The invasion game the hoarding way

The evolving game usually attracted much attention when tactics changed specifically at Fifa World Cups when millions of viewers got the opportunity to spend some time watching other countries they never saw or heard of playing football. 

For most of all we know, this sport is essentially an invasion game. The longevity of that truth depends on the horizons of your imagination. By default or by design, graphic illustrations of this fact is borne by most of the English Premier League teams as well as Real Madrid.

There is however another phenomenon, known to all but not given rightful attention as the modern game. On a good day, especially during the good old Arsenal days, we saw plenty of it. Harry Redknapp made it a Spurs trademark during his colourful White Hart Lane career. Swansea are exciting people with it but it is the monopoly of Barcelona. We are in the advent of the hording game; the 'catch me if you can' display.

It can be argued that while hording the ball, the intention is to ultimately invade the opposition goal. That becomes as true as institution of a domestic marriage. Couples do not necessarily marry for conjugal rights, though it is the ritual end game.

As for football, like many ball sports, the opposition gets outmaneuvered by precise technical and witty tactical ingenuity surpassing efforts of highly trained secret agents. More so, the game outside England if you discount recent strides the latest transformation made. Even then, it is attributed to foreigners.

Carrying the ball forward and thumping it in 'route one' fashion have been the norm, and seldom with later developments that convinced us that the art of elimination was the answer to everything. In the process, brutal force and sometimes mere determination and team spirit carried the day.

Football needed peeling off this inept syndrome and replace it with a formula that could sustain the two pronged outcome, to produce the results game after game, year after year and for seasons while entertaining the fans. That became the cornerstone of the Spanish's European (twice) and Fifa World Cup success. It took Barca from glory to glory perennially.

Granted, like the pressing of Arrigho Sacchi a few decades ago, it may see its better days, but it will not be anytime soon. Countering the passing game for now, will be a better passing game.

Interceptions in midfield will become better and screening will fade away to give way to winning the ball up field. That is very much physically taxing and tactically not unsustainable. The deliberate short passing game in one channel in order to attract traffic into that channel and then suddenly playing very long and wide to the weaker channel may the next big thing.

This need the Gareth Bales and Aaron Lennons, because they are the players you will need to pick up with that long ball on either channel. Like many systems we toy around with nowadays, these things existed, but occurred unintentionally and much less attention was given to their development as winning strategies.

The need of technically superior players is greatly appreciated the world over and with much better preparation and understanding, the game will continue to be studied and improved until it comes full circle. This is true of how Stoke City resembled Wimbledon sometime back, though is a polished way. They now play the ball on the deck.They have players to do it, but when you are still lulled by the deft skills of the big men, they hit teams with that one ball, kicked or thrown in.

Just how deceptive these guys are, one has to look at their recent victory over Liverpool. When getting into crossing positions, all and sundry would have put their tools on the chopping board for a delivery of a high cross. As an element of surprise, a low ball was met by Kenwyne Jones at the near post for that stylish back heel finish.

Essentially, the sophistication of the game as we know it today has been caused by the intrinsic details that have turned out to be the difference between victors and victims. Small things make the big things happen. Get the details right and everything will fall into place. 

The English and the Brazilians

We put to bed the story of the grueling 2 weeks at the cold remote Staffordshire countryside at Burton-upon-Trent, England, for a training course that became a lifetime experience meant to change some of our lives forever. I intend comparing my experiences of the sunny and warm beaches of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, almost 12 years to the day prior.

Brazil smells football, no matter where you are and you feel it in the air. It sounds like an exaggeration until one lands there. Eighteen participants from around the world attended. England was a little reserved and many have different interests away from the game. There was double the attendance.

Let me leave the Copa Cabana beaches and its tails and shenanigans before I lose the trend. It took over 5 weeks to deliver an Advanced Diploma on Brazilian for Foreign Coaches and Trainers. The length of time visibly favoured the completeness of things that were looked at, compared to the English scenario.

The International License emphasised how to coach while the Advanced Diploma was more of what to coach. Both dissected the details and fundamentals in different styles. The latest coaching techniques included dealing with the individual, the unit and the team through simple technical practices, small-sided games, functional training and phases of play.

How one handled a training session and thoroughly works his objective out the organization, presents the topic, identified the coaching points, stopped the sessions and corrected the mistakes were key to successfully complete the International License. The eye for detail was paramount.

Some of the challenges one likely faces is changing normal coaching behaviour while trying to stay in line with new ways and means. This proved vital and visits to Aston Villa Football Club and Academy cemented the ideality of the FA’s approach to the Future Game.

