I always bounced back.When I was at Aberdeen FC, I lost afinal, and on the Monday I told theplayers it was the last time we wouldlose a final – it was. You have to have that vital drive, and to deal withthe disappointments. Players todaydon’t have the same feeling as thecoach has when they lose – so thecoach has to deal with that situation.Coaches often think they are alone,but they are in the same situation asmany fellow coaches. It’s important,therefore, to relate to your coachingcolleagues because we are all in thesame boat.

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Even on the day of the EuropeanUnder-19 final in Poznan, el mañanawas uppermost in the mind of theSpanish coach, Ginés Meléndez. “To behonest,” he said, “I’m not concernedabout whether we win or lose.” It’s asentiment that technicians don’t voicetoo loudly in the dressing-room for fear of it being misinterpreted as lackof ambition. But, among colleagues,Ginés explained, “When you’ve beenworking with a group for two years or more, when you’ve observed howthey’ve developed, and when you’veseen how well they’ve played during

NOT MANY PEOPLE NEED TO REACH FOR THE DICTIONARY WHEN CONFRONTED

WITH ONE OF THE MOST UNIVERSALLY RECOGNISED WORDS IN THE SPANISH LANGUAGE. IT’S ALSO A

FLEXIBLE ONE. THE ADVERB MEANS TOMORROW. AS A NOUN, LA MAÑANA MEANS THE MORNING.

BUT, IN ITS MASCULINE FORM, EL MAÑANA STANDS FOR ‘THE TOMORROW’ – THE FUTURE.

HAD AFC AJAX BEEN BASED IN SPAIN, INSTEAD OF NAMING THEIR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CENTRE

THE TOEKOMST – THE FUTURE – THEY WOULD PROBABLY HAVE CALLED IT EL MAÑANA.

MAÑANA

the tournament, you feel an inner satisfaction at having done some goodwork and having helped the young-sters to progress as footballers and aspeople. Winning or losing the final doesn’t change that.”

In other words, if asked to cast a vote in the perennial debate between resultsand development, Ginés would imme-diately raise a hand in favour of the latter. So would Tommy Wilson, hisopposite number in the Poznan final.But the circumstances were hardly thesame. Whereas the Spaniards were

extending their unparalleled record of successes in teenage football, theScots were in their first UEFA final sinceAndy Roxburgh’s team took the Under-18 title in 1982. Tommy Wilsonadmitted that, on arrival in Poland, the prime objective had been no morethan laying claim to one of Europe’s six places in the forthcoming Under-20World Championship.

Reaching the final made a majorimpact. The Under-19s became a leadstory on Scottish sports pages, BBCScotland immediately acquired the right to screen the final, and reportersscurried onto Poznan-bound planes. In other words, results did have theirimportance in terms of image, promo-tion and, more importantly, confidencein a development programme that was beginning to bear fruits.

On the day of the final, Tommy tracedthe origins of his team back through thetrips to Spain to study their youth devel-opment methods, the visits to Den-mark to study structures in a country of roughly the same stature, the impor-tance of the implantation of small-sidedgames in Scottish youth football, and a new, enhanced tactical awarenessamong his young protégés. Eliminatingthe defending champions, France, inthe qualifiers and going on to reach thefinal represented a reward for years ofwork on a coherently designed project.

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Alberto Bueno of Spain and Scott Cuthbert of Scotland during the European Under-19 Championship final.

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Spain’s 2-1 win over the Scots in thefinal brought the total for the tourna-ment in Poland to 63 goals. UEFA’s tech-nical study group, when selecting theirteam of the tournament, had to contendwith a surfeit of attacking midfieldersand forwards. Standards of attacking and counter-attacking were high. Andthe general willingness to adopt adven-turous strategies, to take risks and toallow the youngsters a high degree of freedom to express themselves raisedan important question for the techni-cian: apart from carefully assembling the nuts and bolts of a programme, how important is the philosophy behindplayer development projects?

