HOW TO WIN THE WORLD CUP?

CARLOS ALBERTO PARREIRA

AT THE UEFA CONFERENCE IN VIENNA.

GREAT HEADLINE, ISN'T IT? THERE WAS CERTAINLY NO LACK OF INTEREST WHEN CARLOS ALBERTO

PARREIRA, WORLD CHAMPION WITH BRAZIL IN 1994, JUMPED ON THE STAGE AT THE UEFA NATIONAL

TEAM COACHES CONFERENCE IN VIENNA TO MAKE A PRESENTATION BEARING THAT RIVETING

TITLE TO AN AUDIENCE OF COACHES WHO ARE NOW ACCELERATING THEIR TEAMS INTO THE FINAL LAPS

IN THE RACE TO QUALIFY FOR THE 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP FINALS IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Carlos certainly knows his way around the world of national team football. Apart from Brazil, he's taken charge in Ghana, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. And, as he was quick to point out, he's learned that there's no secret formula, no magic potion and that the title of the presentation he has now allowed UEFA to publish on our website might easily be "How To Have a Half-Decent Chance of Winning the World Cup". Let's face it, if you ask the winners of World Cups, EUROs or UEFA Champions Leagues to name a key factor, they might well mention "a smile from Lady Luck in a penalty shoot-out."

Indeed, the list of past winners reveals that there's no common denominator in terms of personality. How do you compare Sir Alf Ramsey with César Luís Menotti; Enzo Bearzot with Franz Beckenbauer? On the other hand, it is interesting to look for traits that Carlos has shared with Aimé Jacquet, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Marcello Lippi, the technicians who have followed him to the top of the world podium.

Carlos expresses admiration for Germany's 1954 champion Sepp Herberger, who developed tactical discipline along with physical and mental strength, aiming to attack and defend with maximum efficiency. Carlos admits to finding inspiration in some of Sepp Herberger's strikingly simple statements such as "the ball is round" and "the game lasts 90 minutes" because those stripped-down concepts are an invitation to reflect on what the game of football is about.

Flicking through the pages of World Cup history, Carlos traces trends through the winners: the birth of 'art football' in 1958 based on the Brazilians' outstanding technical ability, the play-and-don't- let-them-play philosophy of Sir Alf Ramsey's winger-less England in 1966, the quality and team balance of Brazil in 1970, the compact German unit which overcame Total Football in 1974, the different styles which took Argentina to the summit in 1978 and 1986, and the tactical, counter-attacking excellencies of the Italian sides which triumphed in 1982 and 2006.

The question is whether today's ambitious national team coach needs a compendium of all those qualities or whether a winning team can be built on a small number of them, yet be prepared to cope with opponents who base their footballing cuisine on different ingredients. Carlos believes that a successful team needs to be built on the foundations of the country's culture, history and traditions. He quotes César Luís Menotti: "You have to understand that, if you are a musician and you don't know who Beethoven was, you are lost. If I ignore my past, I cannot plan my present or my future." On the other hand, Argentine football has, in recent times, diverged into two schools of thought spearheaded by their two World Cup winners - and Carlos Bilardo maintains "there is no Argentine style: to win is the only thing that matters."

In modern-day Europe, the theme is by no means irrelevant. Many of the nations who have expanded UEFA's membership from 31 to 53 in a short space of time may face a need to rediscover their footballing genes. Carlos, of course, is steeped in Brazilian culture and philosophy. And he points to Mario Zagallo, four-time World Cup winner as player and coach, as the man who managed to combine method with the Brazilians' traditional fantasy by focusing on off-the-pitch facets. His revolution in 1970 was based on a meticulously planned training programme along with a totally new team infrastructure in which the technical staff was increased from 4 to 12. Although science and technology have been increasingly applied to the game in the last half-century, Carlos admits that it's difficult to equal the 1958 experience in terms of preparation time. "In those days," he remarks, "the Brazlians were in Brazil, so preparations started in February. These days, that is simply impossible."

