marcelo loco bielsa (1)

W W W. S O C C E R C O A C H I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L . C O M

No.

43,

Oct

ober

/Nov

emb

er 2

010

Marcelo BielsaChilean national team

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W W W . S O C C E R C O A C H I N G I N T E R N A T I O N A L . C O M

Contents

Cover Story

Marcelo Bielsa, Chilean National TeamCoach

6 Youth Development

Gustavo Bueno, Nacional U16 and U17coach

16 Training Sessions

15 great exercises

22

Physical Training

Wladimir Braga, physicaltrainer Atletico-MG U17s

34 New!

MySoccerExercises.com

42 Technique

Luis Acosta, Olimpia U14 coach

44

Brazilian Corner 52 By: Anthony Hudson

Coaching Lessons ToughTimes - part 1:Shaping Great Managers

56 Next issue 63

No. 43 October/November 2010

SoccerCoachingInternational

is an e-magazine for soccercoaches all over the world fromthe publisher ofTrainersMagazine, the Dutchmagazine for soccer coaches.The Magazine will be releasedsix times a year.

Chief editor

Paul van VeenBeatrixlaan 21, 2811 LZREEUWIJKTHE [email protected]

Publisher

Sportfacilities & Media BVVisiting address:Steynlaan 19 B-D ZEISTTHE NETHERLANDSPostal address:P.O. Box 952, 3700 AZ ZEISTTHE [email protected]: +31 (0)30 697 7710Fax: +31 (0)30 697 7720

Project Manager

Floris [email protected]

Managing Editor

and Translations

Maaike [email protected]

Graphic Design

Anton GouverneurTania [email protected]

Photographers:

Tom van den HeiligenbergJan Soek

Editorial Staff

Bruno Camarão, Artur Capuani,Maaike Denkers, Jorrit Smink,Paul van Veen

Copyright

All rights reserved. Contents may not

be reprinted or otherwise reproduced

without written permission of the

publisher.

ISSN 1571 - 8794


The past few months we have worked veryhard to finish our latest feature our new andimproved editor. We have called itMySoccerExercises.com. This onlineapplication was developed for soccercoaches and allows you to easily draw yourown diagrams, make your own exercisesand training session. You can archive themand most importantly save and print them.Sounds like the old one, but trust me its not.This new application is far more advancedand allows you to design your owntemplates and exercises with create ease. I can go on to explain this new application,but I suggest you try it yourself. You canaccess the new editor by clicking on thestart editor button below your profile. On theeditor page of our website we have someinstruction videos to get you acquaintedwith this new feature. All our subscriberswill receive access to this editor free ofcharge and have been granted access.

Now on to this edition of our e-Magazine.This issue has a South American flavor to it,as we have articles from Chile, Paraguay,Brazil and Uruguay. On top of our SouthAmerican articles, we also have anotherarticles by Anthony Hudson and of courseour recurring feature Training sessions.

Please let me know if you need anyassistance with our new editor, we will beavailable via email to answer yourquestions.

I want to thank everyone for your patienceand support, and of course for being part ofthe complete online soccer coachingexperience!

Yours in soccer,

Maaike Denkers

Managing Editor SCI


5

From the Editor

Welcome to the 43th issue of SoccerCoachingInternationalOur seventh e-Magazine!

MARCELO BIELSA, CHILEAN NATIONAL TEAM COACH:

“In football there is noreason to be immobile”

Chile impressed in group H of the World Cup last summer with their offensive playingstyle against Spain, Switzerland and Honduras. The Argentine coach of Chile, MarceloBielsa, is very keen on entertaining the fans. From his players he demands goodconditioning, motivation and responsibility. The similarities with Louis van Gaal areapparent.

By: Paul van Veen

Cover Story


7

In Augustus of 2009 the Chilean teamtravelled to Denmark for a friendly matchagainst Morten Olsen's national squad.Denmark was flabbergasted; the twoChilean wingbacks dominated the flanks,their two wingers were positioned muchwider than the Danish squad was used to,Chile had a constantly open number 10 andwhen in possession Bielsa's squad werealways changing positions and had greatmovement off the ball.

On top of their great possession play theChileans executed direct pressure on theDanes when they were in possession. TheDanish squad had great difficulties with thevisiting Chileans and lost 1-2, which couldhave easily been higher if it wasn't for theabundance of missed chances by Chile.Bielsa's reaction after the match was veryvan Gaal like: "I just saw a great match frommy team. We played our own game, withoutany consideration for the opponent."

Marcela Bielsa coached the Argentineannational team from 1998 to 2004, whichplayers like Gabriel Batistuta and JuanSebastian Veron mark as the period inwhich Argentina played their best football.

Ajax-school“I am a big fan of the football Ajax playedunder Louis van Gaal,” says Bielsa. “Whenexecuted properly, it is winning football andgreat for the fans, which is what we shouldall aspire to accomplish." An Argentine whogives a non-Argentinean example of greatfootball is very rare in the proud SouthAmerican country. As a coach in Argentinayou should be a fan of Carlos Bilardo, WorldChampion with Argentina and countlessclubs, not a Dutchman like Louis van Gaal.Due to his admiration for van Gaal, Bielsawas given the nickname El Loco (the crazy)in his home country.

Argentina often played, much like Ajax in1995, beautiful swinging football underBielsa. Unfortunately they failed todominate when it mattered most, likeduring the Copa America in 1999 and2004 and the 2002 World Cup. This waslargely attributed to injuries, butregardless of the reasons, Bielsa wasasked to leave. He ended his reign of theArgentinean squad with a gold medalduring the 2004 Olympics in Athens.Bielsa stopped working as a coach.

Fortunately for the game of football theoffensive minded coach returned toprofessional football in 2007, where he tookover as Chilean national team coach. TheChilean football federation convinced Bielsato return to football and he easily guidedChile to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.Messi's Argentina was even more prospectless than the Danish (see diagrams 1, 2 and 3).

Diagram 1: Pay attention to the interactionbetween the striker (9) and the shadowstriker (14), the overlapping by the rightwingback (2) and the positioning of theplayer before the defense (13).


8

97

13

1

5 3

174

6

15

14

1

2

3

4

5


9

Diagram 2: The right half-winger (6) joinsthe attack, Chile creates an outnumberingsituation and scores by dropping the ballback to the right winger (7).

Diagram 3: Possession Argentina, who play1-4-4-2 with a diamond. The Chileansolution reminds me of Ajax in 1995. So nofour player line defense, but wingbacks whodefend the strikers and one free defender.Full pressure forward.

4

17

9

6

7

15

13

4 6

14

9

157

35 17

1

Bielsa proved that this football can still beplayed. "Ajax always played very flexible inopponent possession. The lines adapted tothe opponent's playing style, but inpossession the team plays its own game.Without consideration for the opponent andof course very offensive. We are trying to dothe same.”

The coach continues: “The aspect of Ajax'splaying style under van Gaal I enjoyed mostwas probably the fact that the team playedthe ball back about 37 times per match.This may not seem attractive and fansgenerally dislike this, but it means nothingless than creating a new attempt at a great

attack.” Chile played the same way up tothe World Cup, always with 3 defenders anda real number ten.

OrderThe coach copied the Ajax-system (seediagrams 5 and 6), both in possession andopponent possession. Bielsa, however, doesnot want to refer to it as mechanizing histeam. “The player, like any person who dealswith great pressure, has what I call a ´temoréscenico´, a fear of failure. And how can youneutralize that? By mechanizing. By lettingthe player do something he is used to doing,something he practiced repeatedly, allowingfor a very slim margin of error.”


