07-15-2014, 09:41 AM
I'm not going to write everything I got from this world cup as it'll be too long, but some of the key things I did get include:
1) The modern CF is no longer a pure goalscorer. This one is evident most of all in the fact that the top scorers this world cup all played roles slightly deeper than a CF. Muller kind of played CF in some games, but Klose was brought in during the knockout stages, while Neymar, James and Messi all played a little deeper. Instead, the forward's were often given the duty of playing to open up spaces for those coming from deep.
2) Defending is no longer the art it was. This for me was by far the biggest disappointment of this world cup. I'm not one to want drab 0-0 draws, but I do want to see quality defending at this level. Fact is, this was no where to be seen, with teams disorganised and unable to read games at the back.
3) Attacking football or rather proactive football is the favoured approach these days. This might be as a result of point 2 (or vice versa), but ultimately teams weren't afraid to attack each other which created some hugely entertaining games. Even the less known sides, like Algeria, really went for it and played spectacular football. Even Greece, a team I maligned for the negative approach were attacking more (once forced).
4) The wide areas have become vital in modern attacks. Teams attacking from the wide areas often made inroads in hurting opponents. Whether it was Holland with Robben, Argentina with Lavezzi/Di Maria or Germany with pretty much all of their attacking players, it doesn't feel like a huge surprise wide players hurt opponents in this world cup.
5) The transition from defence to attack has shifted focus to extremely quick and direct attacks. This isn't new, Sacchi implemented it in his Milan, Wenger has built his philosophy around it and Mourinho pays heavy focus on it (note all have very different ideas on football). With tiki taka being the most prominent brand of football in the last half decade, there was a focus on possession football in recent years. That, imo, changed with Heynckes' Bayern side that won CL, when they decimated Barca during the semi-finals and that approach has shifted the current trend in football to a more aggressive approach.
6) Those who have a structured approach to youth development are flourishing. Germany have invested huge sums of money to develop their side to be where they are today. Spain, despite having a terrible world cup (imo due to a generational shift), still have an incredible group of young talents coming through. Brazil, Italy and England have some good young talents, but they are developed with any particular project in mind, meaning they simply don't appear to work as well together as other nations.
7) Few teams play with the traditional identity anymore. Brazil's most notable in this regard, showing nothing like Joga Bonito of old. Italy can no longer defend and hold possession. Germany play in a way expected of Brazilian sides and aren't as efficient as past sides, proving more cavalier. Argentina were extremely defensive, rather than a free flowing attacking side.
8) Finally, some teams need to rethink how to rebuild their football. Again, Brazil is most notable after losing 7-1 to a German side that ironically won the hearts of many Brazilians with their brand of football. Italy's terrible successive world cup is indicative of another nation that needs to reconsider it's approach to youth development and rework their whole system. However, it's not just bigger nations, as African football needs to take a long introspective look as while Algeria and Nigeria proved to do well, the administrative issues of some more powerful nations (Cameroon and Ghana especially) proved to be the undoing of these sides. Likewise, the hope and growth of Asian football in recent years meant they came into the tournament with some expectations. Instead, it was an embarrassing performance from these nations.
These are some of the key points I got from this world cup. I do have more, but in this case I've avoided going into granular detail and haven't gone into anything outside of trends I noticed on the pitch.
1) The modern CF is no longer a pure goalscorer. This one is evident most of all in the fact that the top scorers this world cup all played roles slightly deeper than a CF. Muller kind of played CF in some games, but Klose was brought in during the knockout stages, while Neymar, James and Messi all played a little deeper. Instead, the forward's were often given the duty of playing to open up spaces for those coming from deep.
2) Defending is no longer the art it was. This for me was by far the biggest disappointment of this world cup. I'm not one to want drab 0-0 draws, but I do want to see quality defending at this level. Fact is, this was no where to be seen, with teams disorganised and unable to read games at the back.
3) Attacking football or rather proactive football is the favoured approach these days. This might be as a result of point 2 (or vice versa), but ultimately teams weren't afraid to attack each other which created some hugely entertaining games. Even the less known sides, like Algeria, really went for it and played spectacular football. Even Greece, a team I maligned for the negative approach were attacking more (once forced).
4) The wide areas have become vital in modern attacks. Teams attacking from the wide areas often made inroads in hurting opponents. Whether it was Holland with Robben, Argentina with Lavezzi/Di Maria or Germany with pretty much all of their attacking players, it doesn't feel like a huge surprise wide players hurt opponents in this world cup.
5) The transition from defence to attack has shifted focus to extremely quick and direct attacks. This isn't new, Sacchi implemented it in his Milan, Wenger has built his philosophy around it and Mourinho pays heavy focus on it (note all have very different ideas on football). With tiki taka being the most prominent brand of football in the last half decade, there was a focus on possession football in recent years. That, imo, changed with Heynckes' Bayern side that won CL, when they decimated Barca during the semi-finals and that approach has shifted the current trend in football to a more aggressive approach.
6) Those who have a structured approach to youth development are flourishing. Germany have invested huge sums of money to develop their side to be where they are today. Spain, despite having a terrible world cup (imo due to a generational shift), still have an incredible group of young talents coming through. Brazil, Italy and England have some good young talents, but they are developed with any particular project in mind, meaning they simply don't appear to work as well together as other nations.
7) Few teams play with the traditional identity anymore. Brazil's most notable in this regard, showing nothing like Joga Bonito of old. Italy can no longer defend and hold possession. Germany play in a way expected of Brazilian sides and aren't as efficient as past sides, proving more cavalier. Argentina were extremely defensive, rather than a free flowing attacking side.
8) Finally, some teams need to rethink how to rebuild their football. Again, Brazil is most notable after losing 7-1 to a German side that ironically won the hearts of many Brazilians with their brand of football. Italy's terrible successive world cup is indicative of another nation that needs to reconsider it's approach to youth development and rework their whole system. However, it's not just bigger nations, as African football needs to take a long introspective look as while Algeria and Nigeria proved to do well, the administrative issues of some more powerful nations (Cameroon and Ghana especially) proved to be the undoing of these sides. Likewise, the hope and growth of Asian football in recent years meant they came into the tournament with some expectations. Instead, it was an embarrassing performance from these nations.
These are some of the key points I got from this world cup. I do have more, but in this case I've avoided going into granular detail and haven't gone into anything outside of trends I noticed on the pitch.