The challenge facing today's national team coach is that cultures, philosophies and playing concepts need to be implanted in short periods of time and, in many cases, among footballers who, since adolescence, have been playing the game against completely different cultural backdrops. Technology can assist the modern national team coach in terms of, for example, logging each player's training and match-play workloads via internet, but technology cannot provide national character or team unity.

Carlos therefore maintains that a key element in the coach's work is to evaluate and assess the players who are available and to select those who, in his opinion, can interpret his philosophy. Again, Carlos likes to quote César Luís Menotti: "You need to look for quality and for team players. A good squad is like a symphonic orchestra. You can't manage with violins. You also need pianos, basses, wind instruments and a good maestro."

"The music keeps changing," Carlos reflects. "If you go back to Brazil in 1958, it was essentially a 4-2-4 but Mario Zagallo's ability to attack and defend made it more or less a 4-3-3. When Brazil won it again in 1970, you could say it was with a 4-5-1 formation. But the five consisted of Clodoaldo and Gerson in the holding roles with Jairzinho, Pelé and Rivelino operating behind Tostão." In 1994, Arrigo Sacchi described Carlos's Brazilian team as "the most organised in their history". It was based on a flat, zonal back four and, as Carlos recalls, "a positional passing game with fast counters and changes of rhythm. It was about zero mistakes and maximum efficiency."

Playing styles come and go - Carlos points out that, at the 1990 finals, 14 of the 24 teams operated with a three-man defence. In 2006, 5 out of 32 used three at the back - a trend underlined at EURO 2008, where only Austria and Greece sporadically opted for this shape. But Carlos insists that the characteristics required by the coach who aspires to win a World Cup have remained fundamentally unchanged. He needs a solid track record, a real football background, along with enough top-level experience to earn credibility in the dressing room. He requires a coherent playing philosophy which he can communicate to the players. His leadership qualities must be channelled into creating a positive ambience. He must always be prepared to, as Carlos puts it, "defend the tribe". He needs to remain composed, focused and graceful under extreme pressure. And he needs to be relaxed and purposeful in his relationships with the media, "even when you get the feeling that it's you versus the rest of the world. There were times, I admit, when I asked myself if it was really worth it. You need to be Robocop..."

Carlos also maintains that, apart from outstanding players, a team capable of winning the World Cup needs "to win outside the field of play. You need a mission, a vision, a target. You need to defend the myths and legends of the country."

Who will successfully do this in South Africa?

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CLUB COACHES' FORUM: The ten-years Anniversary Recommendations.

Event Report: CLUB COACHES' FORUM

Source: The Technician UEFA Newsletter

TEN YEARS AFTER  
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FOR  
THE

CLUB COACHES' FORUM

PUT NAMES TO THE FACES ON THE TEAM PICTURE, ADD THEM UP AND YOU'LL HAVE HARD EVIDENCE THAT THE 10TH UEFA ELITE CLUB COACHES FORUM SET A NEW ATTENDANCE RECORD.

THE PROFILE OF THE EVENT WAS HIGH ENOUGH TO WARRANT COVERAGE IN UEFADIRECT AND ON UEFA.COM, SO THE TECHNICIAN MAKES NO APOLOGIES FOR GETTING STRAIGHT TO THE POINT - OR RATHER, STRAIGHT TO SEVERAL POINTS.

Dead Ball Goals - A Dying Species?
 

The 2007/08 UEFA Champions League combined with EURO 2008 to highlight a decrease in the number of goals stemming from set plays. The previous year's forum had already identified modern levels of espionage as a relevant influence on the decline and, as José Mourinho commented, "the loss of the surprise factor means that it only makes sense to prepare novel set plays before the really special games." The technicians also felt that walls are far too often set up at below-regulation distances and that defences are, these days, much more effectively organised and focus on zonal rather than man-to-man marking - which make block-off manoeuvres more difficult to complete.