Villa, also teams like Stoke City, Birmingham and Crystal Palace, have their own philosophies as institutions while their coaches want the game played in a certain way as individuals. Some clubs become fortunate to share their vision with the coaches they hire, making it easy for junior development to merge with senior team expectation.

As the world’s most interesting and watched league, the quest to be best is obvious in the way the FA presents the course and the details are enshrined in the philosophy as given in the books, ‘The Future Game’ of both youth football and the elite football coaches.

Much emphasise is also placed in how the English want to be better everytime, though it may be tough to see this through given the modest record of their youth and senior teams in major tournament, but that is exactly what the whole new concept seeks to address.

That success will depend on how much compliant the custodians of the game are on their own prescription and the acceptance levels of possible new leadership as the buttons get passed from generation to generation.

Of interest is how the association learns from other successful football powers like Spain, Holland and Germany. Research and investigations going on amongst these superpowers inspires everyone who works the game as their way of life. Visits have been made to Barcelona, Real Madrid and Ajax among others, just to pin down the details of success.

The whole process obviously does not mutate overnight to be a carbon copy of the other association as it is affected by the manpower and quality of material at their disposal. Anyway, there is much going on that can be said but the course opens one’s eyes in understanding what the world sees when looking at the English game and how one can improve themselves as a coach to improve team performance.

The vital points were promoting learning of players and improving performance by critical analysis of one’s training sessions and finding better means and ways to improve oneself as a coach by utilising the resources at one’s disposal.

The downside was the short-time given to deliver an assessment session and trying to incorporate all one has to in basically less than 25 minutes. This challenged the thought process tremendously causing panics and lapses in concentration at vital moments.

The coolest thing was introducing an aspect only available for the UEFA A License; the assessment DVD. Everyone’s session was recorded live with full audio on a disc that was made available to the candidates less than a minute after completing their sessions. It cannot get better than that.

Besides, it afforded us the full membership to the FA Licensed Football Coaches' Club. I can tell you that it is not many of us who belong to that elite group and I forgive you for jealousing me. As a member, the entitlements include but are not limited to discounts to courses and purchased materials, access to magazines as well as websites that that have useful resourses.  

On the other hand, this is what Brazilians had in their pot. With the luxury of double the time, basic technique training and physical tests were the starting points. This went on to planning on a larger scale. The planning included long term periodisation and scheduling extending to over 4 years all the way down to putting the session under a microscope.

Much emphasis was placed on tactics, match analysis and utilising data and information. What data to collecting and maximum use of that information took a large chunk of the time.

As an example, what one looked for when teams were playing and trying to identify the problems and then finding the solution the players needed could have been done by a better man than the coach who had won the Fifa World Cup in 1994, Carlos Alberto Parreira. The Brazil scout who had collected data for the national team for over 20 years became the cornerstone as the resource person to support the theories.

They believed in dividing the pitch into thirds along into channels labeled strong to weak depending on the amount of traffic and across into the common attacking, midfield and defending zones. The matches get divided the same way; 0-30 minutes, 30-60 and 60-90 minutes. Of much interest are the events happening in these field and time zones and to exploit them or create issues for opponents to deal with.

You can see how comprehensive a deal these two put together can be. I have no doubt in my mind how both can be different at any time and have additions of each other at different levels.

Actually, the Advanced Diploma was holistic and complete to the point that one had to do a degree with the Brazilian universities to get more. The FA complied as much as material as possible for the available time and for a certain level of coaching. There is a further 2 or 3 steps over extended periods of time for which the participants can enroll and be appraised. Mathematically, the time will equal or exceed the other version and with the evolution of the game and technology, many more aspects would be covered.

As you can guess, the umpteenth world champions made assessment on both theory presentations and longer practical coaching. Other facts and factors can be purely subjective. With the gap between the best and the worst teams narrowing, it will interest many that a single minute detail decides the champions and the rest. Just one touch or lack of.

One day England will take their rightful place as the owners of the global game that has been fairly dominated by Brazil until now. I would not mind revisiting Rio de Janeiro, but the institute initiated by former Fifa President, Joao Havelange, ran and operated by the able Professors Neto Esphezim, Carlos Alberto Perreira, Julio Ceaser Leal, Sebastao Araujo and Paifa Lula among other think tanks, may not be the same I attended.

If it was a CBF baby, like the St George’s Football Centre, one would be assured that time after time and game after game the system and the walls would remain standing, until the cows come home.

        

Enjoy a Merry footballing Christmas

Merry Christmas to those it may concern. English Premier League players do not have much luxury to wine and dine as most are in camps for the Boxing Day fixtures. Go on, indulge yourself and treat yourself with an extra drink and cake slice on their behalf. If anyone asks, tell them I said so.

