Now available: 2024/25 club competition technical reports

Following the release of condensed versions earlier this summer, the full versions of technical reports on the 2024/25 seasons of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Women’s Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League are now available.

The four publications combine a full review of the season from a coaching perspective with in-depth tactical insight along with coaching drills tailored to interlock with some of the key features to emerge from the four major club competitions.

Along with in-depth analysis of the final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter, the technical report on the UEFA Champions League addresses topics such as Atlético de Madrid’s control of wide areas in their mid and low-block defending, and team strategies at goal kicks, where Manchester City led the field by successfully converting 51% into final-third entries.

Staying with conversion rates, analysis of wing play included examination of crossing efficiency – and revealed the surprising facts that Paris scored one goal per 94 crosses and Real Madrid one from 159.

Paris were triumphant in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA via Getty Images

The technical report on the UEFA Europa League highlights the diverse approaches to defending against wing play. Elfsborg, for example, were content with allowing opponents to deliver crosses – 156 of them in their eight games – but made first contact with 71% of them, while Slavia Praha focused on limiting opponents to an average of 5.3 crosses per game.

Teams’ usage of the high press emerged as a common denominator in all four technical reports. In the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona provided a standout example by scoring just over half of their goals after regains in opposition territory, 17 of them in the attacking third.

In terms of using the high press as a defensive strategy, Arsenal stopped 42% of opponents’ passing out of their defensive third, peaking at a 60% success rate during the second leg of their semi-final against the eventual champions, Paris. Bayern were the London club’s nearest rivals in that particular ranking, intercepting 40% of the opposition’s attempts to play out of their defensive third.

Among the other common denominators in the four reports are analysis of set-play mechanisms – only five direct free-kick successes in 189 UEFA Europa League games – and sections dedicated to goalkeeping based on observations by experts such as Frans Hoek and Mart Poom.

Who were the 2024/25 UEFA club competition technical observers?

The technical observers for the UEFA Champions League season were David Adams (England), Wayne Allison (England), Aljoša Asanović (Croatia), Rafael Benítez (Spain), Packie Bonner (Republic of Ireland), Cristian Chivu (Romania), Justin Cochrane (England), Steve Cooper (Wales), Frank de Boer (Netherlands), Rui Faria (Portugal), Dušan Fitzel (Czechia), Steffen Freund (Germany), Avram Grant (Israel), Roy Hodgson (England), Steve Holland (England), David James (England), Aitor Karanka (Spain), Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands), Stefan Kuntz (Germany), Ioan Lupescu (Romania), Claude Makélélé (France), Roberto Martínez (Spain), Gaizka Mendieta (Spain), David Moyes (Scotland), Michael O'Neill (Northern Ireland), Mixu Paatelainen (Finland), Willi Ruttensteiner (Austria), Ole Gunnar Solskjær (Norway), Sir Gareth Southgate (England), Vasilis Tsiartas (Greece), Mark van Bommel (Netherlands) and Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Netherlands).

The UEFA Women's Champions League observer team featured Britta Carlson (Germany), Gemma Grainger (England), Fritzy Kromp (Germany), Jayne Ludlow (Wales), Ioan Lupescu (Romania), Anna Signeul (Sweden) and Martin Sjögren (Sweden).

Tottenham celebrate winning the UEFA Europa LeagueUEFA via Getty Images

The observers for the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League were David Adams (Wales), Wayne Allison (England), Packie Bonner (Republic of Ireland), Justin Cochrane (England), Steve Cooper (Wales), Rui Faria (Portugal), Steffen Freund (Germany), Jan Peder Jalland (Norway), Mixu Paatelainen (Finland), and Willi Ruttensteiner (Austria).

Finally, the technical observations on the UEFA Conference League were provided by David Adams (England), Packie Bonner (Republic of Ireland), Justin Cochrane (England), Savvas Constantinou (Cyprus), Dušan Fitzel (Czechia), David James (England), Stefan Kuntz (Germany), Haakon Lunov (Norway), Marians Pahars (Latvia), Dimitris Papadopoulos (Greece), Leif Gunnar Smerud (Norway), Stefan Tarkovic (Slovakia) and Vasilis Tsiartas (Greece).

Their viewpoints add up to a fascinating insight into the benchmarks being set in European club football.