Football must never lose its romanticism
Think back 40 years when Helenio Herrara perfected cattenacio in Spain and Italy – teams evolved in the sense of breaking down the system. Each time a great player comes along we try and find new ways of stopping him, that’s why they are great players. The great players who get people off their seats they’re what football should be about. What concerns me more is if we stop producing the great players who can fill the stadiums.
You need to sacrifice to be a top player
But make no mistake, when you become a coach there is a bigger sacrifice to be made. You are giving up your whole day every day. Everyone who goes from playing to be a coach only takes one thing with them for certain - they were a player.
You need imagination to coach at the top level
When I was starting out I wanted to teach take-overs in important areas of the pitch, which was unusual at the time. But you put the idea into the players’ minds, they take it to another level and it becomes habit. They realise you and themselves want to try things and that creates a chain reaction that produces thinking players.
I’ve had bad days, but I’ve always bounced back
When I was at Aberdeen I lost a final and on the Monday I told the players it was the last final we’d ever lose – and it was. But today more than ever you need that vital drive and to know how to deal with the disappointments because the players don’t have the same feeling as the coach when they lose and we have to deal with the situation.
Too much talk is dangerous
You see training sessions where the coach is talking all the time and the words get lost in the wind. I remember when I was player wanting to get on with it and the coach was rambling on.
Expectations can be too high
There’s no evidence that continual changing of coaches brings success. It is not healthy that a coach can lose four games and be out of a job. I wish club presidents and supporters would have the same patience as coaches. But we’re asking miracles because football is so emotional.
Control is vital
When I came into the game there were no agents or freedom of contract. More and more we have to deal with player power.
Watching the Real Madrid v Eintracht Frankfurt final was fairytale stuff
I was an apprentice at the time and went in the schoolboys’ enclosure. The night before the final we were training next door while Eintracht and Madrid were training in Hampden Park. So we were able to see bits of training, and then watch the match. I’d been to the semi with Rangers, Frankfurt won 12-4 on aggregate, and we thought the Frankfurt players were gods, but they got slaughtered! That game epitomised the dreams of European football.
Players are the best weapons
Some presidents or chairmen expect to win titles every day. I’d tell anyone coming into coaching to forget politics and the peripheral things, just focus on the job and concentrate on your squad.
Disappointment is a driving factor
I was shocked at our UEFA Champions League exit last year. Yes, we had a lot of injuries and young players without European experience, but it was a shock. We won’t fail in the group stage this year.
In 1999 although we won the Champions League, the semi-final is my best memory
In terms of European football it made Manchester United. We’d drawn 1-1 at Old Trafford and went to the Delle Alpi, where Juventus had never lost a game in Europe. After 15 minutes we were 2-0 down and won it 3-2.
This article was first published in the UEFA Champions magazine and is published with their permission and with full acknowledgements.
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