10


11

“The responsibility for the execution ofsomething like this is for the coach. If thecoach asks the players to do something,something they have been training on, butthey are not yet able to execute it probably,then the changes of it going wrong in amatch are present. A coach can onlydemand from a player to do something he iscapable of doing.”

“This doesn't mean that if something isexecuted correctly during training that it isguaranteed to go well during matches. Butwho's fault is it then? No one really,sometimes things just go wrong. This is whyI hate mechanization of a team, because itdecreases the level of player responsibility.So I want a well organized team, but not amechanized team. I want a team wherecertain positions are respected andcommunication is a norm.”

ConditioningBielsa demands order in his team, whichmeans he wants players to take theirresponsibility. A big responsibility hedemanded from the Chilean team was theirconditioning. The average Chilean player isnot known for enjoying runs. Bielsa wasable to turn that around in his squad.

“I always tell my guys that our playing styleis about movement. A player should alwaysbe moving. You can come up with areasons for every player in every position

and every circumstance, why he should bemoving. In football there is no reason to beimmobile.”

“I am a physical education teacher. I usedto be a frustrated and average player. Aftera couple of matches at the Argentinepremier league for Newell´s Old Boys Irealized I would never be a top player. Thatis why I want to be a top coach. In order toaccomplish this I decided I needed tospecialize in physiology, which is thespecialized area when it comes tomovement.”

“This is where the secret of football sits. Inever aspired to become a teacher, I justmajored in this area to learn aboutmovement and guiding players. I graduatedafter a five year study and left knowingeverything I needed to know about trainingthe human body, even medically.”

“I will never allow a player not to go forsomething. Players should fight for everyball during a match. De-organization orsomething going wrong during a match,those are acceptable mistakes, things likethat just happen. But giving up or notfighting for a ball, that is unacceptable.Players who always fight for the teamobjective, deserve a spot in the squad.”

HardHis education makes him even more likevan Gaal, but the similarity is also very

apparent when you watch him work duringa training session. He passionately paysattention to every single details within theorder of his team. Players who do not payattention will not go unpunished. ArturoVidal knows all about this. When the leftwingback executed a weird move during atraining session, Bielsa immediatelystopped the sessions and told Vidal off:

“You sir, play at Bayer Leverkusen andyou believe you are something else, don'tyou!? But all you do is create chaos! If youwish to play for me, you will have toexecute the basic tasks I demand fromyou. Not the tasks that you believe arenecessary. We have enough so calledheroes in football!" Vidal stood still for afew minutes, flabbergasted by what hewas just told and was demoted to a spoton the bench for a while.


12


13

The bossBielsa on this incident: "Communication isthe most important factor for me. I need tobe able to trust my players on their word.Communication is also closely linked tohierarchy. I believe a coach should have aunique aspect: he must be able to make hisplayers feel they are not equal to him. Thecoach is the boss.”

“What is a boss, or a leader? Someone whowhen he enters the dressing room themurmur turns to a pause of silence. Whenhe speaks everyone else is quite and maybemost importantly someone who when hetells a joke everyone laughs, while nobodywould laugh at the same joke if someoneelse told it.”

“Leadership is most visible when you lose,a good leader is able to deal with the stressthat comes with a loss. The best time toobserve this is during stressful situations.Whether I am a leader? When I am asked tospeak at a guest lecture the title of mypresentation is usually: leadership, normsand values.” ResultsBielsa was able to renew Chile with hisapproach. Like van Gaal he has the courageto select young talents. And with result!Never before were Chilean players sold toEuropean top clubs for great amounts, asduring the Bielsa era. At a congress hecommented to Barcelona-coach Pep

Guardiola: “Everyone can recognize a goodplayer. And everyone can recognize a badplayer. A good coach is there to recognizethe normal player, that he can turn into agreat player.”

MediaBielsa doesn't like comparisons, but I have 1more for you: his relationship with the media.It is laborious to say the least, although hisgood results have made Bielsa very popularin Chile. “A journalist's weapon is the writtenword. My weapon is the spoken word. WhenI use fifty sentences to explain an idea and thejournalist only uses ten, I get frustrated.Although this may also have to do with thefact that I am a poor writer.”

“What I really hate is when journalists twistmy words. I would rather not be known atall, then being known for the wrong me,because I am not represented or quotedcorrectly. This may be odd for a coach, butI care about what people think of me.”

“This is why coaching is very difficult for me;it is a difficult occupation. As a coach youare a public figure and I am constantly in thepicture. I don't like it when people hate meor don't understand me, because I am notbeing portrait correctly. That is why I alwayshope that whatever is published in aninterview is also what I actually said. I don'tmind it if people attack me on what I think.But I don't like it when people attack me on

something I don't think or believe at all." Inorder to make it easier on himself Bielsararely agrees to an interview.

World CupPrior to the World Cup Simon Kuperpredicted that Chile would not do very wellduring the tournament. The author offamous football analytical books (such asSoccernomics) stated: “Bielsa plays thesame way van Gaal played in 1995, withthree defenders. In South America this may

work, but European football has evolved.Bielsa's football is too predictable for aWorld Cup. Van Gaal opted for a differentstyle and has played 4:4:2 for quite sometime now. Switzerland with Hitzfeld will beable to easily prepare for their matchagainst Chile and I think they will win.”

Contrary to Kupers expectations Bielsaopted for a different system of play againstEuropean opponents. Chile played a 1-4-2-3-1 (see diagrams 4 and 5).


14

Chile is vulnerable against an opponent who plays 1:4:4:2 with deep wingers and deepwingbacks or against a 1:4:2:3:1 with deep wingers and wingback. Bielsa was also veryaware of this and changed his system of play for the World Cup to a system with a fourplayers defensive line. If Bielsa would play with his system against a 1:4:2:3:1 (and deepwingers) he would be faced with a 1v1 on every field position. The risk to pressure wouldthen be too high, as it would allow for lots of space on his defensive end. In the South American qualification Chile's opponents would rarely play with deep wingers,but European coaches do.

Diagram 4 Diagram 5


15

Bielsa's new playing style duringthe World Cup was very similar toBayern München. The maindifference was the fact that Bielsaopted for a right-footed rightwinger, Alexis Sanchez, and aleft-footed left winger, MarkGonzalez or Jean Beausejour.Because of this there was amuch lesser threat to comeinside then the threat of ArjenRobben and Franck Ribéry onrespectively Bayern's right andleft wing. Bielsa's wingbacks alsoplayed a lot deeper thanBayern's. Another notable aspectof Chile's playing style was thefact that they continuouslychanged their system.

Date of birth: July 21, 1955 (Rosario)

Clubs:1990-1992 F.C. Atlas A.C. 1992-1994 Newell's Old Boys 1995-1996 Club América 1997-1998 Vélez Sársfield 1998 Espanyol 1998-2004 Argentina 2007-2010 Chile

MARCELO BIELSA

“I OPTED FOR WHAT I BELIEVED WAS THE

BEST WAY TO PLAY AGAINST OUR

OPPONENTS DURING THE WORLD CUP.

THAT MEANT I HAD TO CHANGE THE

SYSTEM. WE TRIED TO DICTATE THE

MATCHES' PLAYING STYLE AS MUCH AS

POSSIBLE, WHICH WE WERE ABLE TO

EXECUTE QUITE WELL, EVEN AGAINST

SPAIN FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE

MATCH. I AM VERY PROUD OF THAT. WE

JUST FAILED TO SCORE MORE AGAINST

SWITZERLAND AND HONDURAS.