Arsène Wenger threw another theory into the melting pot. "I think goalkeepers, these days, receive more protection and the improvement in training facilities also has a relevance," he remarked. "Players are now doing their daily work on much better surfaces where it is easier to keep the ball on the deck. This means that there are not so many good headers of the ball." Is that true in your neck of the woods?

Make or Break?

Many of the teams who prosper in UEFA club competitions approach their domestic fixtures with the obligation of breaking down theoretically inferior opponents. However, the European season highlighted the importance of counter-attacks and, as Mirko Slomka said, "we spend a lot of time analysing how opponents react when we win the ball." Claudio Ranieri acted as 'spokesman' for Italy's counter-attacking traditions by reviewing the philosophy of "protecting the goal, breaking fast, and making optimal use of possession." He recalled that, during the Arrigo Sacchi era, AC Milan's success was based on "rational use of space and quick strikes." Manuel Pellegrini broached the issue of whether to counter with a controlled combination move or a direct through ball and many of his colleagues agreed that the nature of the counter depends on who wins the ball and his capacity to think and act at high pace - coupled with enough technical ability to execute the move. As Gérard Houllier said, "the counter-attack is prospering because modern footballers are better equipped to combine skill and speed".

The importance of rapid counters was underlined by coaches who agreed that defensive blocks are being set up more quickly than ever before. "You very rarely see a rigid 4-4-2 any more," Arsène Wenger commented. "You can't afford to be second best in midfield and most teams defend 4-5-1. This was also visible at EURO, where many of the teams who started with 4-4-2 ended up operating 4-5-1."

Home Truths about Away Goals
 

The away goals rule, introduced 41 years ago, was the subject of lively debate at the forum - and you can join the debate by reading one of the talking points in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League technical report. The question is whether the importance of away goals in knockout ties has become excessive in terms of influencing the tactical pproach to home games.

The ruling was written into the European script with a view to encouraging away teams to adopt a more adventurous philosophy. But there are recent examples to support arguments that the rule is now tending to produce the inverse effect, with home teams tending towards conservatism in the knowledge that goals conceded on home soil can inflict serious damage. So has the time come to think again?

Vive La Différence!
 

The question posed to the coaches at the forum was deceptively simple: in top competitions, what makes the difference? Nobody came up with an instantaneous, definitive answer - but the contributions were thought-provoking. Sir Alex Ferguson, for example, pinpointed freshness, squad rotation, longer-term reviews of a player's form and the importance of resting minor injuries. Arsène Wenger followed this up by highlighting the ability to identify problems: "the good coach anticipates and is brave enough to act - maybe to sacrifice a key player in order to repair the team structure". Some of the others rubbed their chins and grinned "I wish we had that luxury!" But the more serious responses focused on willingness to take risks and, as Luiz Felipe Scolari commented, "what makes the difference is a united, technically equipped group with great team spirit and the ability to focus on results" - a view which moved the debate nicely on to the next point...

How Important is Leadership?
 

This is becoming a major issue in coach education - and one which deserves more in-depth coverage in a future issue of The Technician. And this was a part of the event in Nyon where Paulo Sousa played, as he had done during his distinguished playing career, an influential midfield role. The forum discussions rapidly led to questions about how many of their leadership qualities are being given free rein by a new generation of club owners and presidents - which, in turn, led to debate about the greatest challenges facing today's top-level coach. Crisis management and levels of control within the dressing room emerged as key issues in an environment where players, agents, owners, media and supporters are increasingly demanding. "The job itself has become very demanding," said Arsène Wenger, "and you can underline the word 'demanding' three times. The coach's qualities are these days questioned more than ever, which means that you need to be stronger than ever."

"The job is basically about observations, decisions and, above all, control," said Sir Alex Ferguson. "Players are being affected by external factors which can undermine their mental strength, so you need to be clear and firm in your own mind if you are going to be an effective leader."

