Parreira's coaching masterclass

Former Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira was the keynote speaker on the second day of the UEFA Conference for European National Coaches in Vienna on Tuesday and he opened proceedings with a presentation on how to win the FIFA World Cup.

'Philosophy'
Parreira led Brazil to victory in the United States in 1994 and while insisting "there was no manual or formula to success", he said all World Cup-winning coaches "followed certain basic principles". Foremost of these was to have a clear vision, one that played to the strengths of a national team's style and traditions. "You must have a philosophy," he said. "If you change the system all the time you go nowhere." Parreira spoke of "the need to win outside the field", emphasising planning, fitness and infrastructure, as well as group dynamics and team building. "You have a team when you have people sharing the same goals, targets and principles," he said. Of course outstanding players were essential, but also the knowledge of how best to use them and how to strike a balance within a side. Grace under pressure, was also crucial: a coach must stay calm whether in a match situation or dealing with the press. "If you lose your cool you cannot make the right decisions and cannot focus," he said.

Reflective
Also in reflective mood were Josef Hickersberger and Köbi Kuhn, coaches of co-hosts Austria and Switzerland respectively during UEFA EURO 2008™, and the pair shared the stage to discuss their experiences of the tournament. "It was an excellent [UEFA] European Championship," said Hickersberger. "There was a marvellous atmosphere in the stadiums, especially at the Ernst-Happel. We are small countries and I think we played a good tournament considering our means." Both coaches expressed disappointment at not having achieved their goals of reaching the quarter-finals, although Kuhn believed an exciting championship had worthy winners in Spain. "We saw an excellent team crowned European champions and they deserved to lift the cup," he said.

Excellent response
UEFA Referees Committee member Hugh Dallas made a presentation setting out the main issues to have arisen from UEFA EURO 2008™ from a referee's perspective. He said that going into the tournament the aims had been to protect the players, to protect the image of the game and to promote respect between coaches, players and officials. This message had been articulated directly to the players, and Dallas said "the response had been excellent". He added: "Maybe that was why only three red cards were shown at UEFA EURO 2008™ compared to six at EURO 2004™."

Listening
Simulation also decreased, but there were still matters to be resolved. Using footage from games in Austria and Switzerland, Dallas highlighted, among other things, the illegal use of the arm and the elbow, and holding and blocking within the penalty area. Dissent from both players and coaches was also discussed with Dallas stressing the need for respect between players, referees and coaches. The conference also provided an opportunity for dialogue and, as well as putting forward the referees' case, Dallas underlined the importance of officials listening to different parties within the game. "It is very important to hear the voice of the coaches and experts," he said.

Injury report
In the afternoon, the coaches split up into discussion groups before returning to the conference hall to hear Professor Jan Ekstrand, the UEFA Medical Committee's second vice-chairman, deliver the findings of UEFA's injury study into UEFA EURO 2008™. Of particular significance was that, considering the 1,100 fouls committed during the finals, only nine injuries were the result of foul play and two of those occurred to players who had committed the fouls. "This could be because the referees did a very good job and the players followed the rule of fair play," Professor Ekstrand said. However, 27 players left the tournament still injured, 15 of whom had severe injuries. Professor Ekstrand also emphasised the value of communication between national-team and club coaches in keeping injuries to a minimum. The day ended with four members of the EURO 2008™ Technical Team – Gérard Houllier, Morten Olsen, Jerzy Engel and Jozef Vengloš – offering their thoughts on UEFA EURO 2008™, with the technical report on the event having been submitted to delegates.