LOOKING BACK THAT COST US THE

FIRST PLACE IN THE GROUP.”


17

The Nacional complex looks like a Dutchamateur club complex who have a lack ofvolunteers. There are five fields, two ofwhich are well maintained. The buildinglook maintenance deprived and lack somepaint. There is one main difference with aDutch amateur club, there are palm treesaround the fields.

This is the place where Suarez and Lodeiromade their first steps to professional football.Gustavo Bueno coaches them both. Lodeirofor two years and Suarez whenever he wouldnot be selected for the first team. WhenSuarez made his debut in Uruguay he wasn'tknow as a goalgetter yet. "This meant hewould regularly play with the U20s in thebeginning”, says Bueno.

GUSTAVO BUENO, NACIONAL U16 AND U17 COACH:

“Top players need to beable to beat their directopponents"

Gustavo Bueno was the youth coach of AFC Ajax forwards and Uruguay internationalsNicolas Lodeiro and Luis Suarez. On the trainingcomplex of Nacional, the oldest andmost famous club of Uruguay, he explains why Saurez performs so well in TheNetherlands. "A striker must dare to duel."

By: Jorrit Smink

Youth Development


19

Lodeiro was coaches by the 47-year oldBueno for two years. “A great number ten,"says the coach. "I think the world will hearmore from him in the upcoming years. He isa great play-maker." Conditioning coachJulio Moreno adds: “Lodeiro is a real SouthAmerican number 10, but there is onedifference: he works really hard. In traininghe would always be at the front, whether isbe in conditional exercises or with lapsaround the field. I never experienced thatwith a number ten.”

PéléToday I am also witnessing an U16-U17training sessions. The teams train combinedon Wednesdays because the national youthteam trains at the same time and most ofthe first players are also part of the nationalyouth team. "We came to an agreementwith the national youth team coach that hewould selected our players in a rotationsystem, because if he selects them all wewould only be able to train with the reservesfrom Monday through Wednesday. ”

Because of this agreement there are still24 players on the field today, includingfour ´a prueba´ (test) players. This meansthese players are allowed to train with theteam for one session, to see if they arecapable of playing at this level. They arebeing tested. Being ´a prueba ´ in SouthAmerica is not as much fun as you maythink. For a lot of players football is the

only hope for a better future. So playerswho are being tested are not viewed as apotential improvement for the team, butas a potential threat for the other playersfuture. Test players, therefore rarely getthe ball. Which is evident as soon as thetraining sessions starts.

Gustavo Bueno comments: “this is verySouth American and impossible tochange. Because of this mentality clubsfrequently miss great talents. DiegoForlan, for example, was tested byPeñarol and some other smaller clubs inUruguay, but didn't make the cut. Hisfather took him to Argentina, where hequickly made a name for himself. Now heis earning millions at Atletico Madrid andwinner of the Golden Ball. Nacional isPeñarol's biggest rival, so we alwayslaugh at this situation, but I know it willhappen to us as well sooner or later.”

"This doesn't only happen in Uruguay”,says Bueno, “I played for Noroeste Bauru inBrazil. They don't play very high, but theyare famous as they are the club whorejected Pélé. They tested him but thetrainer didn't think he was good enough.Pélé went to Santos and they gladlyaccepted him and are very proud of that.”

TrainingThe field is dry, unequal and the grass is toolong, at most places up to 20 centimeters.


20

“In Uruguay you have to deal with thecircumstances you are given,"says Bueno.“Take todays training sessions for example,we are only allowed to use six balls.” Theseballs are all different makes and models andtwo of them are so hard it is a miracles theplayers don't break their neck when theyhead them.

This doesn't effect the seriousness andeffort with which the players train. The newSuarez's and Lodeiros' are ready to showwhat they can do. Gustavo 'Zorro' Bueno isalso very present. During the trainingsession he continuously tells the forwardsto seek the 1v1 and beat their opponent.

The strikers are having a blast, despite thebad field conditions, as the constantly beatthe wingbacks in the 1v1 duels. Everythinga winger is in 1v1 situation and opts to playthe ball back to a midfielder, Bueno stopsthe game. "You are at 70 or 80 meters fromyour own goal! When you lose the ballthere, nobody will say a word. If you beatyour opponent you will either create achance or your opponent will commit afoul. So take the risk!"

The wingers seem to understand and after a fewtactical tips from Bueno the wingbacks don'tstand a chance anymore. “Unfortunately I haveto tell him this everything time," Bueno tells meafter the session. "He need to be able to do thiswithout coaching by now. Like the striker."

Amor PropioBueno: “Top players need to be able to beattheir direct opponents. In order to reach thatlevel you need to practice this repeatedly.So we do this on a daily basis. Players needto be able to recognize when they are facedwith a 1v1 and how they can beat thatopponent. Suarez is a huge example forthese players. He is an example of what youcan accomplish. Suarez even talked tothese players once, to tell them this inperson. I really like that about him.”

Bueno points out that this is a differentmethod than European clubs use. "When Iwatch the Dutch national team or someDutch clubs there is something SouthAmerican about them. They have the will tomake something beautiful out of it. And theplayers are capable of great things. Justlook at Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie orWesley Sneijder. You don't see this as muchin other European countries. In thosecountries it is more about strength anddefense.”

“The difference with South Americans isthat we have amor propio (inner love) towin and to score. We therefore want thatplayers who are around the penalty areatake the risk they would have taken as aneight year old. You want to score, soscore. That is the key of the success LuisSuarez and Diego Forlan have.”

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TRAINING SESSIONS


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Training Sessions

This edition of 'Training sessions' consists of 15 great exercises. We start with 6 small sidedgames by Paul Cooper. These six games are great for youth players and adults alike. Theyprovide a fun way for kids to practise with a ball in a learning by doing manner. These exerciseshelp kids to develop technique, football insight and communication, as children naturally learnmatch situations by constant repetition and frequent ball contact. These small sided gamesmaximise involvement in real football situations, provide freedom to fail, creativity andspontaneity.

The next six exercises are a great combination of technical and tactical exercises in varioussettings. They are designed for the older youth, U15 and older, and for adults. Like the smallsided games they provide the players with frequent ball contacts and each exercise isdesigned to practice both the technical skills as well as tactical insights.

The last three exercises were designed by Dutch amateur coach Ömer Kaya. These 3effective and fun games are designed for the older youth, U15 and older, and for adults aswell. Like the previous six exercises in this edition of Training Sessions they provide theplayers with a setting to practice both the technical skills as well as tactical insights.


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Training Sessions

1 THE VISION GAME U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

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• Age Group – U9s to adults• Pitch size 20 x 40 - or at the discretion of the coach but must be wider than it is long• Number of teams – 2• Team sizes – 4-6 players• Bibs optional• Goals – 3 for each side made from either traffic or marker cones 1-2 metres apart depending on age group and abil-

ity. The younger and less technically able, the bigger the goal.

PR

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I play this game normally 4v4 but I have played it with up to 8 a side for U18s. The idea is for the teams to score in any ofthe 3 goals, however behind the goals there is one extra person. They do not touch the ball but run behind the line of thethree goals. If they are standing behind a specific goal, the other team can’t score into that goal. For the younger playerswe use coaches behind the goals as the kids love to work them by making them run and run as play is switched from sideto side. Basically the better the game is played the more the coaches have to run and sweat, much to the amusement ofthe kids. If the ball goes out of play it can either be dribbled, passed or thrown onto the pitch. For the younger age groupswe dribble the ball on and for the older age groups we usually pass the ball on.

