2014fwc_tsg_report_15082014_neutral

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Trends
TRENDS
Attacking football
The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil confirmed
some, if not most, of the trends that had
already been observed a year before at the
FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013. The
competition was characterised by the top-class
attacking football on display from practically
all 32 participating teams. With a total of
171 goals, Brazil 2014 equalled the record
goal tally of France ‘98, while the few games
which ended goalless were mostly of excellent
quality, entertaining and attractive to watch.
The trend is for teams to play positively and
do everything to win a game rather than
merely “not lose”. Pushing up the field to
score was considered more important than
playing for safety. The result was attacking
and enjoyable football throughout the whole
tournament. This is a tendency and philosophy
that is very positive and promising for the
future development of football worldwide.
Power, pace, skill and composure were key
features of play at the 2014 FIFA World Cup
Brazil. Speed, technical skill and mobility, as
well as short passing and a strong team ethic
to play as an ambitious collective unit were key
factors for success. The tempo of the game was
impressive – Brazil 2014 was one of, if not the
fastest World Cups ever played. The standard
of physical fitness and the commitment of the
players were very high. In addition to being
skilful, mobile and fast, players have to be
strong all-round athletes to meet the demands
of competitions at this level.
Counter-attacking was crucial in the
tournament although the physical and highintensity
brand of combination football of
recent years is still prominent.
The magic moment
Transition is the “magic moment” in a
game and a key factor in modern football.
Its execution can often decide whether a
team wins or loses a game. There are various
methods for doing this efficiently – however,
the method chosen always depends on the
players that a coach has at his disposal and the
tactical route of the team. The most common
approaches were to have a fast player running
with the ball into the opponent’s defensive
area, to play two or three passes forward
quickly or, to a lesser extent, to send long
balls towards the front players behind the
opposition defence.
Particularly in the early stages of the
competition, there were numerous goals
scored through fast counter-attacks following