This is one of the issues to be dis-cussed at the 16th UEFA Course forCoach Educators, to be staged atItaly’s national training centre inCover ciano. And it is especially rele-vant at a time when a UEFA youthlicence is being mooted. Some coun-tries already have such a scheme inplace (the French FA has an excellentsystem, for example) and UEFA’splan is to create criteria for a spe-cialised youth coaching diplomawhich would represent the equiva-lent of an ‘A’ licence. No fewer than51 of UEFA’s member associationsare now enrolled in the coachingconvention and, now that the basic

structure has been consolidated, theaim is to encourage associations toadd an extra dimension to theircoaching set-up.

There are some interesting questionsto be discussed. During formativeyears, what sort of mentality shouldprevail? Which facets of the gamedeserve special attention? What arethe best practices when it comes toschooling youngsters to win – butnot to win at all costs. Tommy Wilsonand Ginés Meléndez will be amongthe speakers in Coverciano, helpingto explain how we might best layfoundations for el mañana.

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TOMMY WILSON

Gerard Pique sets-up Spain’s second goal in the U19 final in Poznan.

WHAT HAVE THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS TAUGHT US? AND WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? THOSE WERE

THE BASIC QUESTIONS POSED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY AT THE 8TH UEFA ELITE CLUB COACHES FORUM,

STAGED IN GENEVA WHILE CALENDARS WERE BEING TURNED FROM AUGUST TO SEPTEMBER. ONE OR

TWO OF THE COACHES WERE NOT ENTIRELY COMFORTABLE WITH THE NAME. “I AM NOT ELITE” WAS

FRANK RIJKAARD’S IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TO THE INVITATION. BUT THE SQUAD PHOTO BEGGED TO

DIFFER. FRANK, THE EUROPEAN CHAMPION, AND JUANDE RAMOS, WINNER OF THE UEFA CUP AND UEFA

SUPER CUP, FLANKED WORLD CHAMPION MARCELLO LIPPI. ALONGSIDE AND BEHIND THEM WERE FELIX

MAGATH, PAUL LE GUEN, PAULO BENTO, THOMAS SCHAAF, TROND SOLLIED, ARSÈNE WENGER, FERNANDO

SANTOS, VALERY GAZZAEV, MANUEL PELLEGRINI, RICARDO GOMES, JESUALDO FERREIRA, GÉRARD

HOULLIER, FABIO CAPELLO AND SIR ALEX FERGUSON – WITH ANDY ROXBURGH AND HIS FIFA COUNTER-

PART, HOLGER OSIECK, RUNNING THE WINGS. IF THAT GATHERING DOESN’T WARRANT AN ‘ELITE’ LABEL,

WHAT DOES? WHAT’S MORE, THE SQUAD WOULD HAVE BEEN EVEN STRONGER HAD THREE LEADING

ITALIAN SIDES NOT BEEN TAKING EACH OTHER ON IN A TRIANGULAR TOURNAMENT THAT EVENING.

TACTICSFOR THE FUTURE

But, in one sense, Frank was right.The Forum was all about humility,camaraderie and some serious reflec-tions on the state of the game and its future. The points of referencewere the 2005/06 UEFA ChampionsLeague and the FIFA World Cup finals.Arsène Wenger was the first of manyto comment that, when the groupmatches in Germany got under way, itwas inevitable to start drawing com-parisons with the standard of footballin the UEFA Champions League,where the best of various nationalitiesare concentrated into one line-up.

But statistics provided one evidentlycommon denominator between thetwo competitions. During the2005/06 UEFA Champions League,the four teams that reached the semi-

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An elite team for the forum in Geneva.

