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Saturday, June 09, 2007
We are now just about a year away from the start of Jamaica's qualification phase for the football World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
Last Tuesday's Friendly International against Chile at the National Stadium and others being lined up by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) over the next several months are all about that.
International football coaches are a law onto themselves when it comes to philosophy and approach. It is clear that for Mr Bora Milutinovic, assessing a wide array of players - including a few who were virtual unknowns prior to his arrival - and testing them in international competition are important elements in his preparation.
By choosing only a few overseas-based professionals for the Chile game, despite the availability of several more, Mr Milutinovic has sent the clear message to local semi-professionals and amateurs that they too have a chance to make the cut next year.
Also, winning for him is not a priority right now. Rather, he wants to get his players accustomed to an approach to football that he believes will make them winners next year.
Says he: "I know the public likes to win, .But I hope you understand what is the difference between winning the game and being winners. We need to prepare the team to be winners."
That, however, may not be good news for the cash-strapped JFF which needs strong crowd support at Friendly Internationals to generate revenue.
The hope will be that even without an emphasis on winning, Mr Milutinovic's teams will win more than they lose and at the same time play the kind of football that will prove attractive to the eye - enough to keep the Jamaican support base interested and supportive.
From where this newspaper sits, the performance against Chile, even without several top overseas professionals and even in defeat, deserved applause. The team appeared reasonably compact and confident, ball passing and utilisation of the field were quite good and there were individuals, not least Messrs Luton Shelton and Mario Swaby, who whetted the appetite.
We worry, however, at the evidence that many who come out to support the Reggae Boyz appear to be out of sync. How else to explain the descent into booing on occasions during Tuesday night's game? It was noticeable that those booing episodes - which from a distance appeared to have a disconcerting effect on the players - occurred when, in the absence of an obvious forward pass and in an effort to avoid losing the ball, the players moved it backwards to their own defensive third.
In established football cultures, spectators know that keeping possession of the football is of paramount importance, even if in order to do so a back pass to the goalkeeper is required. Recklessly giving the ball away only provides the opposition with opportunities to hurt you.
It is clear that some among our football lovers do not understand that basic concept. Perhaps, during the build-up to the qualifying campaign Jamaica's top coaches and football journalists should make a conscious effort to get the football public more aware of the tactics and strategies in the game.
We are now just about a year away from the start of Jamaica's qualification phase for the football World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
Last Tuesday's Friendly International against Chile at the National Stadium and others being lined up by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) over the next several months are all about that.
International football coaches are a law onto themselves when it comes to philosophy and approach. It is clear that for Mr Bora Milutinovic, assessing a wide array of players - including a few who were virtual unknowns prior to his arrival - and testing them in international competition are important elements in his preparation.
By choosing only a few overseas-based professionals for the Chile game, despite the availability of several more, Mr Milutinovic has sent the clear message to local semi-professionals and amateurs that they too have a chance to make the cut next year.
Also, winning for him is not a priority right now. Rather, he wants to get his players accustomed to an approach to football that he believes will make them winners next year.
Says he: "I know the public likes to win, .But I hope you understand what is the difference between winning the game and being winners. We need to prepare the team to be winners."
That, however, may not be good news for the cash-strapped JFF which needs strong crowd support at Friendly Internationals to generate revenue.
The hope will be that even without an emphasis on winning, Mr Milutinovic's teams will win more than they lose and at the same time play the kind of football that will prove attractive to the eye - enough to keep the Jamaican support base interested and supportive.
From where this newspaper sits, the performance against Chile, even without several top overseas professionals and even in defeat, deserved applause. The team appeared reasonably compact and confident, ball passing and utilisation of the field were quite good and there were individuals, not least Messrs Luton Shelton and Mario Swaby, who whetted the appetite.
We worry, however, at the evidence that many who come out to support the Reggae Boyz appear to be out of sync. How else to explain the descent into booing on occasions during Tuesday night's game? It was noticeable that those booing episodes - which from a distance appeared to have a disconcerting effect on the players - occurred when, in the absence of an obvious forward pass and in an effort to avoid losing the ball, the players moved it backwards to their own defensive third.
In established football cultures, spectators know that keeping possession of the football is of paramount importance, even if in order to do so a back pass to the goalkeeper is required. Recklessly giving the ball away only provides the opposition with opportunities to hurt you.
It is clear that some among our football lovers do not understand that basic concept. Perhaps, during the build-up to the qualifying campaign Jamaica's top coaches and football journalists should make a conscious effort to get the football public more aware of the tactics and strategies in the game.
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