The Reality of Being A Football Manager

Book Review: Living on the Volcano by Michael Calvin

I take my daughter swimming, early on Sunday morning.  We also go out for a coffee, and walk around the local lake…One day we were laughing, messing about.  Someone came up to us and said ‘You find losing so funny, do you?’

In a book filled with poignant comments that was, for me, among the most shocking.  There are a lot of fans who think that a manager’s job is an easy one – a belief that has been strengthened further by the popularity of games like Championship Manager – and, whilst I’ve never held such an illusion I also never really appreciated the complexities of the job.

I had never appreciated the stress of having all that expectation resting on you, the constant thinking about the minutest of details or the difficulty of trying to get young players to appreciate the opportunity they’re being given.  And I certainly hadn’t thought of the possibility of having an afternoon with your children interrupted by an angry fan.

All that – and more - is laid bare in ‘Living on the Volcano’, Michael Calvin’s latest masterpiece of a book.   The concept is fairly simple – interviews with various managers about how and why they do the job they do – but the execution is masterful.

Indeed, as he had done with his previous football themed book The Nowhere Man, Calvin has threaded together the various interviews intelligently, teasing out the stories of the compulsion that drives these men and the harsh realities they face without ever allowing these to become either frivolous or overbearing.

Surprisingly, the least revealing chapters are those where top flight managers – Mark Hughes, Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers – are involved.  There is little which they haven’t revealed elsewhere although Rodgers’ admission that these past four years – which, professionally, have brought him huge success – have been hard on his personal life due to the death of his parents, divorce from his wife and his son being accused  (and, eventually, exonerated) of rape.  Again, those are the kind of managers’ personal emotions that fans either are not aware of or else willfully ignore.

Rodgers is a recurring theme in the book with practically every manager interviewed (again, bar the established ones) mentioning him as a role model and inspiration.  They talk of him and his methods in a tone that approaches awe which is partly down to his achievements – he is, after all, the only British manager at a club with genuine top four expectations – but also due to his generosity in mentoring others.

Overall there is very little talk of tactics or playing styles and you get the impression that, whilst each manager has a clear idea of how they want their teams to play, pragmatism rules the day.  All are aware that good football won’t keep you in a job; results will.

It means that ultimately the job of a football manager is like that of any other manager in an everyday job: it is essentially about recruiting the right people and then getting them to perform.  With the fairly significant differences that corporate managers don’t expect to be sacked after a bad set of results or to be insulted in a park over how they have performed on the job.

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Full disclosure: a review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.

Why Players Struggle After Big Moves

And Why Some Players Are Better Off At Smaller Clubs

When Juventus signed Brazilian striker Amauri from Palermo in 2008 in a deal worth over €22 million, the feeling was that despite the fee this was going to be a great deal for them.  Juventus were still struggling to recover from their forced demotion to the Serie B a few years earlier so this was a statement of intent of their willingness to spend big to return to their former glory.

More than that, Amauri was an experienced player who had excelled at Palermo scoring twenty three goals in just over fifty games.  He had strength, technique and a willingness to work hard; all of which hinted that a move to a big club - where theoretically he would be surrounded by better players - would elevate him to one of the finest strikers in Europe.

It didn't happen that way.  Amauri did reasonably well in his first year at Juventus, scoring eleven times.  Those, however, came mainly in the first part of the season.  From then on scoring seemed to become an alien concept for him as he flailed about in an attempt to make the transition.  Nothing seemed to work and in the end Juventus had to give him away in order to get rid of him.

There is no top club that, in the last decade alone, hasn't gone through a similar experience.  For Liverpool there was Andy Carroll, Anderson at Manchester United, Mohamed Salah at Chelsea, Roberto Soldado for Tottenham and Lukas Podolski at Arsenal.  You could name whole league sides out of players who joined Real Madrid and Barcelona only to quickly find that they didn't fit.

In most cases, football typically comes up with one of two explanations.  The first is that the player simply wasn't good enough; that whilst he had the talent to occasionally shine for a smaller club he didn't have it in him to play on those levels on a regular basis which is what is expected when you're at a certain level.

The second reason is that the new club simply wasn’t suited for him.  There will always be some sympathy for Carroll at Liverpool for instance because the club’s attacking focus wasn’t based on looping balls in for him, which is where he excelled.

Equally, some of these transfer disasters are easily predictable - again Carroll is a case in point - whilst others, like the highly talented Nani's inability to become a regular at United, baffle.

That all this happens, however, shouldn't come as too much of a shock, at least not if you look at research which has been done and which came up with the Big-Fish-Little-Pond-Syndrome.

This research, which has focused overwhelmingly on academic students, found that an individual who attended a high-ability (in the sense of a school where high achievers tend to go) school had a greater possibility of lower academic self-concepts than another individual who went to a low-ability school.

