Author: Mohammad Amin

Zico

Bayern Munich have always been a replica of the mighty German national team. At present, out of the 32 registered players, there is a strong presence of 17 local players in the squad and, if you include their former coach Jupp Heynckes, you get a feel of an exclusive German team.
As many of the household names in world football still get allured to the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United, Bayern always depend on home-grown players to form the core of the team.

The result is the emergence of players like current skipper Philipp Lahm, vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Holger Badstuber, Diego Contento and Tony Kroos in the heart of the team.

Their rising star David Alaba, though a non-German, is also a product of the club’s youth team.

Bayern’s success has rubbed off on other German clubs who also have followed the Bavarian giants’ youth-based programmes.
While other European clubs have marketed themselves across the world, Bayern have always focused on Germany. Last year, as a result of Bayern’s appearance in the Champions League final, its brand value was up 59 per cent.
As far as managing the team is concerned, the 67-year-old Heynckes was mighty successful in keeping everybody in the camp happy with his rotation policy that has delivered impressive results.

“The team must stay hungry and greedy. We’ve to carry on the good work,” said the veteran coach.
His rotation policy meant not even Lahm or Schweinsteiger was guaranteed a starting berth. Conversely, some of Heynckes’s foreign recruits like Xherdan Shaqiri, Claudio Pizarro and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk are no bit-part players. And all of them have contributed largely to Bayern’s success.

Heynckes did some clever recruitments last season.
He retained most players from last season, but added Brazilian Dante, Spanish World Cup and European Cup winner Javi Martinez and Croat Mario Mandzukic. Besides, the signing of Euro ’96, and Champions League winner Matthias Sammer as the club’s Sporting Director has also given the team an added edge.

The key to Rinus Michels’s Total Football concept was intelligent movement, understanding and fitness. It has been decades since the legendary Dutch coach re-invented and refined a system practised by his former boss Jack Reynolds at Ajax Amsterdam.

Not surprisingly, the Dutch champions have retained the style and followed it with a sense of pride.
Even Barcelona learned the nuances of total football from former Ajax man Johan Cruyff to lay the foundation of their own ‘tiki-taka’.

FC Twente, lacking Ajax’s legacy and fame, teach ‘Totaalvoetbal’ to their aspiring players like all Dutch academies, according to Dennis Bekking, FC Twente’s Under-12 coach.

“Total football is still widely followed by all clubs in the Netherlands. We don’t want even our goalkeepers to stand idle as we believe in mobility,” said 36-year-old Bekking.
Ajax, the most famous club in the Netherlands, may not have been successful in recent European competitions. But, along with Feyenoord and PSV, they have successfully produced an array of great talents. Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie are household names in world football.

Brought up in a culture of total football, these players may have adopted their respective club’s philosophy, but they have not disowned the original system.
“It’s difficult to think about any other system when you’re Dutch,” said Bekking.

In fact, the ‘total was initially made popular by Hungary, led by their all-time great Ferenc Puscas, in the 1950s.

Reynolds, who was the manager of Ajax from 1915-25, 1928-40 and from 1945-47, refined the tactical procedures of that system. But it was Michels, who made it popular with Ajax as well as the Netherlands in ’70s.

When Michels left for Barcelona in ’71, it was further refined by Romanian Stefan Kovacs.

“In a way, it was always a continuous process and we never left total football. I don’t think we’ll ever opt for something different,” said Bekking.
“All Dutch clubs have a dream to get to a higher level. We develop good players and that’s the strength of our football,” said Bekking, who completed his UEFA A Licence in ’08.

As the immaculate Dutch teams of the ’70s enthralled, the world watched them in open-mouthed wonder and the fluidity of their style became the fulcrum of every tactical discussion.

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Netherlands dazzled as they qualified for the final for the first time after ’78, but only to go down to Spain.

Despite having the best players and a rich culture, why do Dutch sides disappoint in top competitions?

“The young players leave for top European clubs when they’re 16 or 17.
Hence, our own clubs don’t have enough quality players,” said Niek Loohuis, FC Twente’s U-11 coach.

