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For those just interested in the top line trends higlighted.....here's an excert.

 

Trends

1) A "new" generation of players

Thanks to FIFA's development programmes, which were

launched by then FIFA Technical Director Joseph S. Blatter in

1975 before being expanded upon by the confederations

and associations, there are no longer any "small" or "weak"

national teams.

The success and the breakthrough of young players has

been clear for all to see. Altogether, there were 123 players

under the age of 23 (born on or after 1 January 1987) at this

World Cup, and 99 of these players were actually fi elded.

Many teams had a number of U-23 players in their ranks.

Germany used nine such players, whereas Ghana fi elded

eight, Argentina used seven, Spain, Serbia, Cameroon and

Mexico all had six, and Chile boasted fi ve such players. All

of these teams played a successful, refreshing brand of

attacking football. This "new" generation of footballers are

technically excellent, they have a good understanding of

tactics and they are mentally well prepared.

 

2) Creativity

To break down compact defences in modern football,

teams are increasingly turning to players who:

  • can dribble
  • can catch opponents off guard and sell dummies
  • excel in one-on-one situations
  • can dribble their way into the opposition penalty area

before shooting (e.g. David Villa v. Honduras in the group

stage)

  • can read the game well to make a darting run or to

play a quick pass to bring their team-mates into play.

Take Brazil's Felipe Melo in the quarter-fi nal against the

Netherlands when he released Robinho, for example,

or Germany's Schweinsteiger in the quarter-fi nal

against Argentina when he set up a goal for Friedrich.

Such players have football brains, are quick to

read the game and can outfox the opposition

defence with an outstanding piece of individual

skill.

 

3) Intelligent defending around the team's own

penalty area

Successful teams try to defend close to their own penalty

area without conceding "stupid" or "unnecessary" fouls.

This has become a particularly important tactic as every

single team now has at least one free-kick specialist. Japan's

Endo and Honda, for example, both scored spectacular free

kicks in their team's last group match against Denmark.

Korea Republic also scored an important goal against Nigeria

through a free kick, and Germany's Müller gave his team an

early third-minute lead against Argentina by converting a

free kick from Schweinsteiger that was curling towards goal.

A pre-World Cup quote from Joachim Löw underlines this

perfectly: "In the next few weeks, we will train hard to try

and make sure we don't give away any unnecessary fouls

around our penalty area. Intelligent tackling will therefore

be an important part of our training as we prepare for the

World Cup."

The same holds true for corner kicks as teams now have a

whole range of intricate corner-kick routines. The Dutch,

for instance, scored their second goal in their quarter-fi nal

against Brazil from a well-rehearsed corner kick, Kuyt fl icking

the ball on for Sneijder to head home from deep in the

penalty area.

No sliding in

Players who slide in only put their own team at risk.

Defenders need to stay on their feet and try to win the ball

back with controlled aggression without clattering into

opponents.

 

4) Early pressing and quick transitions to prevent

counter-attacks - in other words, "countering counterattacks"

(usually with two lines of players).

 

5) Active defending and flexibility between the various

defensive lines (defence and midfield), variety in defensive

play, sometimes with zonal marking and sometimes with

man-to-man marking in the defensive lines.

 

6) Positive passing/possession

Successful teams try to move the ball forwards and not

sideways or backwards whenever the opportunity presents

itself. Teams that played this way included Spain, Germany,

Brazil and the Netherlands.

 

7) Quick transitions are a key factor in modern

football. As soon as they have regained possession, teams

try to play the ball forward as quickly as they can as they

know that their opponents are still on the front foot and

they could be disorganised at the back. Accurate and

precisely timed passes can therefore catch opponents off

guard.

 

8) Successful teams operate as a "unit" all over

the pitch. The team works together when on the

attack, but they try to stay compact and defend as a

unit too. Playing in this manner means that players

have to have high levels of fi tness and stamina. It

should also be mentioned that full-backs have an

extremely important role to play in this regard. Not

only do they have to operate well in defence, they also

have to be able to switch quickly into attacking mode.

This position is extremely important in modern football

as all successful teams have excellent full-backs or

wing-backs.

 

9) An increasing number of teams are now able to

adapt their tactics according to the state of play

and the scoreline. In doing so, they stay in control and

never lose their composure. Good examples of this were

provided by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Ghana, the

Netherlands, Spain, Uruguay and the USA. To play in this

manner, teams require intelligent and highly perceptive

players who are able to play in a variety of ways. This trend

will probably become even more pronounced in the years

to come as it will ensure that successful coaches have a

"new" tactical weapon up their sleeves depending on how

the match is progressing.