Champions League 2010/11 Technical Report: 5 Tactical Trends You Need to Know

Every year UEFA assembles a squad of technical advisers to analyse the Champions League tournament and the footballing trends that appear in it. This elite team then writes out their findings in the annual "Technical Report" at the end of the season, and 2010/11 has one as well. Truth be told, I was quite amazed by some of the tactical tendencies they have found this season. 

These reports are very thorough and as UEFA puts it: 

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"This report provides a permanent record of the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League –
the 19th season of the competition. In addition to factual and statistical data, it
contains analysis, reflections and debating points which, it is hoped, will give technicians
food for thought and, by highlighting tendencies and trends at the peak of professional
football, also offer coaches who are active in the development levels of the game
information that may be helpful in terms of working on the qualities which will be
needed by the UEFA Champions League performers of the future."

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I invite you to read the document as a whole, but I will enumerate and explain the five most important tactical trends pointed out in it and explain them in full in this slideshow, so you don't have to read it in full if you don't want to (but I seriously recommend you do).

Teams Are Countering the Counter

Counter-attacking was dominant a few years back, but teams are learning to stop it. UEFA's Technical report points out that:

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Half a decade has passed since Arsène Wenger said that, “with counterattacking becoming increasingly important, countering the counter has become the main trend.” The effectiveness of counters reached their zenith in the 2005/06 season, when they accounted for 40% of open-play goals. Since then, the percentage has been steadily decreasing—and fell from 27% in 2009/10 to 21% in the 2010/11 campaign"

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So, how exactly do you counter the counter?

Well, by pressing and defending higher up the pitch.

The thinking here is that even though you are technically leaving more open spaces at the back for the counter-attacking team to exploit, you also have a much higher chance of forcing them into making a mistake and getting the ball back sooner (not letting them pounce on an opportunity by using-up your open spaces).

The other option to prevent counters is to play further down the pitch in two very compact blocks, leaving no spaces for counters and, ironically, waiting on one counter yourself to get on the scoreboard.

Still, traditional counter-attacking teams like Madrid, Milan and Inter are having a hard time because opponents are finding ways to defend counters effectively.

Attackers Defend; Defenders Attack

Total Football was invented more than 30 years ago. However, the "every player defends and attacks" philosophy is starting to take over football today. Even Fabio Capello, a very defensive coach, seems to think so as well:

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“Football today, is mainly about compact defending by every member of the team and then trying to get as many players forward as possible—ideally at least four and, preferably, in the box.” 

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In other words, the traditional static "I'm here to attack" diva strikers and creative midfielders now have to defend as well. And the "I'm here to break some bones, never mind the ball" defenders have to play some football too.

Alves and Pedro are prime examples of this way of thinking. One is a side back that is better at attacking, and the other is a forward whose main asset is pressing and defending high up the pitch.

So: attackers defending and defenders attacking.

And what if your players don't attack AND defend? Well, that's how you lose Championships nowadays.

Teams Play It Safe; Play Two Holding Midfielders (4-2-3-1 Prevails... and Fails)

UEFA's report shows that prevalent formation is still a 4-2-3-1 (even though they might change into a traditional 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 mid-match).

If you don't know what those numbers are, here is how it's deployed:

                    1.GK

   2.RB       3.CB     4.CB       5.LB

              8.DMF     6.DMF  

   7.RMF       10.AMF         11.LMF

                      9.CF

As you can see, the two holding midfielder setup is still used. Why? José Mourinho, a 4-2-3-1 user himself, explains: 

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“...the most common denominator was the desire not to be beaten and there was a reluctance to take high levels of risk.”

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The only teams to take such a risk? Finalists Manchester United and Barcelona. 

Maybe it's time to take one of those two defensive midfielders out.

Goalkeepers Need to Be Footballers

Just like attackers that don't defend and defenders that don't attack, goalkeepers are increasing their duties, sometimes acting more as sweepers behind the defensive lines than under the goal-post traditional shot stoppers.

Valdés is a prime example of what "new" keepers need to do: play the ball with their feet, deal with situations out of the penalty area, and initiate build-ups form the back.

Don't believe me? Here's what UEFA found about Manchester United's goalkeeper in the Champions League Final:

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At Wembley, for example, Edwin van der Sar supplied the ball at least once to every United outfielder with the exception of substitute Paul Scholes.

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So aspiring keepers out there, please start working on your defending and ball skills ASAP.

Traditional Wingers and Strikers Are Dead (or at the Very Least, in Extinction)

Remember the days when football was about a winger running down the sideline so he could cross the ball in for his big, goal-scoring, striker could head the ball in?

Here's what UEFA's technical analysts have to say about that:

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Of the 103 goals scored by these 19 players, only three were headers: one apiece for Anelka, Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Tottenham’s Peter Crouch. This raises debating points about whether the supply to strikers is evolving from the time-honoured formula of high crosses from the wide areas. As Sir Alex Ferguson comments, “the main striker is now much more about creating openings for others to flood forward.”

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So, strikers are not so much strikers as they are "creators". The '9' position is turning more into a 9 and 1/2 that scores, but whose main focus is to play the ball and create chances. 

And with that, wingers' roles change as well. They're not needed as side-line huggers anymore, and because they need to feed the striker so that he can create chances instead of scoring, they need to move inside on the pitch. 

So what happens? They play on the "wrong" side of the pitch. Lefties play on the right and Right-footed ones play on the left so that they move inside from the wing.  

As the technical report concludes:

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“...the evolution of the game’s tactics has altered the profile of certain playing positions.”

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So as you can see, football's tactical trends have undoubtedly affected wingers and strikers more than any other position.

Follow FC Andrés Ehrli on Twitter! (@ehrli) or read his other Bleacher Report articles here!