More than any other small sided game you really get to see who are the players with vision and insight by the way theylook up, switch play, sell dummies to confuse the opposition as to which goal they are going for. These are the players thatsee the whole picture. The only condition I occasionally use is that players can only score in the opponents half as some-times there is a tendency for players to always shoot and not build up play. I usually play both ways and change it duringa game.


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Training Sessions

2 THE PARMA GAME U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 AO

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• Age Group U10s to adults• Pitch sizes 40 x 20– or at the discretion of the coach• Number of teams – 2• Team sizes 4-6 players• Bibs optional• Goals – are two small traffic cones. You need one more goal than there are players for one team. So for 4v4 you have

5 goals (10 cones) and for 6v6 you have 7 goals (14 cones). You can add extra goals for the younger age groups. Thegoals should be about 2-3 feet apart (depending on age and ability) and should be distributed around the pitch.

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To score a goal, a player from one team has to pass the ball through the goal, where a player from his team controls theball on the other side without any of the opposition touching it first. (You can score in either side of the goal.) You thenhave to score through a different goal before you can return to the one you have just scored in, unless the opposition getthe ball. Players need to get their heads up to see the full picture, pass accurately and have good movement off the ball.This is also a game about vision.

With older players, they can score goals by passing accurately through the cones at some distance, occasionally the betterplayers can even pass through two goals at a time. It is a very taxing game but also very rewarding.

A variation of this for younger children is to have just one cone for a goal and they simple need to knock this over with theball to score. We have found this more suitable at the U8s and U9s level.

26


Training Sessions

3 THE PRESSING GAME U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

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• Age Group – U8s to adults• Pitch Size 40 x 20 – or at the discretion of the

coach, but basically a standard 4 v 4 pitch, with ahalf way line marking. (you can use two trafficcones at each side of the pitch)

• Number of teams – 2• Team sizes – 4-6 players• Bibs optional• Goals –5 a side or mini soccer goals

The game is played as a standard small sided gamewith one condition. If a team wins the ball in the op-positions half and then goes on to score before theball has left that half, they are awarded two goals. Agoal scored any other way counts as just one goal.Very popular with the players and evokes good teamspirit. The attacking team need to work as a unit andboth press and close down defenders.

4 THE SHOOTING GAME WITH SNIFFER U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

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• Age Group U12s to adults• Pitch sizes 50 x 20 – or at the discretion of the

coach – a zone of about 10 metres from each goalshould be marked out with a line or marker cones

• Number of teams – 2• Team sizes 6-8 players (including keepers)• Bibs optional• Goals – mini soccer goals for children and full size

goals for older kids and adults.

The game is a standard small sided game but with azone in front of each goal. In this zone are the keeperand an opposition forward (sniffer). Players can onlyshoot outside of this zone and can use the sniffer toset up play. The sniffer however is not aloud to shootat goal unless it is a rebound off of the keeper, goalpost or bar. There are no goal kicks or corners and thekeeper can only throw the ball out. This is greatshooting practice at distance. It is also good to workon setting up shots and reacting to rebounds.

The game is also an excellent workout for keepers as theyhave to be alert and on their toes, should they spill the ballor the ball rebounds from the post or bar to the sniffer. It isa good idea to have a plentiful supply of ball in each goal tokeep the game moving.

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Training Sessions

5 THE 2ND BALL GAME U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 AO

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N

• Age Group U15s to adults• Pitch sizes 40 x 20 or at the discretion of the coach• Number of teams – 2• Team sizes 4-6 players• Bibs optional• Goals – 5 a side or mini soccer goals

The coach has a number of balls and stands on theside of the pitch. He starts the game by throwing ordrop kicking the ball onto the pitch so that playershave to challenge in the air to win the ball. The twomain issues are winning the aerial challenge and re-acting to the knock down or 2nd ball. Every time theball goes out of play whether for a throw in, goal kickor corner, the coach starts proceedings again. Play fora set time or until the balls have all been used andthen free play for 5 minutes. It is a good game to helpplayers become more confident at challenging forhigh balls.

6 LINE SOCCER U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• Age Group – U8s to adults• Pitch Size 20 x 40 – or at the discretion of the

coach, but basically a standard 4 v 4 pitch, this canhowever be played in either portrait or landscapeformat.

• Number of teams – 2• Team sizes – 4-6 players• Bibs optional• Either a line across the pitch or cones at the side in-

dicating an end line.

The main difference with this game is that there areno goals as such. The players score by running withthe ball over the opponent’s end line and put theirfoot on the ball. For the older children and adults youcan also stipulate that they have to do a trick such asa Maradona turn as they go over the line. The gamebrings out many skills such as running with the ball,beating players, passing short and long as well asswitching play. It is also a good game for decisionmaking.

28


Training Sessions

28

7 CIRCLE WARM-UP U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• Setup 12 cones on the middle circle• Players line up, each with a ball• Duration: 5-10 minutes

8 5V5 IN 5 AREAS U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

OR

GA

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AT

ION

• Pitch size: 20x20m• 5 areas

- 4 equal areas in the corner- 1 circle in the middle

• Play 5v5 • 1 player of each team in 1 of the 5 areas• Duration: 10-15 minutes

PR

OG

RE

SSIO

N

• Players dribble around the cones• Next player start when player in front of him

reaches the fourth cones

PR

OG

RE

SSIO

N

• Team in possession passes the ball from 1 area toanother

• No back passing to the player you received the ballfrom

• 2 touch maximum

VA

RIA

TIO

N

• 1 touch• Free play• Bigger or smaller area

29


Training Sessions

9 U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

Zone A

Zone B

10TECHNICAL/TACTICAL EXERCISE WITHOUT FINISH (2) U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

TECHNICAL/TACTICAL EXERCISE WITHOUT FINISH (1)

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• Pitch size: 30x20m• 2 zones

- 3v2 in 1 zone- 1 zone = 15x10m

• Duration: 10-15 minutes

PR

OG

RE

SSIO

N

• Team in possession must pass the ball around toplayers in their own zone (A) before they can passto their teammates in the other zone (B)

• When the ball is passed to zone B one of the de-fenders from zone A moves to zone B to create an-other 3v2 situation

VA

RIA

TIO

N

• 1 touch• 2 touch• Bigger or smaller area

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• Pitch size: 20x20m• 5v5 with 2 neutrals• Red zone in the middle (5x5m)• Duration: 10-15 minutes

PR

OG

RE

SSIO

N

• Team in possession passes the ball around, whilethe defending team tries to steal it

• Players are not allowed to enter the red zone• Ball may be passed across the red zone to a player

on the other side

VA

RIA

TIO

N

• 1 touch• 2 touch• Bigger or smaller area

30


Training Sessions

11 CIRCUIT PASSING WITH FINISH (1) U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

ABOR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• Pitch size: width of field x 30m• 6 players, 1 goalkeeper • 3 hurdles, 4 cones, 2 starting discs• Duration: 15 minutes

12 CIRCUIT PASSING WITH FINISH (2) U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

A

1

2

B

C

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• Pitch size: width of field x 30m• 6 attackers, 2 defenders, 1 goalkeeper • 5 cones• Duration: 15 minutes

