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In their exclusive Club Africa columns, top coach Foppe de Haan and international goalkeeper Hans Vonk from Ajax Cape Town give regular updates on events in and around the World Cup finals in South Africa. This week Foppe discusses the lessons he has learned from the World Cup and shared with the Ajax Cape Town players as they prepare for the start of the South African season in a month’s time. Foppe also answers questions from Club Africa members, including why as a trainer he prefers to select underprivileged players from the townships as strikers... |
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 The 'fruit' of the World Cup
"It is better to keep politics and football apart and not to fire managers after one defeat. Make plans for further football development and stick to them."
Now that the last week of the World Cup has started, I wonder what the effect will be on the football and people of South Africa. Has staging the event brought any benefits? I ask this in light of a question submitted by Club Africa member Jonathan Marks from Huizen (NL), who asked: "How can African teams make the most of hosting the World Cup in their country to do even better in the next tournament?"
I believe the answer to Jonathan’s question is by improving the organisation and structure. Football development requires a clear plan. Once that is in place, we need to create the required attention and focus for top sport. The national team of South Africa can only improve if there are capable people in charge and if teams get to play as many difficult opponents as possible.
That is why I think it is unwise of the Nigerian president to ban the national team from playing any international matches for two years as punishment for the poor results at the World Cup. Without international football contact, development will come to a halt and I believe this will result in Nigeria losing its place among the top five African footballing nations.
It is better to keep politics and football apart and not to fire managers after one defeat. Make plans for further football development and stick to them.
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 World Cup lessons
"It is great to see how the Spanish play their opponents off the park without moving around too much. My players are doing more positional practice than ever as we have seen how important this is."
Jonathan Marks asked another good football question: Whether I have seen things during the event that I can use during my training with Ajax Cape Town.
Absolutely! Today at training we discussed the tactical blunder prior to Germany’s third goal against England. I explained to my players exactly what went wrong. The English free kick hit the German defence wall and bounced back to a player who did something unforgivable: He tried to dribble through the German defence while six or seven players from his team were in front of the ball and unable to immediately switch to defence. We saw what happened. The Germans intercepted the ball, raced to the other end of the pitch in seconds and scored.
My advice to the players of Ajax Cape Town, who also like to play the ball forward themselves in similar situations, is to either shoot at the goal or hoof the ball out of touch, then hurry back to your own half. Another factor is that defenders should not see their opponent’s attacks in the same way as spectators. They must start thinking about their organisation the moment an attack breaks down. My advice is to always stick to your allotted task.
I will also not be the only coach to have been inspired by the intelligent positional play of Spain in the midfield. They pass the ball around easily, all positions are well covered and the players always ensure the ball reaches the correct leg of their team mates. It is great to see how the Spanish play their opponents off the park without moving around too much. My players are doing more positional practice than ever as we have seen how important this is at the World Cup. It is a trend that will certainly continue in Europe.
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 Adventurous strikers and conscientious defenders
"There was a 'survivor type', an adventurous boy, whom I positioned as striker because of his background."
Club Africa member Daud Tutkey asks an interesting question about the relationship between the background of football players and the position that suits them best. Are adventurous types ideal for the striker position while quieter, more careful types function best as defenders?
To better understand the question I should explain that Daud is referring to a Dutch TV programme (Twee Vandaag) I participated in. I acted as coach for a team of South African kids with very diverse backgrounds. The programme followed the team and made some fine portraits of the individual players. When I was asked to create a line-up of players I didn’t know, I took the following approach: There was a ‘survivor type’, an adventurous boy, whom I positioned as striker because of his background. He thought he was better suited as goalkeeper but I convinced him otherwise. His background and character made him ideal as a ‘pioneer’ in the field who hunts down opportunities and (hopefully) seizes upon them. That is how I set up the team. Versatile kids with a better background functioned as a connection between defence and attack, while the more serious conscientious kids were placed in defence.
It may surprise you but these characterisations are also fairly accurate at the highest level of football. Adventurous, creative people often play best as attackers, organisers often perform well in midfield, while most top goalkeepers have a heightened sense of responsibility and are very reliable. There have been exceptions, of course, especially when there was a trend for goalies to join the outfield game and play further from their own goal.
At Ajax Cape Town we make detailed tests of the personality traits of new players. The resulting information – whether they are introvert or extravert, individualistic or a team player, adventurous or conservative – is very useful for me as coach, especially when I am trying to motivate or stimulate players.
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 South African enthusiasm
"Almost every street or neighbourhood has its own club with a bare patch of ground, two goals, a trainer with or without experience and loads of very enthusiastic kids."
Club Africa member Michael Duijvestijn tells me that he has visited South Africa a dozen times and is always amazed by the enthusiasm of the people. Michael wonders whether this is a tourist’s interpretation or is the happiness and optimism of the South Africans for real.
I can identity with Michael’s question. I have been living here from some eight months and my wife and I want to stay a while longer. The enthusiasm of the South Africans is very real (with a few exceptions). It is truly amazing when you consider the circumstances in which people in the townships live.
In Cape Town, where I live, I often go to visit one of the many small football clubs in the townships. Almost every street or neighbourhood has its own club with a bare patch of ground, two goals, a trainer with or without experience and loads of very enthusiastic kids. They often use a ball that is way past its best but every day at four they are ready to play. It would be great if this enthusiasm could be channelled in the right direction and all the talent be allowed to flourish. In this respect I really appreciate the WorldCoaches programme of the Dutch football association (KNVB), which trains managers to improve football and teach children certain life skills. If all works out well, I think we will see South Africa reach the second round of the World Cup in Brazil in four years!
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