“But now, the trend is slowly changing. It isn’t that all the players who sign for the top clubs find themselves in the first team. Some of them warm the bench. So, younger players now prefer to stay back in the Netherlands and play for their own clubs,” added the 27-year-old.

FC Twente have showed promise in recent years, particularly after winning their maiden Dutch League in ’09, under English manager Steve McClaren.
The Netherlands have produced a lot of quality players, admired for their silken skills. But unfortunately, lack of money in the Dutch League has forced these players to ply their trade in England, Germany and Spain where they can earn much more.
“Our is a small country and out of the total 16 million people, an estimated half a million play the game. But the League isn’t as attractive as the English Premier League or German Bundesliga,” said Loohuis.

“So the problem is with money and numbers. When top players leave, the level of the competition drops. So you’ve less money from TV and sponsors,” he added.

But both these young coaches are optimistic that things will change as young players are increasingly opting to stay back.

There seems to be nothing extraordinary happening with Indian football these days that I should jot down my thoughts on them. Nothing seems to be quite exciting, really. It’s that same slow baby steps which the Federation has been taking ever since the new secretary took over in November last year. No big strides as such as far as ideas are concerned. The national team recently lost 0-3 against UAE at Al Ain last week. Another disappointment in a World Cup qualifier. I’ve grown up reading about India’s debacles in the first round. It’s a difficult path. But then is it worth taking a dip in the competitive Asian qualifiers which has 50-plus teams? I don’t think so. Many would support me as well. After all, spending huge on a project (World Cup qualifiers) which doesn’t seem to generate much revenue or interest is nothing but a huge waste of money. Is there someone in the AIFF to guide the ship? I guess, all seems to be doing a routine 10-5 job. Hardly anyone has come up with a management skill. Even the status of I-League clubs have been treated with half-hearted approach.

Now the national team is in the Capital. They will take on UAE in a home-match on Thursday. But everybody knows India doesn’t stand a chance against the Gulf nation who has somehow qualified for the second round. Despite the 3-0 loss, Armando Colaco still can press his claim to be someone who has prevented a rout. But his grouse against the referee for those two penalties which cost India the game last Saturday, however, won’t reduce our pain. The Goan coach is still praising his number one goalkeeper Subrata Pal, who was booked for his foul on the UAE player Ismail Al Hammadi in the 24th minute. Pal, many feel, was quite arrogant when he pushed Hammadi. A sharp reminder to his tempestuous goalkeeping during that ill-fated Federation Cup final against Dempo in 2004 when his outstretched fists hit the late Junior, who collapsed and died on the field.

In a nutshell, there isn’t too many interesting things happening in Indian football which surprisingly lacking a character. Besides, (Indian) football writers are now disenchanted due to the recent performances which it seems have pushed the game a few yards back.

Moreover, why he dropped Viva Kerala’s Anil Kumar who has scored 11 goals, the second highest by an Indian after Jeje Lalpekhula in the I-League last season. There was no reason or rhyme. But Armando couldn’t explain the omission of Anil and inclusion of out-of-form Sushil Singh. “He (Anil) hasn’t come into the groove which we wanted,” was what said Armando, who it seems is out there to promote Dempo club.

Nobody has a clue as to why he has packed the squad with seven Dempo players and decided to go with one player from I-League winners Salgaocar. Besides, in a surprise move, Armando has put Salgaocar’s Anthony Barbosa along with Anil in the standbyes. Other Salgaocar players, Locus Lamare, Gilberto Oliviera and Khelemba Singh failed to make it because of a delay in their passport renewal.

Though he has given chances to most players who were ignored by Bob Houghton during his term as coach, yet it doesn’t augur well for Indian football. Has the interim coach forgot that he is there because AIFF has picked him and not by employers Dempo? By keeping out Salgaocar players shows that he has taken the Goan rivalry into the Indian team.

Nobody expected such a move from a man who has been hailed as the best club coach in recenty years. Managing a club team and organising a national team are two different things, Armando must be aware of it. He cannot put half-fit Dempo players like Mahesh Gawli or Climax Lawrence (who is not in his best) in this team.