PR

OG

RE

SSIO

N

• A passes to B• A runs jumping over the hurdles and takes position

around the penalty spot• At the same time B receives the ball dribble through

the cones to the endline and crosses the ball intothe penalty area

• A finishes on goal• B retrieves the ball• A joins the back of the B queue• B joins the back of the A queue

PR

OG

RE

SSIO

N

• A dribbles towards defender 1 and passes to B• A runs passed the defender and receives the ball

back from B• A dribbles around cone 1 towards defender 2,

passes to C, runs passes defender 2 and receivesthe ball back from C

• A dribble towards and through the cones to theedge of the penalty area and finishes on goal

VA

RIA

TIO

N

• Add 1 defender in the penalty area• Add 2 defenders, 1 in the penalty area, 1 near the

endline

VA

RIA

TIO

N

• Gradually increase resistance from defenders• Add 1 defender in the penalty area

31


Training Sessions

13 ‘KAYAKABALSKI’ U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

T

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• Two rows of players are position just outside thepenalty area, with a neutral goalkeeper on goal(you may also opt to use 2 goalkeepers, 1 fromeach team)

• The coach plays 2 balls to the same player. The ballmust be shot on goal immediately

• If one of the two balls is scored the player will jointhe back of the line

• If the player doesn't score he is out of the game• When the players scores both balls he wins back a

player from his own team or he may dare a playerfrom the other team to score 2 balls. If this playerdoesn't score both balls he is out. If he does scoreboth balls the player who dared him is out

• The team who has no players left looses

14 ‘COFFEE GRINDER’ U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• Half a field• Play in groups of 3 players• 2 of the 3 players are positioned in the middle cir-

cle. The third player is position in one of the twocorner areas

• One of the players lobs the ball from the middle cir-cle to the player in the corner area. If the ball doesnot reach the area, they lose their turn. If the ballreaches the area the player must pass the ball, withtwo touches (ball must remain in motion), to one ofthe two players

• These players may only start after the ball has beenpassed

• The following scores apply:- Score with feet = 1 point- Score with head = 2 points- Volley = 3 points- Bicycle kick = 4 points

• The group with most points after 10 minutes winsthe game

32


Training Sessions

15 FINISHING WITH TIME U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• Half a field • Play with 2 teams with a neutral goalkeeper on

goal (you may also opt to use 2 goalkeepers, 1from each team)

• The balls are all positioned on the edge of thepenalty area. The red team has 2 minutes to shooton goal one player at the time

• When the ball is over or next to the goal, the entirered team must sprint around the first cone beforethey may continue

• When another player misses the goal, the sprintaround the second cone, etc.

• After two minutes the yellow team starts• The team with the most goals scored wins

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35

WLADIMIR BRAGA, PHYSICAL TRAINER ATLETICO-MG U17S

Proactive behavior,leadership and constantcommunication

The Atletico-MG youth academy is regarded as one of the best in the country. They arepraised for their integrated working method with the department of professional football,especially with regard to educating youth players and preparing them for the first team.The academy is known for their cooperation with the other members of the club'stechnical committees.

Specialist in sports training and a post-graduate in Business Administration andMarketing, Wladimir Braga is responsible for the physical preparation of the under-17team. He has the duty to design physical training exercises in combination with tacticalelements that correspond to the team's system of play. This is especially important withthe U17 age group, as they are at a critical age when it comes to high performancesport.

By: Universidade do Futebol (Bruno Camarão and Artur Capuani)

Physical Training


36

Braga has been working at the club fornearly a decade and ensures that coacheshave the ability and motivation to stimulateand encourage the players. They should beproactive when it comes to solving thegame's strategic variations. Leadership andconstant communication play in vital role inachieving this.

Daily work "The youth category, in my view, is the mostdifficult and most the important age groupwhen it comes to training football players.Having said this, I do want to point out thatthis doesn't mean the other youth agegroups aren't important. The U17s are,however, the first youth age group that iscapable of training with the first team. It istherefore crucial that they are ready towithstand the pace of play that comes withthe first team, coordination and strengthwise. Thus, I believe that in order to developyouth training a hypertrophy (in weight) aswell as work power (traction) allows theplayer to increase his strength and ability toimprove cyclic and acyclic speed, and towithstand the constant shock of game andeventually prevent muscle injuries."

Integration between departments "There is a deep understanding of therelationship between the youth andprofessional departments when it comes tothe attention paid to the development ofplayers, the workload they are submitted to,

as well as an exchange of informationbetween members of technical commissions.I believe this to be the most important aspectin the work environment of a big club. And wehave access to all evaluations and equipmentused by professional category, with results inour youth players being constantly observedby physiologists."

Scouting"Within the known criteria (technical,tactical, physical and psychological),Atletico-MG looks for players with the besttechnical and tactical intelligence whenscouting youth players. We, as a clubmonitor these criteria and develop thephysical and psychological componentswhile they are here. More than numericalvalues of rating the players on the abovementioned criteria (which are also relevant),we believe in the relationship between thecomponents to design the player's profile."

Pre-season preparation in Brazil. How do you change this? "In Brazil there is a lack of pre-seasontraining and preparation. "Changing thisreality is the responsibility of the CBF(Brazilian Football Confederation) and thestate federations. I think by merely changingour playing schedule to the Europeanformat we will be able to solve this problemfor the most part. Soccer is a tactical sportand should be understood as such. Thefitness function is to assist in training and

we think that before you participate in arace, you should be able to run very well.Therefore, physical trainers must adjusttheir work according to the demands offootball, then the coach and then thesystem of play, and not vice versa. At notime should we deny the importance ofunderstanding the physical potential of aplayer in the process of preparing him forthe first team."

Youth planning "In the youth department it is usually easierto plan the training content by means of ayear plan for each age group. This maysound like something long term, as somemistakenly think, but it does also bringsimmediate results. The planning of trainingcontent in the youth categories allowsprofessionals to gradually apply the tactical,technical and physical aspects that arefundamental in developing a player'scompetitive profile.


37

A well-trained player has the following characteristics: • Good predisposition for work• Easily recovers between training sessions and games• Physically fit and not prone to injury; muscular, joint or shock• Has tactical intelligence • Will not lose focus on the goals and objectives• Believes in team play• Has the emotional, cognitive, and physical techniques to overcome adversity

CONCEPT OF A WELL-TRAINED PLAYER


38

Education: Physical Education at the FederalUniversity of Viçosa-MG in 1996

Specialization: Athletic Training at the FederalUniversity of Minas Gerais

Clubs: América-MG and Atlético-MG (U-15 and U-17)

WLADIMIR BRAGA


39

Importance of passing "In order to fully understand the principlesof the game of football, a goodunderstanding of passing is a must. Aplayer needs experience in situations ofmaking decision with pressure coupled withthe knowledge of the various systems ofplay, but in order to effective apply thisknowledge players need to master passing.Furthermore, players need a broadknowledge of the concept of systems andthe functions within each system, includingthe specific characteristics of theirpositions. These components, both inpractice and theory, can provide the playerwith the opportunity to understand thegame and its competitive reality."

Decision-making "At Atletico-MG all coaches shouldconduct, stimulate and encourage proactivebehavior, leadership and constantcommunication. This in turn allows playersto develop their decision-makingcapabilities on the field. In time, they shouldbe able act immediately on changes that thegame presents. So to make the plan areality, every coach within the club assumesthe responsibility to discuss, explain andprovide the tools that players need in orderto make decisions on the field. I believe thatby clearly defining our learning objectivesand allowing players to express their doubtsand difficulties you can establish aconfident relationship between the player


40

and his coaches. When an understandingof the game and the system, along with itsprinciples and sub principles, is establishedthe player will be able to make effectivedecisions on the field."