Or, to put it in another way, when you put someone in an environment that is geared (and expects) high achievement there is the tendency that such an individual shrinks away rather than rising to the challenge. They end up either failing or else coming towards the bottom of their classes.  

At the same time, if someone who is equally talented goes to a less demanding school but one where he can build on the confidence that he is among the better students then such an individual tends to excel.

Indeed, as far back as 1966, American sociologist James A Davis was warning parents against sending their children to those that are typically considered as the better colleges if there was the chance that they would be towards to lower end of the graduating class.

This, clearly, has deep implications on football.   How many parents, for instance, are blinded by the glamour of the big clubs when they come calling?  How many have uprooted promising young footballers from a smaller academy because a bigger club offered them the opportunity only to see that, rather than improve, their son actually does worse?

That is not to say that such parents are willingly sabotaging their children's career.  For a start, the probability of making it as a professional footballer is extremely low wherever you are playing.  Also, there is the question of facilities that are available to the academies of the bigger clubs.  It is hard to blame a parent for thinking that their child could do better in an institution that provides him with all weather facilities, indoor pitches, an impressive array of physios and ultra-qualified coaches.

Even so, if the academic research is to be transposed to football it would appear that the benefits are not as huge.  There are a lot of theories as to why this happens but, often, when an individual - let alone a young teen with the changes and insecurities that age brings with it - feels that he is among the best in his team he will act in that way.  He will be more willing to rely on his ability, take risks and stand out.

Placed in a team where he is one of many - talent wise - there is the chance that he loses that edge.  He might doubt himself and pass the ball whereas previously he might have taken a shot or beaten his man, for instance.  Rather than improving, he stagnates.

There are reasons for this.  Mindsets, about which Carol Dweck has written and spoken extensively are probably at the forefront.  Individuals with a fixed mindset – that is, who feel that their talent is fixed and cannot improve – wither when placed in a demanding environment.

There is no direct research on this, however. What researchers have clearly identified as a prime differentiator is intrinsic motivation: those individuals who find the drive to improve within themselves, rather than needing external motivation, tend to do better.  

In football terms, a player who moves to a club because he feels the pressure to accept the deal of a bigger club as others would perceive him as ‘crazy’ to pass up such an opportunity, rather than because he feels it within himself that he has to try this challenge is clearly making the move for the wrong reasons.

If any proof were needed, this surely should provide people with a reason to take a step backwards and think about a move that should further their career but could ultimately kill it off.

For more information on the Big Fish Small Pond effect, look up the work of Professor W. Marsh who is the main expert in this field.

Blueprint for Football is giving away copies of Blueprint According To...Volume III, the e-book that features interviews with six coaches on their football philosophies and how these were developed.  For details of how to get your copy, go here.

Thoughts On Pre-Season

Craig Easton

Although league football is now back in most countries, we felt that Craig Easton's thoughts on pre-season (first published on his own site and reproduced with his kind permission) make for interesting reading.

Ok, call me a weirdo, but I loved pre-season. Anyone who has played alongside me over the years knows it and if they’re reading this right now, there’s a good chance a lot them are thinking, ‘Yeah, and you were a busy bastard as well.’ I heard that a lot throughout my career, but I’m sure there’ll be a lot of players more than happy to see the back of these last few weeks of hard graft.

See, I don’t really understand that and I never did back then. Getting back to playing football, feeling as fit as you can possibly be in the anticipation of a new season and all that may bring – what’s not to love? My friend and ex-Dundee United teammate, Gary Bollan, wasn’t so much of a fan of those four to six weeks prior to the start of the new campaign. He still carries the mental scars from some of his pre-seasons, especially those inflicted under the management of Jim McLean and Paul Sturrock. He’s now a manager in his own right at Airdrieonians and when we met recently to catch up and chat about how he was putting his team through their paces, it was inevitable that we got talking about the beastings we took back then.

Bobo wasn’t the worst runner, but it’s fair to say that his robust frame meant that it didn’t come easy to him. With a shake of the head he ‘fondly’ recalls a particularly gruelling experience that’s still fresh in both our memories. One of the standard destinations during the first week of pre-season at Dundee United was Monikie Country Park; a punishing forest run followed by a figure of eight around two fairly large reservoirs that you had to complete in under 20 minutes. The wind almost blew you into the water as you ran exposed to the elements (Scotland in July is unpredictable at best) along the raised bank. He remembers emerging from the trees and lifting his head to see where everyone was… he could only just make out my group in the distance. We were halfway through our run around the second body of water and heading for the finish line. I think his quote to explain his feelings at that time was ‘mentally gone’, as he tried to get his head around the fact that he was just about to begin the loop around the first loch. I was in my element.