The weekend football was interesting and surprising in many ways but I will only sing praises for Swansea. You got to love this team. Their patient build up of every attack are so well thought out and their spirit is commendable. It is not just how they bullied Manchester United and drew out harsh criticism from Sir Alex Ferguson, they played what I call sweet football.

Let us mention Chelsea demolition of Aston Villa by an avalanche of an octa-salvo. It may have been the effects of the Fifa Club World Cup or just a frustration venting stampede and poor Villa were on their way. Not that Villa played badly though they could have done much with the ball and defended much better. It might have been the Rafa Benitez effect, whereby he induced some sense of guilt or just pure luck.

Many would wish not to remember Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid. I draw a lot of criticism of seeing that average team being just that - average. They are driven by too much money and hindered by even too much coaching. Frankly, The Only One is now a disservice to the Galatico. They play far too tense and very rigid.

It is not their failure to defend that is amazing, but also the way they miss simple chances. Teams playing Madrid so far have scored so many simple goals that Madrid failed to convert. This turns out to be invitation to trouble as small teams smell blood and throw everything into the game. One thing a good team needs is never to prove that they can be beaten.

I still think that only a few players can win a place in the Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester City or United line-ups. That is how bad they are. Cristiano Ronaldo is a highly talented player probably suffering the publicity fatigue. His dependability hit a knock every time there is strong comparison with Lionel Messi. In rare spells of brilliance, he dances with him toe-to-toe until he gives in to media attention disorder.

The Messi records dismembered his game completely at a time Madrid needed a players of his or Messi's calibre. The Bernebeu camp this season needed a talisman who could turn nothing into a win and exactly when that needed to happen, Ronaldo failed to turn up to the party. The team needs a crazy game changing player for now and if Cristiano cannot do it, who in the world can?

Just to quash one belief that everything looks bigger on TV, unless you watch them live week in and week out, you may just have a slight clue that Stoke City have tall players. Wait until you see the team, from back to front. Those guys are huge. I mean huge. TV does not do justice to their heights and sizes and in their case, they are much smaller on your screen than they really are.

Again, merry Christmas

FA courses the best?

It is tempting to accept that the FA International License is an UEFA A or Pro License as has been reported elsewhere. The last post tried to put things into perspective but let us get a little more detail in.

Content for this level came from UEFA C and B scopes of work but very much compressed. Awarding of the certificate varied depending on the individual evaluation of the participants by the course tutors. Recommendations were made for attendance of different UEFA Licenses accordingly.

The FA material has been deemed high level that their domestic programs are the UEFA equivalents. This makes more sense that the awards were strict to protect their name. Elsewhere, many of us would have been recommended for very high grades as other association would love to market their products overseas.

This program accommodated a variety of coaches with vast differences of the understanding of the game and it necessitated a lot of patience from the experienced people in the group. Asking all the questions and responding to each and every question asked had the potential of breaking down others. It would lead to more discussion from the participants than the delivery of the contents from the tutors.

I must say that at the end of the day, the benefits were immense and the experience invaluable. While I will take time to evaluate the course in comparison to one of the same nature and content from Brazil, it is not out of question how the English benefitted from this kind of operation in the long run.

For an example, like in many international courses, the hosts expose the participants to their football philosophy and how they intend to achieve that. In the learning process, these candidates embrace comprehensively the aspects they are fed with.

This leads to adoption as a personal coaching philosophy to many. Those utilising these methodologies become predictable to these institutions’ coaching stuff, if they were to reach the national teams or clubs playing international football. It does not necessarily make it easy say for English teams playing my teams after getting my badges from there, but it would be easier to predict.

While the sessions are delivered, one thing for sure, it is not possible to duplicate and implement the styles and understand them in totality. It remains an individual thing. One thing to know is that there are no ‘secrets’ in football and this is one ‘secret’ they will tell you and as you guessed it, the federations conducting these lectures will never reveal the ‘secrets’.

With all due respect to other football associations around the world, while they offer up to UEFA Pro License, you cannot be further from the truth in taking it with a pinch of salt if it is not from the FA and to get it from there, you may have to break a bank or move house to England. Either way, you pay with body and soul but when you finally get it, you know there is no better prize for all you invested in it.