Technical method and integratedtraining model "Fear of the unknown is part of humannature. When it comes to technical trainingmethods we are faced some big obstaclesin Brazil. Unfortunately in our country,people do not respect good work anddevelopment, they only thing that countsare the results and by results I mean titles.The Brazilian football school is veryconservative and still hides behind a fivetime world championship achieved, but it isin need of new knowledge andmethodologies."

"In Brazil we do not have something like aintegrated training model. Which is due tothe traditional and fragmented model inwhich we see football. Although we arefaced with many barriers, there are somechanges taking places. But even with thenext generation of coaches, who are highlycompetent professionals, we won’t seesomeone developing this kind of worknationwide."

This article is a contribution from

Universidade do Futebol

www.universidadedofutebol.com.br

This online application, is called MySoccerExercises.comand was developed for soccer coaches.

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42


MySoccerExercises.comMySoccerExercises.comMySoccerExercises.com is anonline application, which wedeveloped for soccer coaches. Thisapplication will allow coaches toeasily draw their own diagrams,exercises and training session,archive them and most importantlysave and print them.

There are lots of programs like thisavailable and most are designed tomake diagrams, but they often lackthe flexibility in adding text. This program has been designed to allow you to make completeexercises and training sessions. You are not bound to a fixed template, you can design yourlayout any way you want. Whether you want to make a single diagram, a complete exercise oran entire training session, this program allows you to do so. Whether you want to print 1, 2, 3 or4 exercises on 1 page, include 1 or 2 diagrams in 1 exercise or add lots of text or little text?Anything is possible with MySoccerExercises.com. You design your own templates, so the choiceis yours? Furthermore, all your diagrams, exercises, training sessions and templates are savedonline, which allows you to access your own library from anywhere. MySoccerExercises.comtakes care of all storage and back-ups, so no more worries about a computer crash.

The best part of this application is probably the price. All current SoccerCoachingInternationalsubscribers (November 15th, 2010) will receive this new features as part of their currentsubscription. So, you don't have to do a thing. From now on when you login towww.soccercoachinginternational.com you will see the 'Start editor' button below your profile.This will take you to www.MySoccerExericses.com. Your subscription to this feature is directlylinked to your SCI subscription, so you will have access for as long as you remain a subscriber.

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43

Important features in diagram editor:• Easily make your diagrams with 'real'players or symbols (in various colours) • Add text anywhere on the diagram, i.e.player names and numbers or pitch sizes.Wide variety of text colours, sizes and fontsto choose from• Easily undo mistakes with the undo andredo function\• Zoom in to work more accurately or zoomout to get a better view or the entire diagram

• Use a grid or ruler to work more accurately • Export diagram in JPG or GIF format

Important features in exercise editor:• Choose the area of your paper you wish to use; 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 or the entire page• Create you own exercise layout with text boxes, colours, diagram area, etc.• Save your layout• Easily place a diagram in a diagram-box, you can zoom to show only part of the diagram• Save your exercises in folder (you can make new folders)

Important features in training editor:• After you have made your exercise youcan easily make your own training session.Say you made 3 exercise, each on 1/3 of apage. Simply add 3 equal exercise boxes toyou training page and load you exercises. • Easily add a clublogo or other picture toyour training session• Easy to print, what you see on your screenis what will be printed

Questions?Please contact Maaike DenkersManaging editor, SoccerCoachingInternational.comEmail: [email protected] MySoccerExercises.com

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45

LUIS ACOSTA, OLIMPIA U14 COACH:

Heading is a not to beunderestimated weapon

Olimpia is one of the biggest club in Paraguay and has an excellent youth academy. Theacademy supplies youth talent for the first on a regular basis. The biggest talentsgenerally make their debut in the European competition within a year of beingdiscovered. Youth coach Luis Acosta of the U14 team explains one of the keys for thesuccess of Paraguay's biggest academy: “Paraguayans distinguish themselves with theirheading power.”

By: Jorrit Smink

Technique


46

Heading and Paraguay are synonymous.Striker Roque Santa Cruz (ManchesterCity, former Bayern Munich and educatedby Olimpia) is viewed as one of the bestheaders in the world, but there isn't aParaguayan player who can't head. “InParaguay all academies pay a lot ofattention to heading, especially in my agegroup, the U14s. In this age groupsplayers already master the ball, so youcan start to work on the fine-tuning,” saysLuis Acosta.

Youth planContrary to most youtrh academies inParaguay, Olimpia works with a structuredhyouth plan. “Every day of the year, for everyage group has been worked out. I enter the

training field with my plan and know exactlywhat I am going to do and say.”

Winning“We are different from most otherParaguayan club, but also from most SouthAmerican clubs when it comes to winning.We are focused on educating, not on matchresults. Other clubs focus on winning, evenwith the U14s.”

BallAcosta's team trains four times a week.“We do everything with the ball, even thephysical training sessions. We integrateaerobic exercise with tactical and technicalexercises. This is done by our physicaltrainer. For me as a coach most attention is


47

paid to starting to develop the tacticalgame and heading. Heading can really bedeveloped into a weapon, when you canmaster it. A lot of coaches and playersunderestimate this. Heading is much morethan touch the ball with your head, just likethere is a fine technique for shooting theball.”

Offense“Take offensive heading for example. Wetrain this repeatedly. First without anopponent, then with an opponent (seeexercises 2 and 3). Usually we do this in thesame session. The reason we start withoutan opponent is so the players can masterthe technique first. When you immediatelyinclude an opponent, a player will deal withthis opponent using the skills he alreadyknows and masters. But a youth playershould learn to do things he hasn'tmastered yet or improve the skills he haspartly mastered. This works more effectivelywhen you start without an opponent.”

Jumping“An important aspect of heading is thejump. Players usually use their strong legto jump. Paraguayans have to be able tojump with both legs. We start with this inthe warm-up (see exercise 1). This wayplayers will learn to head better when, forexample the are jumping backwards. Theposture of the back is another importantaspect. Heading comes you’re your back,

if you want to head with power. If you aremore interested in placement, then thepower, very little, comes more from yourhead and neck. In our age group it isimportant that players learn to diagonallyapproach the ball and look at the goal andthe ball when heading offensively. A lot ofplayers at this age close their eyes whenheading the ball. We gradually progressthis and eventually reach exercise 4. Thisincludes a cross from an upcomingwingback and the forwards have to scorewith the head, while being defended. Thissimulates a real match situation when itcomes to heading technique.”

Defensive“Defensive heading asks for a differenttechnique than offensive heading. Withdefensive heading you jump with both legsat the same time from stance or whilewalking backwards. We also pay a lot ofattention to this is our training sessions(see exercise 5). Usually we do this incombination with tactical exercises, suchas shifting and sagging. You clearly seethis when you watch the Paraguay nationalteam. They are deadly when it comes toheading. Their heading technique isphenomenal, because of the attentionpaid to this aspect in their academies. Ontop of the education, most Paraguayanplayers can jump very high. Logical, theirmuscles have been trained for this from anearly age.”


