Structure refers to the form or shape of a team. While we can enjoy the odd roller-coaster game with lots of miscues, flukes etc. we can agree that it hardly qualifies as “beautiful” football. Beautiful football has a discernible structure. It’s not haphazard. It’s about a team performing as a whole and each player playing their part within a system.
A structure is about coherence. Many teams are coherent. The adjectives “efficient” and “well-organized” can readily be applied to them. Some of the great club and national sides of our times fall into this category. Yet, despite their records, stats and trophies, they are rarely considered beacons of beautiful football. They often come across as efficient, effective yet “mechanical”. A lack of discernable (and aesthetic) style means that tactics and individual exploits take the limelight instead of the team.