Power Soccer Toronto 2010 / Home Page

Top Headlines

Euro 2004 – lessons for youth coaches

By Liam Power
Inside Soccer Magazine,  August/September 2004

Euro 2004 provided an insight into the game at the top level. There are valuable lessons for coaches of youth players as we try to glean ideas from Europe’s elite players and coaches.  Player poaching has been an ongoing issue in Canada.  We do not have a professional league here and unfortunately the ‘pro’ league is often played at the youngest levels.  “Coaches” hunt down players in the hope of forming an unbeatable squad.  Other coaches have the philosophy of developing youth players regardless of immediate results.  Greece showed that you can win the biggest competitions without having all of the super stars. 

 
Finishing

Whatever method you employ to train for goal scoring you should include players other than your strikers.  Milan Baros (Czech Republic), the Golden Boot at Euro 2004 is a deep striker, he plays almost like an attacking midfielder.  Similarly, Rooney for England plays deeper.  Strikers find it increasingly difficult to get space amidst defenses that are well organized. Midfielders (Lampard, Zidane, Rui Costa, Maniche) will inevitably have opportunities to score.
The cross can stifle the best defense: crosses get opponents facing their own net, catch them off guard and cause them to turn - losing sight of their opponents.  Crosses from set piece sometimes find players mentally relaxed. Holland’s Edgar Davids was actually leaning on the post while the ball hit the back of the net in the semi-final against Portugal!   Ronaldo’s winning goal in that game and Greece’s Dellas and Charisteas’ goals in the other semi final and in the final are examples of crosses deciding the fate of a game.  

Team Cohesion

Greece were educational to watch.  They defended very effectively as a unit.  Each player in the team took responsibility for working off the ball.  They gave us a top class lesson in team play.  In the final Portugal’s Figo and Ronaldo on the flanks were being double teamed.  Greek midfielders on each side would drop to support the full backs and the striker would come into midfield.  Greece mastered the act of defensive coverage and working as a unit at Euro 2004.   Additionally they counter attacked in numbers and it is unfair to say that their game was only to disrupt the opponent.  This is always part of a game in any case, to be candid.   Surely the Greek squad’s resilience, skill, tactical supremacy and team spirit had much to do with the mutual respect and faith between the team and coach Otto Rehhagel.  Look what it got them.