SoccerHelp methods for evaluating the quality of 2006 World Cup teams

• On offense watch movement off the ball (are supporting players giving the dribbler passing options?), spacing, how quickly the players play (how quickly they move the ball around by hard passes, dribbling and one-touch passes), their ability to accurately pass and control the ball, their ability to pass to "space" instead of just to "feet" and the ability of receivers to anticipate passes to space and to position so they can use open space to their advantage, whether attacking players are smart and unselfish and dribble to draw defenders so they can create the opportunity to pass to an open teammate (versus being selfish, dribbling too much and losing the ball), and are they playing the ball backward a lot when they could be moving forward (that's a bad sign). Watch the best teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Ecuador, Korea, Portugal, Switzerland, England, and Mexico for how to attack. (If I left out your favorite team, I apologize, I haven't seen all of them play).
• On defense, watch for speed, hustle, bravery, toughness and smart positioning. Do defenders fight for the ball and position well? Do they keep constant pressure on the ball? When near their goal, do they make good decisions and show discipline and not leave Second Attackers open? Do they block shots, not giving away any clean shots? The best defenders never give any clean shots. (A tough defender will use his body to block a shot, while weak defenders will jump out of the way).

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