Coaching beliefs bring success

Comparing different football philosophies is one of the key elements of a UEFA coach education course taking place this week – and has given hosts Greece the opportunity to explain their football's positive development in recent years.

Greek accession
Delegates at the 14th UEFA Coach Educators' Course in Crete heard about the reasons for Greece's accession to the European football élite as UEFA EURO 2004™ participants in a presentation and practical session by Hellenic Football Federation coach education director Aristotelis Batakis and the heads of the Olympiacos CFP and Hercules Thessaloniki academies, Sakis Dokas and Thomas Sentelidis.

Different influences
The course participants heard that Greek football had been influenced by different styles of play over the years. This was because of the high number of foreign coaches employed at Greek clubs, and the many foreign players from all parts of the globe who have passed through Greece.

Freedom of imagination
Greece's football philosophy is notable for its emphasis on a mixture of hard work and the freedom to express one's imagination on the field. These qualities had, among other things, helped Greece emerge from a tough qualifying group to make it to the EURO 2004™ finals in Portugal this summer. Determined efforts were continuing at youth level to ensure that the Greek players of tomorrow would be in a position to carry on the work that their current-day counterparts had started.

Football schools
On the second day of activities in Crete, eminent coaches also got together to discuss Europe's various football schools. Switzerland coach Jakob Kuhn, Italian Football Federation coaching instructor Franco Ferrari and experienced German coach Holger Osieck looked at the traits and attitudes that lay behind the development of the game on this continent

Targets and concepts
Osiesk assisted Franz Beckenbauer in coaching Germany to the 1990 FIFA World Cup, was Canada's head coach and a successful coach at club level in France, Germany, Japan and Turkey. He said it was essential for coaches to establish targets and define clear concepts. "If you don't know where you're going, you eventually end up where you don't want to be," he explained. Osieck's experience had showed him that a coach working in different environments had to respect different cultures without neglecting a personal approach.

Coaches’ compass
In a keynote presentation titled The Coach's Compass, UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh gave the delegates a comprehensive insight into the beliefs and experiences that accompany the world's high-profile coaches through their successful careers. Coaches, he said, used their philosophies like a compass, in that their beliefs gave them a clear path and vision to guide them.

Attacking with wingers
A coach's philosophies, Roxburgh said, were crucial in determining a playing style. For example, Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson had based much of his success on his belief in the value of positive attacking play with the use of wingers. Denmark coach Morten Olsen also promoted the use of attacking wing play.

Finding a balance
Real Madrid CF coach Carlos Queiroz stressed his belief in creating a balance between entertaining football and the need to win matches, while England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson said that his philosophy nowadays was to believe in players rather than systems. This variety of attitudes, explained Roxburgh, helped make football such a fascinating and multi-faceted game.

Video presentation
These coaches were speaking to the delegates as part of a special video presentation in which they highlighted the principles and lessons learned that had helped them reach the summit of their profession.