Euro 2012: Is a Potent Offense Really Better Than a Stingy Defense?

A potent attack in major football tournaments is not better than a stingy defense because inferior teams can "park the bus" against great attacking squads and keep a clean sheet while winning by scoring on the counterattack.

We have seen these types of situations time and time again where a team that knows it can't play an open game with its opponent just sits back and defends.

Let's look at why a stingy defense at Euro 2012 will be a better strategy for success than a potent offense.

The Spanish Example

We all know that Spain is probably the best team in the world right now. Maybe not by a wide margin, but they are the defending World Cup and European champions.

They play a glorious attacking style of football that is exciting to watch and play. Their attacking talent and depth is immense and they have plenty of players capable of scoring goals.

However, in the 2010 World Cup, they had to win all their knockout stage matches by the score of 1-0 because opposing defenses would sit back and get nine and 10 guys behind the ball to defend.

It doesn't matter how good of an attack you have, there's always going to be a lot of difficulty scoring against that style of defense. No one is going to play an open style of football against a team like Spain, because if you do, your team will be dominated in a lopsided contest.

Spain never scored more than two goals in a match at the World Cup, so the "park the bus" strategy was effective in 2010. There's no reason it won't be effective in 2012.

With Spain suffering some injuries to their defense ahead of Euro 2012, namely Carles Puyol at center back, they might have difficulty winning matches if they fail to score first.

"Parking the Bus" in the Champions League

If your squad is fortunate enough to jump out to a lead against a team with a potent attack, "parking the bus" and just counterattacking can be very effective.

In the 2010 Champions League semifinal, we saw Inter Milan knock Barcelona out of the tournament in the second leg at the Nou Camp by sitting back in their defensive third and not allowing Barcelona to make the final pass into the box for a goalscoring opportunity.

It wasn't pretty to watch, but it certainly worked. This year, Chelsea had a very stingy defense and was able to defeat several teams with great attacking quality such as Napoli, Bayern Munich and Barcelona en route to a European title.

Time and time again in major competitions we have seen a stingy defense have great success against top attacking teams.

Who Could "Park the Bus" in Euro 2012?

Could England play a more defensive style of football than they have in a long time at Euro 2012? Before he was ruled out of the tournament with an injury, English center back Gary Cahill told The Sun:

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“You look to achieve the best you can — and that means getting to the final. Whether that means going there and playing great football or playing backs-to-the-wall football, I don’t mind because it is all about winning.

“Look at Chelsea’s success against Barca, that wasn’t pretty football but we got the result and that was the main thing.”

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Roy Hodgson seems to be emphasizing defense quite a bit as England manager, and since he has several forwards with pace at his disposal, "parking the bus" and counterattacking could be an effective strategy for the Three Lions this year.

Let's look at some teams who could find "parking the bus" an effective strategy.

Country	Key Defenders/GK	Toughest Group Opponent	Notes
Italy	Giorgio Chiellini, Gianluigi Buffon	Spain	Italy's defense is normally strong and will have to play well for them to escape their group.
Germany	Mats Hummels, Philipp Lahm, Manuel Neuer	Netherlands	Even though they don't have to, sitting back on defense with a strong back four and a good defensive midfield could work for Germany in a tough group that has strong attacking teams.
Ireland	Richard Dunne, John O'Shea	Spain	Their match against Spain could decide their group fate, so the Irish might be forced to "park the bus" and counter versus the Spanish.
Denmark	Daniel Agger, Anders Lindegaard	Netherlands	In a group with strong attacking sides such as Germany, Netherlands and Portugal, Denmark might be forced to "park the bus" and counter.

"Parking the Bus" Isn't Exciting, but That's Not the Objective

While playing an open and attacking style of football is the most enjoyable for fans to watch and players to play in, the teams at Euro 2012 will utilize the strategy that gives them the best chance to win.

Unfortunately for many of the teams, including some of the best elite ones, "parking the bus" will be a strategy used quite often.

You may think it hurts the sport and even go as far to call it "anti-football," but tournaments like the European championships are all about results. Players don't participate to have fun and not be successful.

Since the success of teams that have stingy defenses has been impressive over the last few years, expect to see the "park the bus" strategy used a lot in Poland and Ukraine.

The best attacking players and teams can be stopped by an opponent that is committed to playing strong team and individual defense.

Follow @NicholasGoss35