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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>A technical director's influence</SPAN>
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Saturday, January 13, 2007
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<P class=StoryText align=justify>Any attempt by a nation, or for that matter, a group to achieve a single goal requires co-operation and cohesion - an attempt to 'sing from the same hymn book'.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It's in that light that we note with approval, the recent meeting between new technical director for football Mr Bora Milutinovic and coaches of the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) to outline his philosophy and expectations.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We are told that Mr Milutinovic, who plans to hold similar meetings islandwide, attempted to share with coaches his approach to football and what he expects from them as they prepare players, a few of whom will graduate to national level.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In the words of one coach, Mr Keith Nichols ".It's basically (Mr Milutinovic) getting us to understand more of his philosophy and how to prepare players to fit into his programme."<P class=StoryText align=justify>Mr Milutinovic's aim, of course, is to qualify the Reggae Boyz for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and to make sure that once they get there, they compete effectively.<P class=StoryText align=justify>For the greater and national good, coaches must be prepared to take on board the technical director's tactical approach to football, so that there is a seamless flow for the players from the club level to the Reggae Boyz squad.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In this respect, Mr Milutinovic is asking of local coaches - perhaps with a quieter, less flamboyant approach - pretty much the same kind of tactical obedience that was asked of them by Brazilian Mr Rene Simoes in Jamaica's build-up to its historic qualification for the World Cup in 1998.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Football followers will recall that central to Mr Simoes' approach was a 5-3-2 formation, key elements of which were a sweeper behind two stoppers and an ultra-defensive midfielder. That 5-3-2 formation, now described in many quarters as too defensive and outdated, took hold at all levels in Jamaica's football.<P class=StoryText align=justify>As yet, the general public is unaware of the kind of tactics that Mr Milutinovic will bring as he takes the reins. What we know is that he is a coach of vast experience, having gone to the World Cup finals with various teams on five occasions.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We note that in addition to demanding of local coaches that they seek to enforce more tactical discipline, Mr Milutinovic is urging that a special effort be made to get a higher standard of competition for young players.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We would also urge the technical director to use his influence at every level to improve playing surfaces. For the technical deficiencies that he will have noticed affecting many of our talented young players have much to do with the inadequate fields on which they learnt football.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We would be dishonest if we were to suggest that there has been no movement for the better, in terms of playing surfaces. Certainly we are better off than we were when a shocked Mr Simoes first attempted to control a football on what was then a notoriously hard and bumpy National Stadium field.<P class=StoryText align=justify>There are a few surfaces around now that are better than the National Stadium was, back in the mid-1990s. But we still have a very, very long way to go. Please use your influence, Mr Milutinovic.
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Saturday, January 13, 2007
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<P class=StoryText align=justify>Any attempt by a nation, or for that matter, a group to achieve a single goal requires co-operation and cohesion - an attempt to 'sing from the same hymn book'.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It's in that light that we note with approval, the recent meeting between new technical director for football Mr Bora Milutinovic and coaches of the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) to outline his philosophy and expectations.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We are told that Mr Milutinovic, who plans to hold similar meetings islandwide, attempted to share with coaches his approach to football and what he expects from them as they prepare players, a few of whom will graduate to national level.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In the words of one coach, Mr Keith Nichols ".It's basically (Mr Milutinovic) getting us to understand more of his philosophy and how to prepare players to fit into his programme."<P class=StoryText align=justify>Mr Milutinovic's aim, of course, is to qualify the Reggae Boyz for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and to make sure that once they get there, they compete effectively.<P class=StoryText align=justify>For the greater and national good, coaches must be prepared to take on board the technical director's tactical approach to football, so that there is a seamless flow for the players from the club level to the Reggae Boyz squad.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In this respect, Mr Milutinovic is asking of local coaches - perhaps with a quieter, less flamboyant approach - pretty much the same kind of tactical obedience that was asked of them by Brazilian Mr Rene Simoes in Jamaica's build-up to its historic qualification for the World Cup in 1998.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Football followers will recall that central to Mr Simoes' approach was a 5-3-2 formation, key elements of which were a sweeper behind two stoppers and an ultra-defensive midfielder. That 5-3-2 formation, now described in many quarters as too defensive and outdated, took hold at all levels in Jamaica's football.<P class=StoryText align=justify>As yet, the general public is unaware of the kind of tactics that Mr Milutinovic will bring as he takes the reins. What we know is that he is a coach of vast experience, having gone to the World Cup finals with various teams on five occasions.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We note that in addition to demanding of local coaches that they seek to enforce more tactical discipline, Mr Milutinovic is urging that a special effort be made to get a higher standard of competition for young players.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We would also urge the technical director to use his influence at every level to improve playing surfaces. For the technical deficiencies that he will have noticed affecting many of our talented young players have much to do with the inadequate fields on which they learnt football.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We would be dishonest if we were to suggest that there has been no movement for the better, in terms of playing surfaces. Certainly we are better off than we were when a shocked Mr Simoes first attempted to control a football on what was then a notoriously hard and bumpy National Stadium field.<P class=StoryText align=justify>There are a few surfaces around now that are better than the National Stadium was, back in the mid-1990s. But we still have a very, very long way to go. Please use your influence, Mr Milutinovic.
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