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Das Spiel dauert 90 Minuten

Have you ever thought of how the different styles of playing soccer are related to the cultural background of the national teams?
Read Culture and national styles (Kick and Rush, Catenaccio, Total Soccer, Well Oiled Machinery)

Can one predict the chances of the German team by their cultural disposition?
Read What to expect from “Die Mannschaft”?
...and find out why Germany will get very far: "The extra motivation because of the fear of failure"
... and/or why Germany will not survive the first round: "Klinsmann and the well oiled machine"

Read this analysis of our Dutch Managing Partner Huib Wursten to get some insight into the cultural aspects of national soccer styles and to find an unusal implementation of Prof. Geert Hofstede’s 5-Dimensional-Modeland to have the chance to win a free spot on one of the Public Seminars on Intercultural Management held in Germany. Read the article and send us an email and write down in the topic which prediction you believe will come through. Should this prediction come through you will participate in a lottery and might win a free spot on our Public Seminar!

You need a quick reminder of what these dimensions are? Go to the glossary on the site of Geert Hofstede or send us a request for a free article on the dimensions.

Culture and national styles of playing soccer

Culture has an effect on behaviour and preferences. So it is only natural that the preferred soccer style by national teams is recognizable and, over time, predictable.

The famous Argentinean coach Menotti once said that that he could identify everywhere in the world within 5 minutes the style of an Argentinean soccer player. He also claimed that in a globalising world it would be the wrong solution to think there is a need for convergence: to develop the same approaches all over the world. He said:”I would say that man is universal, but the best way to reach universality is to “paint one´s own village”.

In a quick analysis one can see there is a real difference between the styles of countries affected by three value dimensions of culture: power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity–femininity.

In short:

Kick and Rush
low uncertainty avoidance and masculinity combined.
Analysis: risk taking for positive reasons (trying to score), exciting, offensive football. The ball is kicked immediately to the enemy goal. Excitement is what the fans expect. This is the game of Anglo - Saxon teams.

Catenaccio
high uncertainty avoidance
Trying to first to be safe. Iron defense. With quick attacks with only a few people involved trying to score. Trying to force the referee to award a foul by the other team by a penalty. Most Latin countries are playing this type of game. Especially of course Italy.

Total Soccer
low power distance in combination with femininity
Everybody should take his own responsibility. Nobody should think they are special. Nobody should think they are better than anybody else. Stardom is not appreciated: offensive players are expected to also be willing and able to play defensive and defensive players should also be willing and able to play offensive. This is the style of, for instance, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Well oiled machine
low power distance, high uncertainty avoidance and masculinity
Attributes: disciplined, structured, balanced, physical. This is, of course, the style of a country like Germany.

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<< back	Das Spiel dauert 90 Minuten Have you ever thought of how the different styles of playing soccer are related to the cultural background of the national teams? Read Culture and national styles (Kick and Rush, Catenaccio, Total Soccer, Well Oiled Machinery) Can one predict the chances of the German team by their cultural disposition? Read What to expect from “Die Mannschaft”? ...and find out why Germany will get very far: "The extra motivation because of the fear of failure" ... and/or why Germany will not survive the first round: "Klinsmann and the well oiled machine" Read this analysis of our Dutch Managing Partner Huib Wursten to get some insight into the cultural aspects of national soccer styles and to find an unusal implementation of Prof. Geert Hofstede’s 5-Dimensional-Modeland to have the chance to win a free spot on one of the Public Seminars on Intercultural Management held in Germany. Read the article and send us an email and write down in the topic which prediction you believe will come through. Should this prediction come through you will participate in a lottery and might win a free spot on our Public Seminar! You need a quick reminder of what these dimensions are? Go to the glossary on the site of Geert Hofstede or send us a request for a free article on the dimensions. Culture and national styles of playing soccer Culture has an effect on behaviour and preferences. So it is only natural that the preferred soccer style by national teams is recognizable and, over time, predictable. The famous Argentinean coach Menotti once said that that he could identify everywhere in the world within 5 minutes the style of an Argentinean soccer player. He also claimed that in a globalising world it would be the wrong solution to think there is a need for convergence: to develop the same approaches all over the world. He said:”I would say that man is universal, but the best way to reach universality is to “paint one´s own village”. In a quick analysis one can see there is a real difference between the styles of countries affected by three value dimensions of culture: power distance, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity–femininity. In short: Kick and Rush low uncertainty avoidance and masculinity combined. Analysis: risk taking for positive reasons (trying to score), exciting, offensive football. The ball is kicked immediately to the enemy goal. Excitement is what the fans expect. This is the game of Anglo - Saxon teams. Catenaccio high uncertainty avoidance Trying to first to be safe. Iron defense. With quick attacks with only a few people involved trying to score. Trying to force the referee to award a foul by the other team by a penalty. Most Latin countries are playing this type of game. Especially of course Italy. Total Soccer low power distance in combination with femininity Everybody should take his own responsibility. Nobody should think they are special. Nobody should think they are better than anybody else. Stardom is not appreciated: offensive players are expected to also be willing and able to play defensive and defensive players should also be willing and able to play offensive. This is the style of, for instance, Denmark and the Netherlands. Well oiled machine low power distance, high uncertainty avoidance and masculinity Attributes: disciplined, structured, balanced, physical. This is, of course, the style of a country like Germany. << back to news