Elite European clubs with vast revenues concentrate so much of the top talent, and the very best games are often played in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League -- think of Paris Saint-Germain's recent 5-4 win over Bayern Munich.It is hard for most international teams to reach the same level -– Luis Enrique himself has taken PSG to greater heights than he managed with Spain at Euro 2020 or the 2022 World Cup."I don't think you can compare the international game with elite club football. They each have their own character," insists Andy Roxburgh, the ex-Scotland manager, now technical director of the Asian Football Confederation having previously had the same role with UEFA."In international football, there's no transfer market. You select and you use what's available to you."Therefore, he says, national team coaches usually have to be pragmatic."In the international scene, because there's fewer games, and they're usually high-profile games, results are magnified and exaggerated," he tells AFP from Kuala Lumpur.High intensity?"A national team manager gels the players together, adds his own philosophy, and the national culture is taken into account. But the way the players play at their club has a big, big influence."
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The World Cup represents football's pinnacle, the ultimate prize every young player dreams of winning. But whether the tournament is where the very best football is played is a different question entirely.
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