FIFA World Cup 2014: What Can England Learn?

The best World Cup of all time.

Christ the Redeemer welcomed the world with open arms to the spiritual home of football and in poured the pilgrimage.

The Copacabana was transformed into the epicenter for all things bright and beautiful and fans flocked in from all four corners of the globe to experience the very best Brazil had to offer.

In anticipation of the tournament, much was made of the political protests against FIFA by sections of the Brazilian public who objected to the £6.8 billion being splashed out on the event.

Security forces prevented any major flare-ups as protestors were kept away from the stadiums. The most memorable battles thankfully unfolded on the pitch.

For England it was all about the promise of youth and the potential for progress.

With expectation at an all time low heading into a major tournament, The Three Lions couldn’t possibly disappoint. Or so we thought.

Roy Hodgson insisted preparation couldn’t have gone any better. Pre tournament camps in Portugal and Miami helped the squad acclimatise for the tropical conditions of Manaus, the location for our Group D opener with Italy.

With ‘the perfect blend of youth and experience’, England headed to the Amazonian city with a simmering optimism.

It lasted just 45 minutes.

The weight of media momentum proved too much to deny Raheem Sterling a starting berth. But even his surprise inclusion was not enough to deter Hodgson from reverting back to his conservative style of football when England faced Uruguay 5 days later.

Defensive frailties proved decisive once again. Leighton Baines looked inexperienced at international level, Jagielka simply out of his depth and Glen Johnson defensively naive despite his best efforts going forward.

Void of inspiration, England limped out of football’s marquee tournament picking up a solitary point against an already qualified Costa Rica. Yet again the country that gifted the world with the beautiful game was left to reflect on the ugly reality.

We are void of a philosophy. There is no “English style of play”. We should not confuse the fast paced athleticism of the Premier League with the national team. They are not one and the same and until we find a solution, they will remain opposing forces housed under the same roof.

The Premier League is saturated with average over-priced foreigners and whilst we boast the best league in the world, the average lifespan of managers who pursuit a career in England, is clearly not conducive to bringing through young talent.

The bravery of Brendan Rodgers and Mauricio Pochettino should be applauded, for they gave youth a chance and were the direct benefactors of the talents their English youngsters possess.

This World Cup was won by a nation who was humiliated by England in front of its own people nearly 13 years ago. A 5-1 drubbing at the Olympiastadion. But the watershed moment came a year prior in 2000.

An embarrassing performance at the European Championships in Belgium and Holland triggered the transformation of the German game into a flourishing all-round culture that is increasingly envied across Europe.

The nation watched in horror as the then three-times World Cup winners, were eliminated after finishing bottom of their group, with a single point. Sound familiar?

Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB) lay down the plans for a football revolution. A complete overhaul of a failing system. Promoting youth, collaborating with the clubs of the Bundesliga and embedding a systematic philosophy at the heart of Die Maanschaft.

The number of under 23-year-olds regularly featuring in first teams in the Bundesliga jumped from 6% in 2000 to 15% in 2010. Every three years, the DFB's inspectors arrive at each Bundesliga club to put their academies to the test. There are around 800 questions to be answered, covering everything from training to how the youngsters are supported at school.

The incredible depth of Germany's coaching resources, as well as the DFB's close relationship with Bundesliga clubs, helped to reinforce the change in football culture.

According to Uefa, Germany has 28,400 (England 1,759) coaches with the B licence, 5,500 (895) with the A licence and 1,070 (115) with the Pro licence, the highest qualification.

Brazil 2014 was simply time to harvest the seeds sown over a decade ago.

Key to their success has been an unwavering, relentless and sometimes ruthless desire to win. Not by way of last ditch tackles and petty challenges but a methodical nature to their play. German efficiency is a cliché used all too often but onlookers cannot argue that their performances do not warrant such description.

Their desire to be in possession is mirrored by the intense closing down of the opposition. Their midfield players seamlessly rotate position, ghosting into pockets of space undetected by the opposition.

There is so much to admire about this German side. But I, like the FA, are in danger of falling into another bout of foreign obsession. The total football of Cruyff and co in the 80’s, Clairefontaine’s graduates of the 90’s and the spell bounding Spanish of the 2000’s.

Germany’s time has come. For England, it is time to get to work. In the corridors of Wembley, on pitches of St. Georges Park and in the minds of aspiring coaches up and down the country.

Give coaches a template. A blueprint for the “English way”. Develop a style. Preach a way of playing that transcends across all ages and abilities.

Football never left home. We just need to rediscover it.

www.twitter.com/dalemoon90

Alcune Riflessioni Sul L'architetto

The dust has settled in Manaus.

England’s gargantuan effort fell short to a clinical Italian outfit boasting the majestic Andrea Pirlo, two-time tormentor of The Three Lions.

It is no longer a case of trying to prevent the 35-year old from dictating the game. Even that has proved impossible for the best England have to offer. His simplicity of touch, depth of vision and effortless jogging motion returned to haunt Hodgson’s men for yet another summer.

There is a nonchalant aspect to his game in the way he trots around the pitch, rarely breaking sweat, even in the tropical humidity of Manaus. Why sweat yourself when you can make your opponents?

Even the seasoned internationals of Danielle De Rossi and goalscorer Claudio Marchisio repeatedly pass up the chance to play forward, insisting on finding the feet of their merciless king, as if needing his approval to do so.

This is not about statistics. He topped the charts for attempted passes and passes completed, but we knew that anyway. In reality, we knew before a ball was kicked.

 This is about a man who oozes in class and in style and who possesses a simplicity of which nobody in world football can replicate.

And to think that just three years ago AC Milan let him walk away from the San Siro on a free transfer – pazzesco!