"The forum was a short but very intense gathering," Andy Roxburgh commented. "Over ten years it has developed and the fact that some of the coaches made enormous efforts to attend underlines how much they enjoy meeting each other in the knowledge that UEFA has, over the years, taken on board many of the proposals that have been made at the forum."

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MESSAGES FROM THE TECHNICAL AREA

Event Report
Sourse: "The Technician" UEFA NEWSLETTER. 

Message from the technical department

THE TEAM PHOTO BEARS WITNESS TO THE STRENGTH IN DEPTH OF THE 9TH ELITE CLUB COACHES FORUM WHICH WAS STAGED AT UEFA'S HEADQUARTERS EARLY IN SEPTEMBER.

EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE ILLUSTRIOUS ABSENTEES SUCH AS SIR ALEX FERGUSON (SADLY OBLIGED TO ATTEND A FUNERAL), CARLO ANCELOTTI (LEADING AC IN A MATCH IN KIEV TO COMMEMORATE FC DYNAMO'S 80TH ANNIVERSARY) AND FRANK RIJKAARD (FAMILY REASONS), THE LINE-UP WAS IMPRESSIVE AS IT GAVE UNPRECEDENTED GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE OF THE CONTINENT.

In any case, the participants would be the first to insist that the important thing was not the star-studded line-up but rather the views they expressed. Since the forum was launched in 1999, many of the coaches' proposals have been converted into reality and many of their current concerns will also be the object of high-level debate in forthcoming months - as will the proposed reforms to the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup which were outlined to the participants by UEFA's president, Michel Platini.

But, like technicians the world over, the favourite pastime at the forum was simply to 'talk football'. The result was a mixture of suggestions and observations which, due to lack of space to do full justice to them,will have to be summarised in more or less telegraphic form.
Among the main concerns was a topic which had also emerged as a talking point during the compilation of the technical report on the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League, namely...


The State of the Pitch


The coaches commented that, in a UEFA Champions League which is universally accepted as the benchmark for other club competitions, the importance of the playing surface is underrated. A fast and true surface can contribute to the match as a spectacle which is what the public expects when they watch UEFA Champions League football. There is a risk that the stars may be eclipsed if the playing surface is not conducive to one-touch combinations and passes take an extra fraction of a second - or even a second touch - to control. In a competition where space is at a premium, the speed of combination play can be a critical factor and, as Arsène Wenger stated in the technical report and in Nyon, "if the pitch is not perfect, the athletes are rewarded, not the artists".


The Last Word

 One of the trends to emerge strongly from the 2006/07 campaign was for technicians to play their cards in the closing stages of games where there are results to chase or to preserve. In the semi-finals and finals of last season's UEFA Champions League, 23 of the possible 30 substitutions were made (Sir Alex Ferguson didn't make any during the home leg against AC Milan). And the striking fact is that 18 of those changes were rung in the last 15 minutes. "This is when fatigue kicks in," 'Gica' Hagi commented, "and there are greater opportunities to cash in on lapses of concentration and individual errors." Ottmar Hitzfeld added "patience is a virtue and, in the crucial closing stages, factors like mental strength and will to win can be decisive." Arsène Wenger reflected "the speed of transition is one of the key factors and this can fade in the last ten minutes or so. In this respect it's understandable that coaches keep some cards up their sleeves and go for the result in the phase when fatigue is an important element."



Transition


Arsène's views on the speed and efficiency of transition from attack to defence and vice versa were endorsed by his colleagues, many of whom now employ the noun as a training ground command. José Mourinho's players, for instance, know that the shout 'transition' is a galvanising cue to change instantaneously from one mode to the other. Shouting, of course, is not enough. A good deal of training-ground work needs to focus on rehearsing positional reactions to ensure that transitions are made as efficiently and as rapidly as possible - and in accordance with attack-to-defence policies which may vary from aggressive forechecking to a retreat-and-counter philosophy.