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HIGH FIVE: SIR ALEX

FERGUSON, FRANK RIJKAARD,

MARCELLO LIPPI, JUANDE

RAMOS AND FABIO CAPELLO.UEF

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the keyword. And it was interesting to note that computerised analysisrevealed how the most successfulsides in the UEFA Champions Leaguehad been the ones who most consis-tently maintained their shape, theirtactical discipline and a rational occu-pation of the playing area. The ques-tion was whether the balance anddiscipline displayed during the

finals jointlyconceded 23goals in 48games. It doesn’trequire a mathe-matical genius toconvert this into anaverage of one goal con-ceded in every three hours of foot-ball. When Frank Rijkaard and ArsèneWenger led FC Barcelona and ArsenalFC on to the pitch at the Stade deFrance, their teams had jointly con-ceded six in 24 games – one goal inevery six hours of football. Of thefour conceded by Barça, one hadbeen a penalty and one an own goal.

The FIFA World Cup offered similarreading. When Marcello Lippi and

RaymondDomenech ledtheir sides outin Berlin, the

Azzurri had con-ceded one in

six games and LesBleus two. Again, one

goal per four games, with theodd bit of extra time thrown in to pro-duce even more striking evidence ofdefensive acumen (as highlighted in the editorial on page 4). The onlyrecord set in Germany was also adefensive one: Köbi Kuhn’s Swissside went home without conced-ing a goal.

Asked for their comments, Marcelloand his compatriot Fabio Capellowere quick to highlight ‘balance’ as

MARCELLO LIPPI

MAKES A PRESENTATION

TO 2006 UEFA CUP

WINNER JUANDE RAMOS UEF

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“Individuals often make the difference.“Juande Ramos (UEFA Cup Winner with Sevilla)

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“The tactical approach in the domestic league is different from the UEFA Champions League.“Felix Magath

(Bayern Munich)

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CONNOISSEURS’

COMMENTS: FABIO CAPELLO,

MARCELLO LIPPI

AND ARSÈNE WENGER.UEF

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2005/06 campaign amounted to atrend towards cautious,low-risk football –and anotherdimensionwasadded tothedebateduring alater ses-siondevoted tothe Laws of theGame.

Frank Rijkaard, representing a clubwhose supporters demand a degreeof panache as well as results, wasthe leading voice in a chorus whichdescribed the current ‘passive off-side’ rulings as a major threat to thefuture of the game as entertainment.Sides whose attacking vocation isunderpinned by pushing up andkeeping lines within a rational dis-tance of each other are being under-mined by a rule that allows oppo-nents to exploit offside positions.

Analysis of the finals in Germany provided evidence that this

now applies to defend-ing at set plays. At a

free-kick on theright, just outsidethe box, one teamsent a player to a starting position

near the bye-linebeyond the far post.

He was so flagrantly offside – some

10 metres – that he was, obvi-ously, left unmarked. Butwhen the free-kickwas played toan overlap-ping team-mate onthe right,hesprintedinto thecentre ofthe box and,had the crossfrom the right reached

him, the goal would have beendeclared valid, as he had run into aposition behind the ball. He wouldhave exploited the ‘passive offside’ ruling to be (a) unmarked and (b)able to run unopposed into a scoringposition.

However, what worries the coaches is not so much these situations inthemselves but the response they provoke: the only logical antidote, inopen play and at set pieces, is to

defend further back.Hence Frank

Rijkaard’sdeeply-feltconcernabout a rul-ing which,he fears,

could signifythe end of the

“In terms of defending, the trend is to bring the opponents into the

defensive block and then aggressivelypress the ball.“Gérard Houllier (Olympique Lyonnais)

“Balance is the key.“Fernando Santos(Benfica)

“Each team has its own characteristics, but to be a success

you need quick players, especially in attack.“Fabio Capello

(Real Madrid)

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TWO OF THE ELITE

COACHES’ FORUM REGULARS:

GÉRARD HOULLIER

AND SIR ALEX FERGUSON. UEF

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roadfor attackingphilosophies based on an advanceddefensive line. And, as a Dutchmansteeped in attacking traditions, hefeels that this is a threat to be takenvery seriously.

