Champions' Trophy - Observations from Gene Muller
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Prior to the tournament, the teams were informed that there would be a change in the interpretation of the feet rule.   Countries were informed that "any unintentional and insignificant" contact of the ball with the feet would not be seen as an infringement, unless intentional, and unless in the obvious penalty stroke situation where the defender prevents a certain goal unintentionally.   This announcement caught many of the teams off guard and had a significant impact on team tactics and many of the results, as it favoured the style of certain countries.

At training the day before the tournament started Argentina was still blowing the foot rule.   The next day they lost 0 - 3 to the Dutch, with the first two goals scored having come off the foot of the attacking player.   This killed the game as a contest and the Dutch scored their last goal late in the second half.

Impact of the rule change
The ball in-play time extended from approx. 40 - 45 minutes to approx. 55 minutes.   Teams tended to be ill-prepared for the increase in the physical demands of more than 10 minutes' increase in the playing time.   Late in the second half of each match, the quality of the matches seemed to deteriorate with many scoring opportunities being created at both ends due to players not keeping up with the pace of the game.

Teams that made regular substitutions and paced their tempo of play coped better.   Generally the men's teams coped better than the women's teams as they regulated their tempo of play better.   In the women's final Australia only had one goalkeeper on the team sheet as this allowed them to have 15 field players to rotate.

Matches tended to be more physical as players continued to play when the ball hit their own or an opponent's foot, and this led to more close contact situations.   Teams like the Dutch and Australian women were definitely advantaged by this interpretation, as they were physically stronger than the other teams.

As players were no longer able to "manufacture" free hits and corners they had to find other ways of creating scoring chances and relieving pressure in defence.   When entering the opponent's circle, forwards often had to move the ball past not only 10 sticks, but also 20 feet.   The result was that teams that had previously created scoring chances from manufacturing corners now had to change their tactics.   In the women's match Australia vs Argentina, Australia only managed to get 4 corners from 30 circle entries.

Forwards responded by shooting as soon as they could, as passes had a greater chance of being intercepted.   The longer the attack lasted, the less the chance of success.   In the men's section, teams with a good counter attack, like Korea and Australia, were more successful as they faced fewer defenders.   These teams also had a more robust style of play that relied on speed of the attack rather than skilful play into the circle (like the Spanish and Dutch).   The angle at which teams entered the circle also seemed to be significant, as entering from wide forced another pass to a better shooting position, which gave the defending team greater chance of winning the ball.

Defenders were forced to pass and carry the ball wide of the pressurising players to avoid both sticks and feet.   As the tournament progressed, defenders seemed to adjust their in-possession tactics, and defenders often deliberately hit the ball over the sideline when pressured, rather than risk the turnover.   Defensive technique changed, as players were no longer afraid of conceding corners by the ball hitting their feet.   Defenders were channelling less and tackling sooner to give the player in possession less time on the ball.   While there were fewer 16 yards hits, teams could afford to press more aggressively, as a ball hitting the feet created the turnover. The standard of hockey was below that of the World Cup held in Holland last year.   Very few countries would have returned from the tournament with increased confidence.   This could be ascribed to most teams being unprepared for the change in the way the foot rule was interpreted and the spongy, unpredictable pitch.   One of the circles was very unpredictable as regards ball behaviour and it was difficult to have an effective short corner routine at one end.

This benefits South Africa as the Champions Trophy was the premier hockey event of 1999 and all the participating countries would have regarded the Champions Trophy as essential preparation for the Olympic Games.

Gene Muller