Fabio Capello has been castigated for his absence at England's exit from the European Under-19 Championships but how much punishment can a man who has grown up with certain basic football qualities, like controlling and passing the ball in reasonably coherent fashion, take in one long summer of discontent?

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Technically, the Spanish appeared years ahead of England, who did not play particularly poorly but were still made to look ponderous, even clumsy at times.

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Stand by your beds, here comes Jose Mourinho. Real Madrid's pre-season training began yesterday, with those among the squard who were not called to international duty this summer (this being Real, they number no more than 10) summoned to touch base with their employers. They may well have noticed a few differences. Starting with those beds.

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The Houston Dynamo are adding a regional level to their successful Dynamo Youth Development System, presented by Statoil, it was announced today. The Dynamo are partnering with youth clubs to form six Dynamo Juniors programs to help soccer grow in the southern United States, totaling more than 1,000 players.

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Frans Hoek is the new goal keeper trainer at Bayern Munich. The Dutchman was the top choice for Louis Van Gaal - he should introduce a new philosophy of goal keeping to the club.

Immer wieder unterbricht er das Spiel, holt seine Jungs zu sich und beginnt, große Bilder in die italienische Luft zu malen. Fast wie ein Künstler, nur dass sein Werk wenig Interpretationsspielraum lässt.

Again and again he stops training, has the keepers come to  him while he makes pictures in the air to explain to his keepers what he wants. Almost like an artist, only his work leaves little for interpretation.

Es ist unmissverständlich! Denn Frans Hoek ist Analytiker, Motivator, Perfektionist – und der neue Torwarttrainer des FC Bayern.

  It is clear he is an analyzer, motivater, perfectionist- and the new goalkeeper trainer of FC Bayern.

Im Trainingslager in Trentino hat er gleich vier Torhüter vor sich, die er mit vielen Übungen und Gesprächen zu Top-Keepern ausbilden will. Louis van Gaal hat seinen alten Weggefährten vor ein paar Wochen nach München geholt – und zwar aus einem einfach Grund: „Ich habe eine gewisse Philosophie, wie ein Torwart zu spielen hat. Frans Hoek arbeitet nach dieser Philosophie, deshalb wollte ich ihn für meine Mannschaft“, sagt der General, der nach und nach seinen eigenen Trainerstab aufbaut.

 In trainings camp in Trentino he has four goalkeepers, whom he hopes to further develop with drills and tactical talks. Louis Van Gaal hired his old partner a few weeks ago - for one reason: "I have a certain philosophy how a goalkeeper should play. Frans Hoek works in this philosophy and for this reason I wanted him for my team.

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The vuvuzelas have gone quiet, the national flags have been put away, and the cable sports networks are back to talking about baseball. But the World Cup in South Africa has left its mark on soccer in the United States, and, if pattern holds, it will help the sport continue to grow in this country.

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Perhaps an even greater challenge for them will come when they return to their clubs. But one wonders how many possible England stars of the future have been lost to the game before they ever had the chance to impress.

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If the organisers of the 2012 London Olympics think they have a tough task on their hands, they should spare a thought for the people of Brazil.

In the space of two years, the world's fifth largest country will play host to the next World Cup - in 2014 - and then its former capital Rio de Janeiro will become the first city in mainland South America to stage the Olympic Games, in 2016.

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De Anza Force U16 Academy Tryouts:  July 19, 20, 22, 23 (3pm - 5pm each day)  at De Anza College Soccer Field, Cupertino, CA  

 Top level players born in 1994, 1995, 1996 are eligible for this team. To be considered, please attend the above tryouts.

Force Soccer is a proud participant in the US Soccer Development Academy program. This is a national league organized and run directly by the United States Soccer Federation for players in the U14, U16, and U18 level. De Anza Force Soccer Academy is the pre-eminent youth Soccer Academy in the Bay Area. Our goal is to develop each player to reach their maximum potential through a positive and professional coaching environment. We strive so that each graduate of our program achieves their collegiate or professional dreams. Over 95% of our elite graduates received college scholarship opportunities. With a proven college recruiting program combined with a professional coaching staff the Force has remained the #1 developer of College Soccer Players.

For more info contact: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

 
For more on the US Development Academy:  http://www.ussoccer.com/Teams/Development-Academy/Academy-Overview.aspx

The death of 4-4-2

It is a process that has been going on for the better part of a decade, but this, surely, was the tournament at which 4-4-2 drew its last breath, at least as an attacking formation. As Johan Cruyff pointed out last week, the key to maintaining possession is the creation of triangles, and 4-4-2 simply doesn't lend itself to that. Or, to give theory more axiomatic form, when attempting to maintain possession, a triangle will always beat a line.