This was one of many messagestransmitted by the coaches andinjected into UEFA’s debates on thefuture of the game and, more par -ticularly, the future of UEFA’s clubcompetitions. The Forum issued an

endorsement for the current for-mat of the UEFA ChampionsLeague, while maintaining certainreservations. For example,

with seasoned interna-tionals often obligedto watch matchaction from thestand, the long-standing callfor a greaternumber of sub-stitutes on thebench remains onits feet. On the otherhand, it gratified thecoaches that proposals from pre-vious years – such as a standardisedball for all UEFA Champions Leaguematches – have already becomereality.

In terms of competitionstructures, there wasdebate about the UEFACup, which has inevitablyfallen deeper into thehuge shadow cast by theUEFA Champions League.The coaches voiced sev-eral opinions about howbest to upgrade the com-petition, but on thesequestions, the techniciansacknowledged, there aremany voices to be heard.

But the club coachesunanimously expressedmalaise about certainaspects of the international

calendar and, in the wake of a FIFAWorld Cup that had finished on 9 July, the idea of playing international

friendlies on 16 August wasquestioned – espe-

cially bearing inmind that legis-

lation in mostcountriesentitles foot-ballers to a statutory

four-weekholiday. There

was a proposal forWorld Cup participants

to avoid the August date or, at the worst, for the four semi-finalistnations to back out of any pre-arranged fixtures. One of the coachesremarked that he would have to waittwo months before he could train his entire squad in top gear, bearing

“With counter-attacking becoming increasingly important,

countering the counter has become the main trend.“Arsène Wenger

(Arsenal)

“In the UEFA Champions League andWorld Cup finals, the winning coaches

(Rijkaard and Lippi) made the differencewith their second-half substitutions.“Sir Alex Ferguson

(Manchester United)

“When it comes to style, it’s winning first – attractive next.“Marcello Lippi

(Italian World Cup winner)

“You need to be good to win, but you can lose to a poorer team.“Trond Sollied

(Olympiacos)

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in mind that the players had reportedback on widely varying starting dates.This was a general concern based onthe disruption of pre-season sched-ules and the difficulties in finding timeto coach players and teams once the intensive programme of compe -titive fixtures gets under way. AsGérard Houllier said after the meet-ing: “Getting the top coaches togetheris great, but having these intense dis-cussions on football issues is anenriching, exciting experience.” That,apart from the ideas and proposalsthat emerge from it, is the funda -mental raison d’être for the Elite ClubCoaches Forum.

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The Spanish youngsters showed their class once again by winning the European Under-19Championship.

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A fourth World Cup title for Italy.

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NATIONAL TEAM COMPETITIONSFIFA World Cupin GermanyItaly v France 1-1 (5-3 in penalty shoot-out)Champion: Marcello LippiRunner-up: Raymond DomenechBronze medal: Jürgen Klinsmann

European Under-19 Championshipin PolandSpain v Scotland 2-1Champion: Ginés MeléndezRunner-up: Tommy Wilson

European Women’s Under-19 Championshipin SwitzerlandGermany v France 3-0Champion: Maren MeinertRunner-up: Stéphane Pilard

CLUB COMPETITIONSUEFA Super CupIn Monaco

FC Barcelona – Sevilla FC 0-3Champion: Juan de la Cruz “Juande” RamosRunner-up: Frank Rijkaard

AUTUMN LEAVESA LONG, HOT FOOTBALLING SUMMER IS NOW BEING FOLLOWED BY

SOME AUTUMN LEAVES – IN THE FORM OF THE VARIOUS TECHNICAL

REPORTS THAT ARE NOW AVAILABLE. BUT, FIRST THINGS FIRST.

AND THE FIRST THING IS TO SIGN OFF THE 2005/06 CAMPAIGN BY

SALUTING THE TECHNICIANS WHO HAVE STEPPED ON TO THE PODIUM

SINCE OUR LAST ISSUE. THE FIFA WORLD CUP IN GERMANY WAS AN

EDIFYING EXPERIENCE IN THAT TEAMS FROM EUROPE MONOPOLISED

THE SEMI-FINALS, WITH BRAZIL’S LUÍZ FELIPE SCOLARI JOINING

THREE EUROPEAN COACHES ON THE BENCHES.

