Glowing report for U-17s

Football in Europe has a bright future judging by the UEFA European Under-17 Championship which has just finished in Denmark.

Bright future
The successor to the UEFA European U-16 Championship, the U-17 event featured 32 games played over 14 days between 16 countries at 14 different venues across Denmark and it left the impression that tomorrow's spectators will flood through the gates if the players manage to turn the potential displayed throughout this tournament into high-class performances at senior level.

Switzerland the team to watch
In recent years the U-16 championship had virtually become the sole property of Spain and Portugal but judging from the performances of the last two weeks, the Iberian era may be at an end. Portugal bowed out in the first group phase and Spain were knocked out in the semi-finals. Instead, Switzerland captured the hearts of football lovers with stunning performances that were enough to win the title and prove that they could well be the side to watch in the future.

Plenty of goals
The tournament did not reveal any innovations in the tactical area: sides were generally better organised than ever before which was well illustrated by Switzerland's unexpected road to the final. However, despite the high degree of organisation, an average of more than three goals was scored per match. This not only shows that the will to attack is combined with a high degree of individual skill but also that goalkeepers at this level still need to develop physically as well as mentally before they are ready to play at senior level.

Stars of the future
The old U-16 championship was the place where stars like Thierry Henry and Luis Figo took their first step towards the limelight and this tournament revealed more players who promise to rise to their level. Switzerland's Philippe Senderos showed huge potential in organising the rock-solid Swiss rearguard while Spain's Jonathan Soriano made himself the target of a number of big European clubs by finishing the championship as leading scorer.

Successful event
The tournament entertained and enthralled in equal measures as 21,000 spectators passed through the gates to give an average of 780 spectators per match which probably would have been even greater if the host nation Denmark had not been beaten on penalties in the quarter-final against Spain.

Massive coverage
Coverage of the tournament was massive in the local media and the Danish Football Association (DBU) played a major part in publicising it by arranging pre-match activities outside the stadiums - these included ball-juggling and dribbling, and small tournaments on inflatable football pitches. And while winning the trophy was a huge triumph for outsiders Switzerland, it might be appropriate to quote their coach Markus Frei on the biggest day of his coaching career: "We won the title which was a milestone for Switzerland but my job is not so much based on achieving results as on grooming the players as individuals - and I think this tournament has greatly contributed to that."