He managed to unlock the England defence without even touching the ball. A clever dummy on the edge of the 18-yard box created space for Marchisio to arrow Italy’s opener through a clutter of bodies and past the despairing Joe Hart.

As time catches up with the aging pass-master, his role has remained the same as it was 10 seasons ago. His longevity preserved by the ease of his game. Dictating the pace, not being restricted by it.  

England have long faced accusations of producing players void of the technical skills necessary at international level. Andrea is the antithesis, whether caressing the ball with a two-yard pass or dizzying Joe Hart with a swerving dipping free kick. His inventory, infinite.

Vintage wine, vintage Pirlo

Pirlo is known for being a wine connoisseur and running a vineyard in his native Italy, producing around 15–20,000 bottles every year. One for ever pass perhaps? Though Pirlo himself it seems, is an exceptional 35-year old vintage.

His ability to stand still, an art form in its self, is profound. The game gravitates his way, neither by accident nor luck. Once in possession, he protects the ball, swiveling past the onrushing opposition who realise the danger of the man in possession.

Former Poland manager Zbigniew Boniek spoke of Pirlo; “To pass the ball to Andrea Pirlo is like to hide it in a safe.” One that England couldn’t get close to, never mind open.

Much was made of England’s pre match warm up during Italian coverage of the game. An intense and over zealous rehearsal of what transpired to become the latter stages of the game with England shuttle running in an attempt to regain possession. In his book, Penso Quindi Gioco, Pirlo has a few choice words on pre match warm ups, “It’s nothing but masturbation for conditioning coaches.” It seems not even an incessant sense of humour can escape the grasp of Pirlo.

The closest we had to our own “l'architetto” was Paul Scholes. He, like Wayne Rooney on Saturday evening, was put out on the left during his international career, a move that now seems beyond comprehension given his profound ability in central areas.

“The only great English midfielder in my career was Paul Scholes. He had elegance in him. Others were pretenders.”

England may have been out witted and maneuvered by the godly maestro in Manaus but one saving grace lies in the extended number of games we are likely to see Pirlo orchestrate, as his Italian side look certain to make the last 16.

Pirlo will retire from international football after the 2014 World Cup, passing on the baton to Marco Veratti, PGS’s younger blue-eyed Italian understudy. Like all greats of the game, only when he signs off from the world stage will the we truly appreciate his talents.

This once-in-a-generation sportsman should be held in the highest regard for decades to come, remembered as the man who played the beautiful game how he wants, when he wants.

And how he makes it look oh so easy.

Andrea Pirlo, thank you.

The Teachings of Saint Luke

What can we learn from Saint Luke?

The Catholics amongst you will correctly point out he was the Evangelist, the patron saint of artistry and students. The footballers amongst you will insist - Luke is merely the student who  perfected his art.

Luke Shaw, the latest youngster to emerge from Southampton’s seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of talent.

Was it really a surprise that from within the same factory of football that the likes of Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana were all manufactured, molded and shaped, that England’s latest left back has rolled off the production line.

FA and Premier League Chiefs will no doubt be applauding the work being done at Southampton but surely amongst the pats on the back and celebratory speeches, the question must be asked, “where’s the rest?”

Much like Theo Walcott, one of their esteemed graduates, would find himself so far ahead of the rest that he had nobody to pass to, Southampton find themselves drowning alone, in a footballing pool of talent.

“What about Arsenal and Man United?” I hear you say. Yes, they have fantastic academies and nobody can argue that the class of '92 was the best group of youth team graduates to ever grace English football.

But to those people, I ask, where is the class of 2002 and of 2012?

What if the hailed class of '92 was a freak accident? Is it inconceivable that in a bizarre twist of coincidence, Manchester United merely inherited 6 outstanding young boys who just happened to be born in the same year?

That their natural talents and timing of their parents romance decided it so, not the work done by United’s youth team coaches?

That their god given gift would have surfaced should they have played for Macclesfield or Mansfield?

Beyond class of 92, English football showcase a sporadic, erratic and irregular pattern of elite player production. Clubs spinning the wheel in the hope of landing on a star prize.

Every so often, one appears. Jack Wilshere. Ross Barkley. Lampard and Gerrard before them. Gascoigne. 

But where’s our template? Our tangible equation? Our footballing law of gravity, our Pythagoras’ Theorem, our La Massia or De Toekomst?

Put a young player through processes X, Y and Z until they are 18 and you have yourself a world-class player.

Oh there isn’t one? It doesn’t exist? Tell that to Barcelona. To Ajax. To the Royal Belgian Football Association. To Southampton.

Pep Guardiola, then manager of Barcelona once said of a masterful Jack Wilshere performance,“we have many players in the second team like him.”

Sarcastically, no. Ironically, maybe. But if nothing else, his words allowed us to peer into his thinking, into the clubs mentality. You may have one star player, we have a team full.

Spain now boast the likes of Isco, Thiago, Illiramendi, Jese, Morata, Oliver Torres and Deulofeu. Coincidence? They don't have a class of '92. They have a school.

We must learn from these clubs. Their youngsters buy into their programme. Their coaches believe in their methods. Their manager accepts their ethos and the chairman tolerates their long standing philosophy.

Each department is pulling in the same direction at Southampton, and that direction seems to be up. Players know they will get a chance at the club. They will train with and practice against proven internationals, testing themselves everyday, pushing their own capabilities.

The manager has a mandate to give youth a chance. The chairman is realistic about the clubs success.

Save the Premier League, its job stealing foreigners, its money and managerial lifespan argument for another day. 

We can only change the game, once we change ourselves.

Dale Moon.