With Russia having taken UEFA’s Under-17 title and the Dutch making off withthe Under-21 crown, honours in age-limit tournaments were shared aroundthe map when a talented Spanish teamemerged as the dominant force at theUnder-19 finals in Poznan, while Ger-many’s victory in the women’s equiva-lent allowed Maren Meinert to becomechampion of Europe at the tendercoaching age of 32.

At the club level, Sevilla FC, winners ofthe UEFA Cup 2005/06, made a goodentry in the new season beating UCLtitel holders FC Barcelona in the UEFASuper Cup in Monaco.

FIFA’s technical report on the World Cupwas officially launched at the joint

UEFA/FIFA conference for nationalteam coaches in Berlin, while UEFA’stechnical reports on the UCL and all the age-limit tournaments (theUnder-21 finals in Portugal, the Under-19 finals in Poland and the WomensUnder-19 finals in Switzerland) eitherhave been or are being distributed in English, French and German. Apartfrom providing a statistical record of all the events, the reports containsome interesting comment from themembers of our technical study groupsabout trends in today’s football.

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SEVILLA FC,

2006 UEFA SUPER CUP

WINNERS.

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October 23 – 2716th UEFA Coach Educators Course(Florence)

November 3 – 7UEFT Symposium (Prague)

November 28 – 304th UEFA Medical Symposium(Istanbul)

December 4Draw European Women’s Under-19 and Women’s Under-17Competitions (Nyon)

December 5UEFA Youth & Amateur FootballCommittee (Nyon)Draw European Under-19 andUnder-17 Competitions (Nyon)

December 62nd European Youth Football Workshop (Nyon)

December 132nd UEFA Women’s Elite CoachesForum (Nyon)

2 0 0 7

January 25 – 26XXXI UEFA Congress (Düsseldorf)

February 26 – March 2UEFA/CAF Meridian Cup & Conference (Barcelona)

April 2 – 77th UEFA Grassroots Conference(Helsinki)

A G E N D A

BY GÉRARD HOULLIERHead Coach, Olympique Lyonnais

Aim● To develop constructive build-up play.● To encourage the fast break.

Numbers● Two teams – 8 v 8 plus goalkeepers.

Area● Full pitch, with four zones

(each 20 m).

Rules● One team is identified as the build-

up team, but it must conform to therestrictions on passing (i.e. maximumof 4 in the deep defending zone, 3 in the next zone, 2 in the next, andone in the attacking area. In order toscore, the whole team must be in the opponent’s half of the field (thiscreates space behind the defence for the possible counter).

● The counter team tries to win the ball back, and initiates a fast break (a maximum of 5 passes can beimposed, before a shot on goal).

Time● Duration – 26 minutes (2 x 12

minutes, plus 2 minutes rest).● The teams change roles at half-

time – the build-up teambecomes the countering team,and vice versa. (Intensity 90%).

Alternative● Each team can use both

approaches (i.e. they build-up or counter, depending on the situ-ation). But they must conform to the rules for each type of attack(i.e. if it is a counter, they onlyhave 5 passes).

Key Coaching Points● The countering team can press the

ball and counter in the opponent’shalf; or retreat, try to intercept theball, and initiate a fast break from a deep starting position.

● The build-up team are encouragedto play composed possession foot-ball in their own half, and then topenetrate quickly with dribblingmovements or fast combinations.

● Concentration, turnover speed and effective forward movementare key elements in the practice.

● Enjoy.

Build-upversus

Counter

THE GERMAN WOMEN’S

UNDER-19 TEAM, EUROPEAN

CHAMPIONS IN 2006.

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UEFARoute de Genève 46CH-1260 NyonSwitzerlandPhone +41 848 00 27 27Fax +41 22 707 27 34uefa.com

Union des associationseuropéennes de football