48

Technique Training

1 IMPROVE HEADING IN A CLOSED OFF AREA U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• 6 players (yellow) have a ball intheir hands, the blue players donot have a ball

• The blue players are movingthrough the area and ask forthe ball for the six yellow players

• The yellow players throw the ballto the blue players, who headthe ball back

• The blue players must pay atten-tion to their jump. They must in-terchangeably jump with left,right and both legs.

2 OFFENSIVE HEADING WITHOUT RESISTANCE U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

1

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• The ball is passed from the sideto the player in the corner

• This player receives the ball andcrosses into the two incomingstrikers

• These players head to ball ongoal, without resistance from adefender

• Players stay in their positions


4949

Technique Training

3 OFFENSIVE HEADING WITH RESISTANCE U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

1

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• The ball is passed from the sideto the player in the corner

• This player receives the ball andcrosses into the two incomingstrikers

• These players head to ball ongoal, with resistance from a de-fender

4 ATTACK ALONG THE FLANKS WITH A CROSS U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

1

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

• On half a playing field theshadow striker receives the ball,interchangeably from the leftand the right side (play 1:4:4:2).The half winger or wingbackruns along the flank to the cor-ner flag and receives the ballback

• He crosses into the penalty area• Two defenders try to prevend

the attackers by heading theball away

50

Technique Training

5 IMPROVE DEFENSIVE HEADING WHILE WALKING BACKWARDS U9 U11 U13 U15 U17 U19 A

1

RUGDEKKING! RUGDEKKING!

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

- The ball is passed long from theflanks to the two strikers

- The central defender tries tohead the ball away (by walkingbackwards and heading defen-sively)

- The wingback provide cover- Play continues on the ground

until the attack is finished

VA

RIA

TIO

N - Also training against 3 strikers


NOW Online!

www.soccercoachinginternational.com

"People can get angry, but there are nooptions to be utilized in our clubs youthacademy." The critical tone of the statementin Luiz Felipe Scolari voice sounded like areality check for Palmeiras fans andrepresentatives, who are eager to seeresults from the clubs youth teams. But thatwill not occur on the short term.

"To play the Brazilian Championship, youneed much more than technicalcapabilities," noted the coach, referring tothe example of the skilled Ramos, one of thehighlights of the team that reached the

semifinals of this year's Copa São Paulo deFutebol Junior (a famous youthchampionship in Brazil). "He has beeninjured for 114 days. He trained with usonce and got another 30 days withouttraining".

Because of this lack, Scolari is looking forreinforcements from smaller clubs. Inaddition, the former coach of the Brazilianand Portuguese national teams has evenadmitted that he may resort to scoutingforeign players.


SCOLARI MAY SCOUT FOREIGN YOUTH PLAYERS TOREINFORCE THE PALMEIRAS YOUTH ACADEMY

52

Boca Juniors hasopened their firstschool in Brazil.

The initiative is partof a franchising

program that Argentinesbegan to develop about a

year ago, which already has seven otherunits throughout the American continent.

The focus of the project in the neighboringcountry is to spread the image of the team“xeneize”. Therefore, all schools will needto use a standardized model of brandexposure and approach to the boys, whopay monthly fees between U$$ 50 andU$$ 70.

Boca Juniors school director Andrés Lilliniwas excited about the school’s opening inBrazil. “It is a great moment for BocaJuniors. Our mission is to help support thisclub with the resources as well as with theideology behind the club,” said Lillini.

"The opening of a school, its planning,training, methodology all have to follow aset methodology on how Boca Juniors want

to see it done”, said Andres Lillini Compare,technical coordinator and creator of theArgentine project.

The development of the education programwill be followed with monthly evaluationsand periodic visits from Boca Juniors to theboard of each unit. The team will havespecial attention to teachers and mentors ofchildren to standardize the work globally.

53

Brazilien Corner


BOCA JUNIORS DEVELOPSFOOTBALL SCHOOLS IN BRAZIL

Mano Menezes always made it clear hewould like to have a professionalresponsible for coordinating theyouth categories of Braziliannational team. The choice for theposition was revealed: NeyFranco, former coach of Coritiba.

Graduated in Physical Educationfrom the National University ofViçosa in 1992, Franco took thefirst steps in the sport as a playerof LUVE (UFV Academic AthleticAssociation), and later as coach of ViçosaCup BH Football Junior, one of the mostimportant competitions in Brazilian youthfootball. After completing his coachinglicense he began to coach the U15 team ofAtletico Mineiro, a function he held 1992 to1995.

After that, he received the invitation to workas coach of the Cruzeiro Youth team. Innearly a decade at the club, Ney wentthrough all the categories of the youthacademy, winning national and internationalstate titles.

In the final stretch of the BrazilianChampionship in 2004, he wasinvited to direct the professional

team. In 2005, Cruzeiro established apartnership with Ipatinga Futebol Clube,enabling Ney Franco his first big break inprofessional football.

"With Ney, we want to show that, from now,the U20s will receive special treatment. Theclubs need to understand that releasing aplayer for the U20 team is not prejudice. It’sthe opposite. It will only enhance the player.We wanted a coach with the necessaryexperience and ability to deal with playerswho are already competing at this top levelin their age group”, explained Mano, chiefcoach of Brazil’s professional team.

SPECIAL TREATMENT TO THE UNDER-20

SELECTION


54

Batista was never a big admirer of the workMano Menezes did at Corinthians. With thedeparture of Menezes, who has left to takecharge of the Brazilian national team, thenew commander, Batista, immediatelybegan making some changes to theCorinthians playing style.

The defensive midfielder Elias, for example,now has more freedom to attack and has

developed into one of the gunnersat Corinthians. "What changed inmy position is that Adilson givesme more freedom. Mano used tofavor tactical positioning, butAdilson gives us the freedom toplay", said the player.

Elias said that the speed in whichthe team play has made a bigdifference, both for the team as a

whole as well as for his own development.Besides applying pressure on the opponentas soon as possible, players seek to takeadvantage of the gaps in opponent'sdefense by faster response.

Adilson trains to ensure that midfielders andstrikers quickly build and finish their attacks.In certain activities the coach actually timeshow long it takes for the team to reach theopponent's goal.

55

Brazilien Corner

SPEED IS SYMBOLICFOR ADILSON BATISTAAT CORINTHIANS

The Brazilian corner is a contribution from

Universidade do Futebol

www.universidadedofutebol.com.br



56

Whenever we hear of Alex Ferguson, one offootballs all time great managers, it’s mostlyin the context of his accomplishments, thesilver ware he has won and of course thehuge amount of pleasure his teams havegiven so many people in so many placesover the years. It’s almost impossible tospeak of anything else, as his success in thegame is that immense. But, there's a side tothis great manager that not everyone seesor hears about. There are parts of his storythat are overshadowed by the success.Experiences that he’s gone through, thatmost others on the same path have gonethrough but have slowly faded out of thepicture and out of the profession. And thereason we’re fortunate enough to be able toread and learn from him, is that he was

strong enough to ‘stay in the game’ and hehas that quality of perseverance that he sooften speaks about. We don’t hear aboutthe others as they didn’t last. They lackedmental toughness and they lackedperseverance. And it could be said that a lotof these tough experiences played such alarge role in the shaping of such a greatmanager.

‘He had come from the shipyards ofGovan and he wasn’t going back therewithout a fight. And fight he did - withanyone, any authority, anything that

stood between him and success.’

