voldemort

You can ask him anything about football and he will explain you the different nuances of the game in detail without regard for time - such is his passion for the world’s most popular game.
His credentials speak for themselves. He has been a member of the Moroccan ministry of Sports and Youth Development and coached both at club levels, for example at Woodland Wellington in Singapore and international level, as the national team coach of Brunei.
Churchill Brothers have been doing really well of late. What has been the secret of their success?
Actually when teams have success, there is a lot of hype around the squad and everyone wants to show that he has played a part in the progress. When the team is not successful all these people disappear and the blame goes to the coach.
But I always say that ‘Rome was not built in a day’. The seeds were sown earlier and this team worked hard for over a year to reach this level. But the credit mainly goes to the players. You can take nothing away from them.
Your team looks very fit and have heard that your training methods are very intensive.
We had a hard pre-season with morning and afternoon training sessions. Players end some of practices on their knees. And this hard work pays during league matches.
Your team doesn’t have any big name except for Odafa of course, yet you seem to perform very well.
We have only very few players in the national team squad; Arindam and Gouramangi Singh. That why I tell the players that we’re not the best and we have to play to our strengths which primarily is our fitness and organization.
We try to maintain our shape and formation during games
What is the formation you generally use?
I mostly use 4-4-2 as it suits the type of players we have and it helps us both in our attacks and while defending. At times, we also use 4-3-3 depending on the situation. I explain to my players why they need to do what they are asked to do. It’s essential to convince them about their work otherwise, thay may feel that it’s just the coach ordering.
Once they believe in the instructions then they give one hundred percent without any doubts. Players need to have a mindset. I also ask for feedback from my players.
You have got the best out of players we had never heard of. Take for example Gouramangi Singh. He never played at Mohun Bagan, Sporting, Mahindra or Dempo.
Firstly, credit must go to the player himself. He never gave up practicing and waited for his chance. It’s tough to sit on the bench but he had hope and when he got the chance he grabbed it with both hands.
Secondly, the credit goes to Indian national team coach Bob Houghton. He believed in his abilities. He told me that you can trust this boy. He is a good defender and will do the job.
Thirdly, credit must go to our club for providing him the right atmosphere for him to blossom and prove his capabilities.
Which team do you follow internationally?
Firstly, I’m always the fan of the club I’m coaching. I love watching Arsenal and Barcelona. More so, Arsenal for they have a philosophy which I like. I always watch their games as an expert and try to understand their strategies. They play beautiful one/two touch football with lots of movement and their team is young like ours.
You have been coaching for quite some time in the Asian continent. Where do you think India lags behind when compared to some of the Asian teams?
The Indian players are hardworking and give their all when on the pitch. The one area where the Indian football is behind is the aspect of fitness and athleticism. Football is not all about skills. You need good athletes too.
For this, to change you will have to start at the right grass root level. If you have a 14 year- old boy who is short and skillful, and another tall but less skillful as compared to the first one; go for the tall one as you can groom him. You see the famous Taj Mahal in Agra. How was it made? You need architects, decorators, etc but most importantly, you need strong people to carry the marble slabs.
In the Indian team, there are hardly strong builders. For example the French team which won the World Cup in 98; Vieira, Makelele, Zidane, Thuram, Dessaily were all strong and good athletes. Take the Italian team from last year’s World Cup. Were they the most skillful? I don’t think so. But they are strong tall players. So, you need to have few players of that sort to make a more competitive team.
Now, a question with respect to the foreign quota. This year each club is allowed to have four foreigners. Many have raised their eyebrows against this issue saying that the Indians won’t get as many chances to play. What do you have to say?
You see internationally, there is no league without foreigners. Football these days is not just about the game. There are fans, sponsors and a lot of things related. Foreigners add taste to the league. To resolve this issue and have big pool of local talent you need firstly to increase the number of clubs competing in the I-League.
Secondly, as I said earlier, right scouting for talent should be in place at the grass roots level. You need some good athletes. I have to admit that at the club level it is essential to have foreign players and you have to accept it. Without the foreign players, the league won’t be as interesting as it is.






source:goal.com