Watch International bright young things

Video:
St. George's Park hosted The FA International Licence Course last week, with seven promising coaches from around the world learning at the venue.
http://www.thefa.com/video.aspx?bcpid=61747221001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAABqi8H-k~,gG6o9IHMK6zE6X7Gy8ogWcE0SDaDfSAE&bclid=59754684001&bctid=2038306914001

Adam Ndlovu The Great: Rest in Peace

Adam Ndlovu loved football and his country to bits. My first encounter with the football hero was about 20 years ago in Zimbabwe. I was trying my luck as a player at Highlanders FC at the Club House and sessions moved to Nguboyenja grounds sometimes.

Many will remember that Zimbabwe was an African power house during those days of Reinhard Fabisch’s Dream Team. Adam, like other national team players were available for clubs once in a while. Roy Barretto would arrange separate recuperation session for them.

Together with the late Benjamin Nkonjera, the late Mercedes Rambo Sibanda, Rahman Gumbo, Willard Mashinkila Khumalo and his brother Madinda Khathazile, they made the jovial noise at training following their successful exploits in the national team, and we envied them.

Nkonjera was known as a practical joker and very much the most vocal, rivaling Rambo and Mashinkila. Rahman and Adam always wore their national team jerseys at training. What made Adamski a cut among that crop, not even Nkonjera caught him with his pants down. He wore the national team jersey with honour and respect, and made sure everybody called him the way he wanted, including Makanaky.

Adam wanted to be known as ‘The Nation’s Number 9’ (Unamba 9 wesizwe) That is the only way he would respond to anybody – not Adamski, Mirro or even Mr Ndlovu. Benjie would try to pull all the stunts and sing and shout. Not until he said the ‘code’ – The number 9 of the country. This is not to say there were no prouder players, but I am still to see that kind of passion anywhere.

His national caps and records are everywhere on the Internet for all to see, but it is the things like these that one does not get to see or hear often that can make one respect the man.

I was a novice until he left for overseas, and Adam came to complete his career in his home country and I happened to meet him in his home country, again. This time I had just completed my tenure at Highlanders FC as a Technical Advisor following the ill-fated Africa Champions League debacle against Young Africans of Tanzania.

He was closely attached to Stuart Murisa and every time I attended the late Eddie May’s training sessions, we drove together and he dropped me ‘home’ in Famona. He would propose a visit to Mater Dei hospital in the days the late Mrs Editor Ngwenya-Sibanda was hospitalized (– Ernest Maphepha Sibanda’s wife.)

Instead of taking me home he would invite me for coffee at Haefellis Café or his Selbourne Park dwelling. In all this, he acted with exceptional quality of a very mature statesman. Murisa was a talkative and jocular person who liked to tease Adam. In most of his responses, Adam would insist that he was ‘a man of class’.

I must say that I was amazed at his ability to recognize me at the second meeting when he came from overseas. Remember I was about 13^th in the ranking of being the Bosso keeper before he left for overseas. I was a nobody.

At the time he came to South Africa playing for Moroka Swallows, we met when they played Bidvest Wits at the campus. He asked me if I cared joining Swallows. He introduced me to their officials who had a post in the development side. I was not prepared to coach then, let alone a development side.

‘The Nation’s Number 9’ did not rest, connecting me to his then agent, Gordon Ndlovu, who orchestrated his move to Dynamos. Gordon also tried his best in moving me to Alex United which did not materialize. We kept contact with Adam and he appraised me on some of the things he did on the field of play.

All this proved the humility of Adam Ndlovu - The Great. You will never find a humbler person. He was a sensitive giant and lived a very good life. It amazed me the respect he gave someone like myself, not because it was me, but he did that to all who were around him. He was an amazing character, strong and true.

We will miss you Adam Ndlovu and may your good soul rest in eternal peace.

Adam Ndlovu’s remains will be laid to rest in his home town of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The former football great, passed on following a car accident near Victoria Falls and his brother, Peter Ndlovu sustained serious injuries.

Adam Ndlovu The Great: Rest in Peace

Adam Ndlovu loved football and his country to bits. My first encounter with the football hero was about 20 years ago in Zimbabwe. I was trying my luck as a player at Highlanders FC at the Club House and sessions moved to Nguboyenja grounds sometimes.

Many will remember that Zimbabwe was an African power house during those days of Reinhard Fabisch’s Dream Team. Adam, like other national team players were available for clubs once in a while. Roy Barretto would arrange separate recuperation session for them.

Together with the late Benjamin Nkonjera, the late Mercedes Rambo Sibanda, Rahman Gumbo, Willard Mashinkila Khumalo and his brother Madinda Khathazile, they made the jovial noise at training following their successful exploits in the national team, and we envied them.

