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UEFA.com
July 26 2005
Assessing tomorrow's stars
Tuesday, 26 July 2005
By Andrew Haslam in Belfast
The UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals in Northern Ireland
have proved an interesting experience for UEFA technical observers
Gerhard Hitzel and Roy Millar, who have been closely watching
throughout.
Coaching roles
Hitzel works for the Austrian Football Association's technical
department, and within that is responsible for coach education.
Millar, meanwhile, is manager of the Northern Ireland Under-21 side
and is also the Irish Football Assocation's director of coaching, and
both feel the finals have been a thoroughly worthwhile experience.
Even competition
"It's been a very interesting tournament, as we went into the last
round of group games and all eight teams had a chance of going
through," Millar told uefa.com. "It's been a very tight tournament,
no one's been heavily beaten, so the eight teams are very closely
matched. I think that's an indication of the standard at this
tournament - it's been very high.
High standards
"In one section, France, England and Norway were all close together
going into their final fixtures, and the standard of the game between
France and England was very high," Millar continued. "In the other
group, Serbia and Montenegro were outstanding, Germany look very good
and Greece have done well, so there were three sides in either
section that were capable of reaching the semi-finals."
Pleasant surprise
Hitzel agreed the standard had been high, adding: "I was very
surprised how good Norway were. We know all about Germany, England,
France and Serbia and Montenegro, these are traditionally the strong
countries. But I was surprised with Norway and also Armenia - they
were the youngest and smallest team physically, but they played very
good football and are technically skilful, which was good to see."
Contrasting styles
The pair's observations form the basis of UEFA's post-tournament
technical report, which is sent out to all 52 member associations,
and both have noticed some interesting trends. "There's a real
contrast between the two different styles of play," Millar said.
"Some teams play very technical football, and some play more of a
pressing game.
New approach
"The other trend we've noticed is that more coaches are turning to
4-3-3. I think by next year's [FIFA] World Cup finals in Germany, a
lot of teams are going to play that way," he pointed out. "It gives
you more options in attack and defensively it means you can drop
players back and very quickly form five in midfield. It's an exciting
formation if you play with two wide players and there's been a lot of
good wing play in this tournament so far, and I think that'll be a
trend that develops in senior football. International football has
traditionally been 4-4-2, but I see it shifting."
Information relayed
The duo also believe this tournament will be beneficial when they
return to their own associations, Hitzel saying: "Myself and Roy are
both responsible for coach education in our respective countries. It
is therefore very important for me to see the preparation, the
pre-match warm-up and speak to the coaches. Here, I can see it with
my own eyes, and when I go back to Austria I can relay it. Education
is undoubtedly improved when you have seen something in person, so
it's a very, very good experience."
Practical experience
Millar went on: "If you are at major tournaments, whether it's U17,
U19 or U21 level, it gives the coach educators the opportunity to see
what happens in practice, take that and transfer it back home. That
helps raise the standard of coaching in our own countries."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
July 26 2005
Assessing tomorrow's stars
Tuesday, 26 July 2005
By Andrew Haslam in Belfast
The UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals in Northern Ireland
have proved an interesting experience for UEFA technical observers
Gerhard Hitzel and Roy Millar, who have been closely watching
throughout.
Coaching roles
Hitzel works for the Austrian Football Association's technical
department, and within that is responsible for coach education.
Millar, meanwhile, is manager of the Northern Ireland Under-21 side
and is also the Irish Football Assocation's director of coaching, and
both feel the finals have been a thoroughly worthwhile experience.
Even competition
"It's been a very interesting tournament, as we went into the last
round of group games and all eight teams had a chance of going
through," Millar told uefa.com. "It's been a very tight tournament,
no one's been heavily beaten, so the eight teams are very closely
matched. I think that's an indication of the standard at this
tournament - it's been very high.
High standards
"In one section, France, England and Norway were all close together
going into their final fixtures, and the standard of the game between
France and England was very high," Millar continued. "In the other
group, Serbia and Montenegro were outstanding, Germany look very good
and Greece have done well, so there were three sides in either
section that were capable of reaching the semi-finals."
Pleasant surprise
Hitzel agreed the standard had been high, adding: "I was very
surprised how good Norway were. We know all about Germany, England,
France and Serbia and Montenegro, these are traditionally the strong
countries. But I was surprised with Norway and also Armenia - they
were the youngest and smallest team physically, but they played very
good football and are technically skilful, which was good to see."
Contrasting styles
The pair's observations form the basis of UEFA's post-tournament
technical report, which is sent out to all 52 member associations,
and both have noticed some interesting trends. "There's a real
contrast between the two different styles of play," Millar said.
"Some teams play very technical football, and some play more of a
pressing game.
New approach
"The other trend we've noticed is that more coaches are turning to
4-3-3. I think by next year's [FIFA] World Cup finals in Germany, a
lot of teams are going to play that way," he pointed out. "It gives
you more options in attack and defensively it means you can drop
players back and very quickly form five in midfield. It's an exciting
formation if you play with two wide players and there's been a lot of
good wing play in this tournament so far, and I think that'll be a
trend that develops in senior football. International football has
traditionally been 4-4-2, but I see it shifting."
Information relayed
The duo also believe this tournament will be beneficial when they
return to their own associations, Hitzel saying: "Myself and Roy are
both responsible for coach education in our respective countries. It
is therefore very important for me to see the preparation, the
pre-match warm-up and speak to the coaches. Here, I can see it with
my own eyes, and when I go back to Austria I can relay it. Education
is undoubtedly improved when you have seen something in person, so
it's a very, very good experience."
Practical experience
Millar went on: "If you are at major tournaments, whether it's U17,
U19 or U21 level, it gives the coach educators the opportunity to see
what happens in practice, take that and transfer it back home. That
helps raise the standard of coaching in our own countries."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress