Coaches identify key elements

Europe's national team coaches have been identifying a number of essential tactical elements that are dominating the game and bringing teams success at the highest level.

Mistakes punished
The coaches, meeting in Warsaw for the fifth UEFA Conference for European National Coaches, agreed that top teams now took full advantage of mistakes, and that successful teams needed to have people who could win matches on their own.

Tournament talks
National-team coaches, their assistants, technical directors and coach education directors have been in Warsaw this week to review the FIFA World Cup in Japan and Korea, and look at future tactical and technical trends ahead of EURO 2004™ in Portugal.

Decisive moments
"It's necessary for teams to have players who can produce decisive moments to win a match," said UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh. "We have to have team players, but there must also be players who are able to make chances and take chances. Such players are gold."

Exploitation of errors
The exploitation of errors is felt to be another essential element in the elite modern-day game. "We've seen in the UEFA Champions League and World Cup that mistakes are punished ruthlessly nowadays," Roxburgh said.

First goal
The coaches agreed that the importance of scoring the first goal was becoming vital in the search for success. Teams that were able to take the lead gained themselves a crucial psychological advantage, with statistics showing that a large majority of teams who took the lead in the World Cup and Champions League went on to win their matches.

Quick counters
Teams are also becoming extremely adept at creating danger from rapid counter-attacks after regaining possession. "The art of quick, collective counterattacking, with teams looking for the ideal moment to strike when they have the space to do so, is an important quality in winning games today," said Roxburgh.

Set-plays
The UEFA technical director stressed the importance of the effective use of set-plays such as free-kicks and corners. "Players' technical ability to strike the ball nowadays is phenomenal," said Roxburgh. "We have seen this at the World Cup and in the Champions League. Exceptional delivery of the ball, and good movement, often result in the chance to finish off a set-play with a goal."

Combination play
The toughest defences, the coaches heard, could also be unlocked by rapid combination play. "If players can be encouraged to do what Valencia did in their recent Champions League match against Liverpool – produce fantastic one-touch passing movements at electrifying speed – this can win matches," said Roxburgh.