Andy Melvin,former Aberdeen journalist

CO

LUM

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By: Anthony Hudson

COACHING LESSONS TOUGH TIMES

ShapingGreat Managers PART 1

Sir Alex Ferguson


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Perseverance Sir Alex became manager of Aberdeen in1978 after being ‘sacked’ by St Mirren, onlyhis second job as a young manager. Andshortly after joining his new club, anindustrial tribunal hung over his head andpublicly labeled him, what now seems to bethe most ludicrous statement in the historyof the game; they deemed his as‘possessing neither by experience nortalent, any managerial ability at all’. Say no

more! It goes to show how very dangerousopinions can be, especially if notquestioned and ignorance takes over. Thankgoodness Sir Alex took absolutely no notice- another quality that has served him sowell. To look back at this situation fromwhere we are now is very easy, but it can’thave been that easy for a young manager,unproven, having just been fired and nowwalking in to a brand new, very ‘large’managerial position.

‘I’M NOT A CONFIDENT PERSON AT ALL. I WORRY LIKE HELL ABOUT

ALL SORTS OF THINGS. TEAM TALKS, FOR INSTANCE.’

Alex Ferguson, 1983


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And it didn’t get too much easier. His firstseason of trying to bed in his ownphilosophy, and get this crop of extremelytalented young Scottish players to do thingshis way; was not as plain sailing as historymay suggest - from all the triumph’s that wesee in the record books.

‘It was a shattering experience,’ he laterconfessed. ‘For the first time in my life Icouldn’t wait for the season to end. Theplayers resented the way I wanted to changecertain ideas. They were suspicious of myintentions.’ By his own account, he had atroubled time at the start of his Aberdeenmanagerial career. Even the players noticeda sense of unease and uncertainty in therenew manager, ‘he came fairly quiet amongus at first.’ said Gordon Strachan. ‘It seemsat times some of our older lads were tryingto run the training sessions, dictating howthe free kicks should be taken and so on.’And during such a tough beginning to histime at Aberdeen, the results didn’t go in hisfavor either.

However, Ferguson took on Aberdeen withhis whole life, stuck to his beliefs,persevered and went on to win the ScottishPremier League (three Times), the ScottishCup (four times), the League Cup, the UEFASuper Cup and of course the UEFA CupWinners’ Cup against the mighty RealMadrid – making this one of the greatestperiods in the club’s history.

‘What he did at Aberdeen was almostmiraculous.’ stated journalist HughMcIlvanny.

There are many lessons throughout his career,but what a fantastic example for coaches andmanagers making there way in the game – ifyou don’t have PERSERVERENCE, you mayas well give up now.

SacrificeSacrifice is another quality that is so evidentand strong in his life, especially as a youngmanager. He had and still has an appetitefor the game that is so intense in quality.And sacrifice is a word not just for Sir Alexbut also it seems for the Ferguson family,who over the years have had to adjust, copeand really manage being the family of oneof the games top men.

Back in Scotland, at St Mirren (his secondrole as manager), he used to be the first onein, and ‘he’d still be there until eight or nine,’said Harold Currie, his chairman. Even onthe training field, Bob McCulley recalls,‘Time didn’t matter to him, he never wore awatch. If he wanted something done, he’dstay as late as it took, or come in early.’ AndFerguson’s dedication is all the moreremarkable given he was working part timeand still running his pub, Fergie’s.

‘I had that burning desire to change theworld’ he stated.

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‘Day or night he’d be totally running StMirren. And with that attitude, all the playersand all the people at the club could see thatexample to follow, and this is where you getthe leadership. He was building a club, notjust a team.’ Said former captain TonyFitzpatrick.

Ferguson speaks of his early days and howhe and his assistant would never go a weekwithout going to watch at least one game tolook at players, to keep up and stay aheadof everyone else. If they missed one game,‘then they knew they’d miss another, thenanother, and eventually they’d stop going’ –a thought too devastating to evencontemplate.

‘My assistant and I would drive six hours towatch one and a half hours football, andthen be up for training in the morning. Therewasn’t time for anything else.’ Fergusonremembers.

‘He was so wound up. He’d come inand kick the half-time tea tray all

over the place because we weren’tplaying.’

Centre forward, Jim Meakin

Mind games and high standardsFerguson has a reputation of having theability to be extremely volatile and I don’tthink there are too many people that would

try and cross him, and get away with it. Itseems that his early years were a little morecolorful than they are now and the way inwhich he got players to respond, some maysay, was either extremely clever or juststraightforward and ruthless.

Regardless of what we perceive; one thing’sfor sure, it was entirely motivated by aburning desire to win and be successful –and it worked.

Coaches and managers have differentstyles and ways of motivating there players.And it’s fantastic to hear some ofFerguson’s comments and beliefs, as itgives you a very strong idea of how heoperated and where he came from, ‘there’sonly way for me – or anybody associatedwith me, and that’s winning. I’m not in thisgame to be a middle of the road manager,or a ‘nearly’ manager. I’m in it to wineverything. And the players are bred thatway.’ And breed players he did.

Now thousands of books have been writtenon subjects such as psychology and mindgames. Many people talk about it, but veryfew have lived it. And very few have beenbrave enough to try new things, apply themand come out truly successful, in the face ofsuch consistent adversity. I think mind gamesis an appropriate term for how Fergie dealt(maybe still deals) with his players, or should Isay, played with them. He kept them on their


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toes, for some, constantly guessing what he’sgoing to do, wary that he may ‘dig’ into themnext. Others loved him and wanted to fightand play for him. And then there was theplayers’ that loathed him and wanted to provehim wrong. He cleverly exploited therepersonalities for the benefit of performing tothere maximum for his team. He tested andprobed and found out who he could count on,to stand up to the real big challenges of beingsuccessful against the very best in the world.

‘Fergie put the fear of death in players,’ saidGordon Stracham ‘and used it asmotivation. But if you weren’t the victim, hemight give you a crafty wink as he left thedressing room.’

And as surprising as Fergie’s confession onlacking confidence, especially with teamtalks, is how it’s been recalled that he usedto plan and premeditate the famous ‘hairdryer’ treatment. ‘Ferguson often thoughtcarefully about what affect he wanted hiswords to have on his players. On oneoccasion he was found rehearsing one ofhis outburst in advance, enquiring of alistener, ‘Does that sound ok?’’ Fantastic!

Results speak for themselves, and hecertainly got the desired response from hisplayers. ‘He motivated every player in adifferent way,’ Willie Miller once said. ‘Somehe’d leave alone, some he’d make play bymaking them dislike him.’

And he set such high standards for himselfand his players, which give us a magnificentinsight into a completely different standardthat most people hold themselves and thereplayers to.

‘I thought we’d played well, but he felt ourpassing was awful and he let us know it. Iwas silly enough to say, ‘what the f@ck areyou looking for? We won 5-0. Are you nothappy?’ He came over and gave me a Fergiespecial. He told me in no uncertain terms thathe was the manager and it was his standardsthat counted. It makes you look at it. Eventhough you won 5-0, there’s still room forimprovement.’ Tony Fitzpatrick, St Mirrencaptain. What I love about Ferguson, abouthis story and his approach, is the fact as acoach you can hear this and learn so verymuch. And at the age of 68, his appetite forthe game only seems to have got bigger!

Coaching lessons:1. Tough Times Shape Great Coaches – If

You Persevere!2. Sacrifice – Be Willing To Give

Everything You Have3. Set High Standards for Yourself and

Your Players4. Man Management – Are You Brave To

Affect Your Players in Different Ways?

Anthony Hudson UEFA ‘A’ License

[email protected]

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