January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Playing beautiful football
James Whittaker: There’s a Nike advert running at the moment where a slightly plump silver flecked Eric Cantona calls for a return of ‘Joga Bonita’ — the beautiful game.
I’ve always wanted to see teams attempt to play with flair and without fear of losing. Playing good football and entertaining, I think, is just as important as winning.
Take Greece’s Euro 2004 win for instance. No doubt a great achievement for a small country that punched well above it's weight but also a triumph for industry over inventiveness, for power over flair and for tactics over spontaneity.
How do you guys think Greece's success will effect how teams approach major tournaments.
Will it make the flair teams realise they need more finesse, more subtlety and even more creativity to break down more resolute performances from lesser opponents.
Or will we see a whole host of teams take the safety first approach, like Greece, and win by stopping their opponents from playing football.
Which teams will 'play beautiful' and which teams will bore.
In short, will this World Cup be a festival of Joga Bonita or will it be another Grecian farce?
Chris Gibbons: Why was Greece's victory a farce? It’s no good playing beautiful football if you can't combine it with the tactical ability to beat different systems. Greece played to their strengths, were well organised and they should not be begrudged their triumph. It was more about the failure of so-called better teams like Portugal and France to break them down - and Portugal had two cracks at them!
In an ideal world we’d all love to see someone triumph in the way Brazil did in 1970 but football is as much about stopping the other team from playing their game as it is about enforcing your own. I, for one, would happily settle for a boring Grecian farce if it meant Becks lifting the trophy on July 9!
Robert Calderon: This is a competition that is played every four years ( 48 months / 1460 days / 35040 hours ), as such the desire to win beautifully is superseded by a must win at any cost attitude. This philosophy is supported by most coaches and associations. Brazil has routinely received plaudits from all quarters for their skill and artistry, however they failed to win the World Cup from 1970 until 1994. It took the prudent Parreira to create a balanced team in 94, albeit he was criticized even in Brazil. Defensive minded Felipe took a floundering Brazilian team to Korea, installed a 3-5-2 system and gained success. France in ‘98 with all their talent played cautiously and won. In short, Mourinho will always win more than Wenger . Shankly didn’t win worrying about ball rotation and the brilliant Cryuff never won the World Cup.
George Holdipp: I am inclined to believe it will be a festival of ‘Joga Bonita’ by some teams and dull, defensive football by others. Teams like Brazil, and many of the South American and African countries, play with a lot of natural flair anyway. They know no other way to play the game and in order to win I believe they must play to their strengths. On the other hand those teams like Greece, Italy, and to some extent Germany, play very disciplined and structured football so they will play their own game. I believe the way a team plays football reflects to a large extent the very character of their country. I prefer teams to play in the style that more naturally suits them!
JW: Agreed it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to play great football. But what I would like to see is the bigger teams, England for example, play with less fear of defeat.
I get the impression sometimes that teams would rather hang on for a goalless draw and go out on penalties — allowing them to blame the exit on luck - rather than risk losing by adopting a more enterprising approach.
I can’t see it happening under Sven Goran Eriksson — though his squad selection suggests he may be about to throw his characteristic caution to the wind and go for broke, so you never know.
RC: Over the past 20 years only Brazil and Colombia have approached the game in a manner that is in keeping with the style normally associated with South American countries. Paraguay and Argentina, although possessing extremely skilled players, are equally known for their physical play and defensive formations. I suspect that the African countries will unfortunately forego their swashbuckling approach and present a style that has a distinct European feel. This is a result of their players plying their trade in Europe, employing European coaches and the fact that Africa is on the cusp of winning a major trophy.
Keep an eye on the home country as this is not your father’s Germany. Klinsman has been spending time in California and has transformed the Germans from defensive and robotic to surfer dudes looking to catch the next risky wave. They will eventually crash and burn but will entertain along the way.
JW: It’s a while since I have seen Germany play and I’m looking forward to seeing the difference. Other than that, to a large extent, we know how the major teams are going to play.
I think the level of entertainment for the tournament may well depend on which of the minor countries progress. If we see the likes of Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland and Paraguay doing well it could be a dull affair. If Ivory Coast, Costa Rica or even Poland make it to the quarters we might see some attacking football.[[In-content Ad]]
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