Nkonjera was known as a practical joker and very much the most vocal, rivaling Rambo and Mashinkila. Rahman and Adam always wore their national team jerseys at training. What made Adamski a cut among that crop, not even Nkonjera caught him with his pants down. He wore the national team jersey with honour and respect, and made sure everybody called him the way he wanted, including Makanaky.

Adam wanted to be known as ‘The Nation’s Number 9’ (Unamba 9 wesizwe) That is the only way he would respond to anybody – not Adamski, Mirro or even Mr Ndlovu. Benjie would try to pull all the stunts and sing and shout. Not until he said the ‘code’ – The number 9 of the country. This is not to say there were no prouder players, but I am still to see that kind of passion anywhere.

His national caps and records are everywhere on the Internet for all to see, but it is the things like these that one does not get to see or hear often that can make one respect the man.

I was a novice until he left for overseas, and Adam came to complete his career in his home country and I happened to meet him in his home country, again. This time I had just completed my tenure at Highlanders FC as a Technical Advisor following the ill-fated Africa Champions League debacle against Young Africans of Tanzania.

He was closely attached to Stuart Murisa and every time I attended the late Eddie May’s training sessions, we drove together and he dropped me ‘home’ in Famona. He would propose a visit to Mater Dei hospital in the days the late Mrs Editor Ngwenya-Sibanda was hospitalized (– Ernest Maphepha Sibanda’s wife.)

Instead of taking me home he would invite me for coffee at Haefellis Café or his Selbourne Park dwelling. In all this, he acted with exceptional quality of a very mature statesman. Murisa was a talkative and jocular person who liked to tease Adam. In most of his responses, Adam would insist that he was ‘a man of class’.

I must say that I was amazed at his ability to recognize me at the second meeting when he came from overseas. Remember I was about 13^th in the ranking of being the Bosso keeper before he left for overseas. I was a nobody.

At the time he came to South Africa playing for Moroka Swallows, we met when they played Bidvest Wits at the campus. He asked me if I cared joining Swallows. He introduced me to their officials who had a post in the development side. I was not prepared to coach then, let alone a development side.

‘The Nation’s Number 9’ did not rest, connecting me to his then agent, Gordon Ndlovu, who orchestrated his move to Dynamos. Gordon also tried his best in moving me to Alex United which did not materialize. We kept contact with Adam and he appraised me on some of the things he did on the field of play.

All this proved the humility of Adam Ndlovu - The Great. You will never find a humbler person. He was a sensitive giant and lived a very good life. It amazed me the respect he gave someone like myself, not because it was me, but he did that to all who were around him. He was an amazing character, strong and true.

We will miss you Adam Ndlovu and may your good soul rest in eternal peace.

Adam Ndlovu’s remains will be laid to rest in his home town of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The former football great, passed on following a car accident near Victoria Falls and his brother, Peter Ndlovu sustained serious injuries.

FA International course in England

For a while now, there has not been many posts and even the last few months saw a few borrowed posts by a close friend. I trust we will roll up a few things about my latest trip overseas. Those familiar with my travels must be confused which side is overseas by now.

I attended a high level FA International License coaching course at the St George's Park Football Centre. This is located in a quiet location of Staffordshire, Burton-upon-Trent. It is the state-of-the-art centre of excellence with amazing latest technology in sports science and rehabilitation that money can buy. There is only eight such centres globally, five of which are in the USA.

The complex basically comprises the hotel meant to cater for the England megastar players in football, rugby, cricket and executives among others, which includes 24 England national teams. There are over a dozen football fields, a Wembley replica indoor arena with maximum FIFA measurements as well as an outdoor actual size Wembley pitch made from the same materials produced by the same machines.

There is so much high-tech equipment to d things one cannot imagine but I will spare you the details. The project took 11 years and cost over 100 million British pounds. One to say is that the whole area is infested with every bit of football in terms of history and records and is a sure sign of the English pride in their game.

More importantly, England are entering an era whereby they are on a path to formulate and strategise with their new philosophy. They want to play football in a certain way and they are planting this philosophy to their youth development programs through coach education and other means.

This led to the restructuring of their coach education to be in a certain way and be aligned with the UEFA coaching license programs. This made their badges the most demanding, highly rated and not so easy to get. Due to their schedules and assessment modes, foreign coaches fail to access them as they are designed for resident students.

With all this, I am sure I convinced you that despite my abilities being over-rated, I did not do as well as expected. Given my record and experience, it was one of the most devastating days of my life in football. All went well until assessment time. Both were bad, the first in my opinion and the second, according to the course expectations. We will look at a few details and the individuals in due course.

For now, forget about yours truly who dominated the South American beautiful game in Rio de Janeiro a dozen years ago. That was then and now is now, but there is always a but.