Legends' view of the past

Football's evolution over 50 years took centre stage in the opening section of the fifth UEFA Conference for Coach Education Directors in Brussels, which began on Monday.

Fascinating development
As UEFA approaches its 50th birthday next year, football personalities from across Europe took the opportunity to review the game's development over the past five decades. The conference, which continues until Wednesday, features a wealth of practical and theoretical topics aimed at keeping coach education leaders up to date with current trends.

Key points
In an entertaining question-and-answer session hosted by UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh, four of Europe's most prominent football personalities - Giacinto Facchetti (Italy) and Michel Platini (France) from the playing side and Dettmar Cramer (Germany) and Rinus Michels (Netherlands) for the coaches - looked back at key points of the game's development since UEFA's foundation in 1954.

Attacking full-back
Facchetti made his name in the 1960s as a brilliant attacking full-back for Internazionale FC. In an era when Italian football was notable for introducing a new dimension of defensive sophistication, Facchetti was given free rein to express his attacking skills, and told the conference that his forays forward often caused problems for teams who were ill-prepared to cope with the notion of overlapping full-backs. "I'm glad that we are not just remembered for 'catenaccio'," he said.

Michels insight
The 1970s brought an exciting innovation in the polyvalent attacking football played by Dutch team AFC Ajax - a style often referred to as 'Total Football' - which reached its zenith with the Dutch national team in the 1974 FIFA World Cup in West Germany. Michels, seen as the architect of this brand of football, gave a fascinating insight on the topic to the conference.

Use of space
Michels, who led the Dutch to the World Cup final in 1974, said that the system needed good players, and that the optimum use of space was a key element in the way this style was played, with the ultimate result being that a team could step up the pace and dominate matches. He said he felt that it would not be possible to play such a style today because the standard of defending had improved significantly.

Cramer reflects
Another team that left its mark on the 1970s was FC Bayern München who, like Ajax, won the European Champion Clubs' Cup on three successive occasions. Cramer was Bayern coach for two of these, in 1975 and 1976, and reflected on his pioneering work that has seen him visit some 90 countries to coach and explain his philosophies. An interesting point raised by Cramer was that the 1970s heralded the gradual disappearance of footballers who had learned their skills in the streets.

Skilful French
France graced the early 1980s with a side which carried off the UEFA European Championship in 1984, and reached World Cup semi-finals in 1982 and 1986. That team's playmaker was Platini, who formed a skilful midfield with the likes of Alain Giresse and Jean Tigana.

Crucial move
Platini is now a UEFA Executive Committee member and he spoke of the crucial move made by French football authorities to set up advanced coaching structures which have since served the country so well. Looking back at the France team of two decades ago, Platini told the conference that the side allied technical skills to the physical elements, giving them an edge over many opponents.

Thys tribute
The conference had earlier began with a tribute to legendary Belgian coach Guy Thys, who passed away this year. Delegates stood for a minute's silence to honour the man who took Belgium to the European Championship final in 1980 and World Cup semi-final in 1986.