Aime Jacquet intervjues av Alfred Galustian Internationall Director Coerver Coaching. Aime Jacquet . Profile
Player : St Etienne ( 12 years ) French Div 1
Coach : League :Lyon and Bordeaux ( 2 Championships)
National: France ( World Cup Champions 98 )
Currently: Technical Director FFF
Alfred Galustian (AG) : What did you tell your players in the dressing room before the World Cup Final against Brazil?
Aimee
Jaquet (AJ) : I was very relaxed and so were my players. I told them
that they were psychologically and physically ready to win the
Championship and that our semi final match was more difficult than this
would be.
I was confident that if we played well we could win…I wanted my players to be confident, I knew they were totally committed.
AG : Have you been to Asia before?
AJ
: Yes, I was in Kobe and Tokyo with Bordeaux and I was also in Japan
with the National team to play in the Kirin Cup. Unfortunately apart
from this visit to China, I have not been to other Asian countries.
AG: What do you know of Japanese Soccer?
AJ
: I follow the progress of the National Team and of course know
Phillipe Troussier who is an excellent coach. The result in Nigeria was
a good sign for the future.
Arsene Wenger has also told me of the J-league; he is a very big supporter of Japanese Soccer.
AG: What are the important things to improve the standard of Asian Soccer?
AJ
: Well, my opinion, which I think applies to all countries, especially
developing ones, is to focus on youth development.That is the most
important. Investment in Young players is a must… good facilities, a
good program and well-trained coaches. In France the training of
coaches is a big priority.
Under 15 players should focus on
tecnique, technique ,technique…you know that is why I admire your work
and the Coerver Coaching system so much.
Once there is a strong
technical foundation at the early years then there is a better chance
of producing winning teams. Another thing which is important is to
produce a good team spirit and co-operation. Technical Skills need to
be used effectivley to help the team…this is an important point.
AG What are the steps did you follow in France to get the success you have acheived?
AJ : Again it is essential there is a good and forward-looking youth development plan.
1) Identification of players
2) Facilities for them to train and play
3) A higher level of Training of Youth coaches
4) A curriculum that focus on technical improvement between 8 and 15 years old.
In France we have spent many years doing this, you know yourself what a great job Gerard ( Houllier) did
Our Structure in France is as follows :
· Under me ( I am technical Director) Responsible for the structure.
· 11 National Coaches all with specific responsibilities regarding Development of Players
· Under this there are 22 Regions with 2 or 3 head Coaches in each.
· Under this we have divided the country into 102 Districts each with a Head Coach.
One
of our biggest priorities was to train youth coaches….we were short of
experienced and talented coaches in the young age group especially, as
I am sure many countries are..the coaching of the young being mainly
left to volunteer coaches…We wanted a more serious way and this we
focused on.
Of course this
takes time and is often a step by step process but we persevered and
this is where Gerard did such a great job as Technical Director before
me.
AG: When I worked in Clairfointaine
(French National Training Centre) with you and Gerard (Houllier)…I
noticed that even though you were the Coach of the National Team you
were very interested in the under 14 and 15 Boys and the girls.What is
your opinion women's soccer and its future?
AJ : Yes, I am
always interested to work with young players and this is why I have
enjoyed this trip to China so much. I am also a great believer in the
future of women's soccer.While it is very well advanced in the USA and
China, in the rest of the world it is growing also…in Europe strong
programs are emerging in Germany, Italy and of course Norway and Sweden
and in Brazil there is great potential. In France we only have 26,000
registered players but we are taking more attention in developing the
game and again improving the coaches for this sector.
AG
: You emphasis that good coaching at an early age is important for
improving Asian Soccer; what do you think are the qualities of a good
youth coach?
AJ : That's a good question…in my opinion:
1)
You have to like working with young players…this sounds obvious but
many coaches work with younger players only as a step to move
forward….there has to be a genuine commitment to the young.
2) You need to be a good communicator…. generous, patient and adaptable and of course always open minded.
3)
For technical teaching I think it is most important to be able to show
young players the skills you want to teach them..of course this is not
always possible but I think being a good demonstrator important can be
inspirational to youngsters….For example yesterday when you were
working with the young players I could see the excitement and
enthusiasm in their faces when you showed them all the different
possibilities that good control can create.
4) Take time to
understand and sometimes help in the family environment… you know we
lose so many good young players…not because of their lack of talent but
because between the ages of 15 and 18 there are many distractions.,
unless there is total focus and commitment we lose the players.
Did
you know that in France we lose 40% of our best players between ages 16
and 19;.that is why the coach should understand the whole picture and
the possible dangers and difficulties that are many times outside
football.
AG : What qualities do you look for in a player?
AJ
: OK Number One he must be a technician some one who has the skill's to
play quickly. I like players who are creative…..you know the language
of Football to me is "Pass and control"…. What you teach in the Coerver
Method … Ball Mastery, as a foundation is exactly right…without Ball
Mastery a player is always limited..
I also like players with
personality….players who think of their teammates…who have team spirit
as well as fighting spirit …..you know this is a team sport and this
spirit is really important.
AG : Aime..you
know in our new Coerver Coaching program we have made a Pyramid which
has as it's foundation Ball Mastery but which focus' on creating and
scoring more goals……in relation to 1 v 1 what is the value of this to a
player in a game?
AJ : The game is so quick
now…everyone knows well how to press and defend..what your program does
is provide players with options and more weapons..all coaches and teams
need this so we can score more goals .
AG : At the FFF National Training centre how many young players do you have and what is their training schedule?
AJ :We have 20 boys at each age group … 13,14 and 15 and 2 groups of girls 20, at each age group.
The
players train 2 hours per day Monday to Friday.They go to a nearby
school for academic studies.At the weekend they go home and play for
their clubs
AG.I remember when I first worked at FFF centre
one of the boys was Nicholas Annelka he was 14 then…can you see a
player at 14 and predict that he will be a top star?
AJ :
Again so many things can happen to young people as they grow up..many
not to do with Football so it is very difficult to predict. Maybe you
can say 50% at this age this will be a top player.
AG
: You have told me you look forward to visiting Japan…As I work there
so much I think it will be a wonderful opportunity for the coaches and
football administrators to gain knowledge from you……what can you say
that will help the development of soccer there and in Asia generally?
AJ
: Well..as I said focus on youth development is a priority and I am
happy to pass on our experiences in France…of course it is fortunate
that we are currently World Champions and I think that the many years
we (FFF) invested in building the right structure to develop players is
a good example.
AG :
Aime…it was good working with you again……… it is your Passion for the
game which I find most insperational…..I look forward to working with
you in France and Asia again soon.
AJ: thank you Alfred.. .. I look forward to working with you again. | 
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