No unprepared technician will become a winner – 03/04/2023 – Tostão

As the beautiful fado song says, it’s not time that passes, we do. One of the reasons for the existential anguish of many women and men is the awareness of the finitude of life. As we are narcissists, some more than others, we think we are more important than reality. We create the illusion that we have a great mission in life, even if it’s something simple, banal. We wish to become heroes and eternal. Freud wrote that human beings will only have a more pleasant life when they lose the illusion of eternity. With that he would enjoy everyday life more.

Time passes. Soccer athletes end their careers very early, often unprepared for other activities. I stopped playing at 26 because of a detached retina. I lived other lives, as a doctor, a professor of medicine, a football commentator and columnist. I liked them all, each in their own time.

Many athletes try to perform other activities related to football, such as coaching. It’s not easy. Success depends on numerous factors independent of the technician’s preparation. The athletes who do best are usually the ones who think about the game before, during and after matches. They play as if they were watching the game from above.

Knowledge needs to be shared across professions. Guardiola drank at the source of Cruyff, one of the greatest players and coaches in history, who learned from the legendary Rinus Michels, coach of the unforgettable Dutch team in the 1974 World Cup. The young coach Xavi was a disciple of Guardiola at Barcelona. Many other great players have become exceptional coaches. The German Beckenbauer, the Brazilian Zagalo and the French Deschamps were world champions as athletes and coaches.

Zico, who turned 70 on Friday, was a coach in Japan and Turkey. He didn’t want to be a coach in Brazil, even more so at Flamengo, so as not to confuse the idol with the professional. Zico was a superstar, essentially technical. He accurately executed the fundamentals of the position. He never liked the frills, the special effects.

Some players, stars or not, surprisingly did not succeed as coaches, or alternated between good and bad moments, sometimes inexplicable. Falcão, one of the greatest players in history, today director of Santos, did not have a successful coaching career, despite being very well prepared, having been a great commentator and always giving good interviews and technical explanations about football.

Just as there are huge and absurd prejudices against black coaches, as if they did not have the knowledge and academic preparation to command a group of athletes, there are many prejudices against coaches who work in suits and ties, who do not scream or get hysterical during matches. , as if this behavior was not appropriate in such a popular sport.

In Europe it is usually different. The Italian Ancelotti, quoted to coach the Brazilian national team, works in a suit and tie, is calm during matches and polite in interviews.

Not every coach with great theoretical, scientific knowledge becomes a great and/or victorious coach, as there are countless other uncontrolled factors. However, no unprepared coach, with little academic culture, will regularly become an excellent and/or victorious coach. He will live on circumstantial sparkles.

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