Set-Play Specialists


Set plays accounted for just over a quarter of the 309 goals scored during the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League, with just over 10% stemming from free kicks. However, the figures aren't an entirely accurate reflection of the full picture, as a higher percentage of the crucial goals in knockout ties came from free kicks, including Liverpool FC's 'equaliser' in the semi-final against Chelsea FC and AC Milan's opener in the final. Modern-day standards of 'espionage' work against the repeated use of rehearsed set plays with the result that, as 'Gica' Hagi remarked at the forum, each team needs to have at least one dead-ball specialist in the line-up - or, to put it another way, the lack of one creates an empty space in the side's attacking armoury.



Holding Patterns


At the forum, the technicians turned sympathetic ears towards Hugh Dallas when, representing UEFA's Referees Committee, he announced a tougher stance against the off-the-ball pushing and holding in the penalty box which has become almost 'standard practice' at set plays. As Roberto Mancini remarked, "it's not usually violent - it's just a bad habit". Unfortunately, the bad habits are often the ones that are most difficult to kick (in the figurative sense, of course) and Hugh Dallas admitted that it could be a painful and controversial process. Indeed, there may have been controversy by the time these lines reach the printed page. Why?



Coaches are well aware that blocking techniques at set plays are as old as the hills. But there is a tendency for them to escalate into all-in wrestling. Roberto Mancini hit the nail on the head when he commented that, in Italy, at least seven out ten cases of wrestling result in a free kick for the defending team. Hugh Dallas added that it was time for referees to take a look in the mirror and ask themselves if they were 'taking the easy option' - in other words, awarding an innocuous free kick instead of anocuous penalty.



The technicians welcomed the tougher stance - but with two provisos. Firstly, that it should be consistently adopted.



In other words, punishment on a uniform 'always or never' basis is more acceptable than 'sometimes'. Secondly,that the referees should persevere with the tougher criteria and not allow them to become diluted as the season wears on. "The guidelines are clear and have been publicised," Hugh Dallas commented. "What we can't predict is exactly how long it will take the players to get the message." What role should the technicians play in the campaign to break holding patterns? League and Cup The coaches in Nyon acknowledged that there are significant variations between domestic league games and UEFA Champions League fixtures. Takis Lemonis highlighted the differences in transition speeds between the Greek championship and UEFA competitions, while the technicians operating in England's Premier League commented that the use of professional fouls to abort counter-attacks is more consistently punished in Europe than in a domestic league where the emphasis tends to be on allowing the play to flow.



In the UEFA Champions League, they remarked, it is easier to build from the back but, on the other hand, the challenge is then to break down physically well-prepared, tactically well-organised, well-coached opponents who set up a low defensive block.
As Ottmar Hitzfeld remarked, this means that technicians have to be prepared to change team structures in midstream and implement tactical variations. Gérard Houllier followed up by stressing the need for players who are strong enough in dribbling skills to emerge successfully from 1v1 situations and distort opposition structures. "At the same time," he added, "you must be prepared to distort your own structure from time to time, so as to add an element of unpredictability to your play. In a competition of such uniformly high standards, you have to be prepared to momentarily take risks." Gérard was one of many participants who underlined the differences in parameters during a single campaign in the UEFA Champions League - a competition which, like the UEFA Cup in more recent times, features a fascinating combination of league and knockout formats. "In the group phase," he said, "it's a question of accumulating points, sometimes against teams who, rightly or wrongly, consider themselves inferior and set up a solid defensive block. The knockout rounds, especially when you get to the last eight, tend to be more open games in which strength, power and resilience have greater relevance. A prime example of this was AC Milan's performance in Munich, where they were able to defend under enormous pressure and still come away and score." Arsène Wenger summed things up very nicely by adding, "the best sides in the UEFA Champions League are, quite simply, the ones who are good at everything."

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