Efficient Germans set the standard

Following a typically ridiculous opening ceremony Euro 2008 is underway.

The tournament hasn’t exactly burst onto the scene, it seems instead to have quietly poked its head around the corner to see if anyone is watching.

So far the general format has been for the underdogs to battle bravely but not quite have enough to cause an upset as the favourites, with their winning mentalities, have ground out victories.

The most impressive team so far has been the Germans, so far the only team to have come to the tournament who look like they are comfortable in the way they play and what they are trying to achieve.

'German efficiency' is a footballing analogy as old and overused as the 'magic of the FA Cup', but since Jurgen Klinsmann took over the reigns in 2004 that famous term seems to have taken on a new meaning.

While his successor Joachim Low seems to have slightly reduced the attacking emphasis of the side, thr principles still largely remain the same.

The side is a simple 4-4-2 with clear roles for each individual, whoever steps into the breach.

The midfield of Frings and Ballack, the former holding while the latter dictates the passing, flanked by two out and out wide men bears a more than passing resemblance to Manchester United’s `1999 treble winning quartet of Keane, Scholes, Giggs and Beckham.

Lukas Podolski may not be an natural wide man but he played that position with eagerness and no little discipline, although his striking instincts did enable him to pop at the right time to score two goals.

It is an ethos England could learn from. For years we have been obsessed with getting the best out of every player when the real question should be how do we get the most efficient team performance.

Wayne Rooney is a fantastic attacking talent but on several occasions last term, particularly on the big European nights, Sir Alex Ferguson did not shy away from playing him down the left flank as effectively a defensive midfield player when he felt Rooney’s energy in that position would benefit the team.

When he was first selected I doubt Frings was classed as the second best central midfield player in Germany but his sound technique, work rate and simple passing made him the ideal foil for Ballack.

Frings has grown and grown in that position and now it seems Bayern’s ambition and a slight history of injuries could be the only two things stopping a top club from Spain, Italy or England trying to tempt him away from the Allianz Arena.

Back to the tournament in general, it has hardly been free flowing feast of footballing entertainment, but after England’s performances at the 2006 World Cup we can’t exactly complain.

Football at this level is all about the winning, entertainment has always been secondary but nowadays - with so much money and national pride at stake – it seems like even less of a priority.

Every now and then we are blessed with a side that wins because it plays beautiful football and hence plays beautiful football because it leads to success.

Arsenal’s invincibles could certainly claim that status and last season, in the Premiership at least, Manchester United were a joy to watch.

I read some interesting comments from Waps and Ireland scrum-half Eoin Reddan recently ahead of last Saturday’s test against the All Blacks on the fact that the Irish oftened performed against the Kiwis, only to be denied victory.

He said: "Performance is a measure of success, but there is no measure of success like winning.

"That's why the trophies and the leagues are there in the first place; otherwise they would have a judging panel who could say who had played the best rugby at the end of the year."

An intriguing hypothetical concept and had it been played out as such in last season’s football Premiership, I doubt Chelsea would have pushed United to the final day of the campaign.

The problem for a club like Chelsea that is all substance over style come, as Avram Grant knows only too well, when you don’t win anything and have spent the whole season with this winner takes all attitude.

A cynical approach to Arsene Wenger’s artistic approach to the game is that, while placing such emphasis on the style of his teams and playing the right way, he is simply guarding himself against failure and that is why he has been able to remain at the helm for so long despite the Gunners’ barren run of late.

While Reddan’s notion is obviously just a bit of fun to play around with I did a bit of Sepp Blatter thinking while watching the first few Euro 2008 games and came up with my own outrageous Sepp-style suggestion – a rugby style bonus point for scoring three goals.

Like most of the FIFA supremos, it would probably never really get off the ground, but it might simply raise the debate as to what incentive teams have to push for a third goal when the game is safely won at 1-0 or 2-0.

While this may be a step too far I certainly think leagues and competitions that are abandoning goal difference as a way of separating teams that finish level on points are not encouraging the concept that every goal counts and a 4-0 win is better than a tense 1-0.

For now anyway the trick for the next few weeks is simply enjoy the dramatic and tense nature of the football, even as a neutral, and wait for the moment - and it will come - when two sides throw off the shackles and revel in a purists' game of football.