Climate of tactical change bodes well for game

SOCCER ANALYST:Ireland must look at Euro 2008 as a lesson on how to go forward on the world stage, writes Brian Kerr.

RUMOURS THAT the Austrian transport system is supremely efficient can be discounted after the Vienna underground left many of us stranded en route to Thursday's Spain v Russia match.

Thankfully, my anticipation of a great game was only mildly diluted by the 50-minute trek through steady drizzle before reaching the Ernst Happel Stadium. On arrival there was no shelter from the storm, even for us in the €300 seats.

Nevertheless, Spain's attacking march to the final made you almost forget the persistent downpour. Their approach play was exquisite at times and the Russians struggled to maintain the pace, movement and ingenuity of the early attacking waves.

It must have looked good on television but I was glad to see them live to fully appreciate the six-man attack and raiding full-backs.

Supply to the little Russian wizard Andrei Arshavin was severely restricted by the wonderful Spanish "water carrier" Marcos Senna and an improving back four.

They dealt comfortably with the Russians and of course they had the reliable Iker Casillas behind them (in comparison to a number of poor goalkeepers on display in this tournament and that includes Jens Lehmann).

It's unanimously agreed that this has been a fantastic tournament for international football and it's important to be aware that trends at this level often funnel down to the club game. This would be a positive development akin to the review of the offside rule and its interpretation and the ban on tackling from behind.

The new approach has forced defenders to protect space much closer to goal. This has naturally led to more room on the pitch for creative players to shine. And we have seen plenty of them in the past few weeks. Kenny Cunningham calls it "defending the high line". This option - a la the old Arsenal set led by Tony Adams - is no longer an effective option and there has been a drastic reduction in offside calls as defenders are forced to run with the attacker rather than the old hands up or "how is he" yelp.

The next notable trend has been the intent and desire to throw players into attacking positions. Spain have led the way but have been followed by the Netherlands, Croatia, Portugal and even Turkey in this regard.

Also, the flexibility of formations and player adaptability has been impressive. In particular, see the Germans when they have alternated from 4-4-2 to 4-4-1-1 with Michael Ballack playing off the striker. Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie are further examples of causing damage off a lone forward.

We've seen fewer set-piece goals with only two springing to mind - Ballack against Austria and Italy's Daniele De Rossi against France.

There have also been very few goals from long-range efforts but they have been replaced by some wonderfully sharp counter-attacking. Again, see the Dutch, Portuguese, Croats and Turks.

My personal favourite was the beautifully constructed passing movement into Philipp Lahm and his clinical finish to finally sink a resilient Turkey. A close second is Daniel Guiza finishing off the Fabregas flick on Thursday. It started with a triangle in midfield and flowed into the Russian half.

Another theme worth highlighting has been a string of goalkeeping gaffes, with some seriously costly errors from Lehmann, Rustu Recber, Ricardo (repeatedly!) and Petr Cech.

On the tactical side of things a majority of teams have moved to play a lone striker, including tomorrow's finalists Germany and Spain, with a variety of systems in place to support the front man. Despite having more players in midfield, players like Luka Modric, Wesley Sneijder, Arshavin and Ballack have prospered in the hole.

From an Irish perspective it may be a route we are forced to adopt or at least explore. We find it increasingly difficult to deal with the 4-5-1 approach with the Czechs, Slovaks and Cyprus five-man midfields causing plenty of recent nightmares.

Coaches both young and old deserve praise for their attacking approach in this competition. Most can be proud of their efforts, apart from the now unemployed duo of Raymond Domenech and Roberto Donadoni of course.

Suggestions that Luis Aragones is without his full senses seem wide of the mark given the continued excellence of his young team but he can be accused of irrational behaviour if Fabregas fails to make the starting line-up. The Arsenal player was superb last Thursday.

Oh yeah, thankfully the train didn't break down through the four missing stations on the return leg from Vienna.