Dundee United always had fit teams and were notorious for having tough pre-seasons. It almost felt like the managers, coaches and experienced players steeped in the history of the club, like Billy Kirkwood, Paul Hegarty, Maurice Malpas, Paul Sturrock, Dave Bowman and Gordon Wallace thought it was their duty to carry on from where wee Jim had left off. ‘Heggy’ was a machine and led most of the runs even though he must have been easily touching 40 at the time. I remember legendary, veteran defender, Maurice Malpas giving me a wee bit of advice on my first day as I jovially lifted the pace to go past him during one of the many 20 minute fatlecks. ‘Easty’ he growled, ‘Run by me again and I’ll fucking hook ye!’. A few years later I remember goalkeeper Sieb Dijkstra struggling on what he thought was the first tough run of the day and having to stop to get his breath back; we were only in the warm-up!

Back then, pre-season for me was a time to really push myself to my limits, both physically and mentally (without getting injured) and in the process doing enough to ensure I was in the starting eleven on the opening day of the season. That’s all that mattered. I’m very lucky that I’m naturally fit, and it certainly helped in those early years where a fitness coach was a novelty, never mind a sports scientist. However, I struggle to understand professional footballers who moan and groan about hating pre-season, especially nowadays in the era where sports science and the physical needs of the individual is a priority. Players should embrace it. It’s a time to really drill down into your craft and work not only on your fitness, but also details of your game, without the pressure of a competitive match to prepare for.

It was probably my favourite time of the season and for many reasons. It wasn’t just because the physical challenges were something I could excel in. The close season got boring. Don’t get me wrong I love spending quality time with my wife (in case she’s reading) and I enjoy a bit of sun on my back and everything  else that goes along with a few weeks rest, but I could never totally switch off. So, by the time that first day back came around, I was quite literally ready to hit the ground running, filled with the renewed sense of hope and purpose that the anticipation of a new season imbues in players and fans alike.

You almost feel invincible. Seriously. Yes there’s the spell where you don’t think there’s a hope in hell of getting your legs moving again for an afternoon session without a can of WD40 and those evenings twitching in and out of sleep listening to the soothing sound of Wimbledon on the TV (pre-Sharapova obviously). But once you get through that first week, it’s genuinely the best feeling in the world. You’re eating healthily, getting ripped and starting to feel sharp, a level of physical wellbeing you don’t get to feel anywhere close to throughout the season as there’s always a knock or a niggle to deal with.

The whole approach to pre-season training has certainly changed and undoubtedly for the better. I feel fortunate to have straddled eras that saw the transition into the model that many clubs use today and I can now use these experiences as a coach.

Certainly in the latter part of my career the conditioning work became more progressive, and the ball used as it should be (we are footballers after all) from day one with the real tough sessions being intense possession based exercises or small sided games. Unbelievably, I actually remember myself and a few of the other older players at Leyton Orient complaining that we didn’t think we had worked hard enough because we didn’t feel that aching soreness in our legs before the start of the next day’s session. However, that period is probably the fittest I’ve been over a whole season.

I’m not saying I’d be adverse to a Monikie type run as a coach, but it wouldn’t be to measure fitness in the guise that I’ve been accustomed to. It could be thrown in to test attitude or even used  at a lower intensity as part of a recovery session to allow the players to enjoy a different environment. I watched a couple of Gary Bollan’s early pre-season sessions with Airdrieonians and apart from a fatleck run as part of the warm-up, it was very much a session that you would see mid season. The intensity was greater and the work/rest ratios very structured, but most of the hard work was done with the ball and in a realistic context, as it should be.

I’ve also studied a few of Bayern Munich’s early pre-season sessions on Youtube and apart from the facilities, the golf buggy for water breaks, the army of support staff, and the slightly better standard of play (sorry Bobo) the principles were the same. In fact I think Gary’s task is way tougher as his lads are part-time. He’s got the extremely difficult job of balancing and structuring the conditioning, technical and tactical work into two or three sessions a week with most of his squad also working their 9 to 5’s.

There are different things to consider in football at every level. For example, while Gary works out the most effective way to get his side operating at peak physical fitness as well as embedding the style of play he wants them to adopt after a four to six week break, I wonder if clubs at the top of the game even need to give the players a pre-season in the traditional sense?

For instance how much conditioning does Arturo Vidal need to be ready for the start of the Bundesliga in two weeks time. His club football lasted as long as it could have with Juventus going all the way to the Champions League Final and then his involvement with Chile – winning the Copa America – has meant that he’s had three weeks rest at most before joining up with Pep at Bayern.

World Cups, European Championships and 50+ game domestic seasons ensure that elite players certainly don’t need a Dundee Unitedesque pre-season of old, but it would be fun to see how they’d get on. It’s probably no surprise that I’m pretty jealous of the lads getting put through their paces at this time of year. I might not be able to replicate the football sessions I loved so much, but I actually quite fancy a wee run around Monikie for old time’s sake. I wonder if Bobo would be up for it?

Craig Easton played football professionally for over 18 years, counting Dundee United, Livingston, Leyton Orient, Swindon Town, Southend United, Dunfermline Athletic and Torquay United FC among his clubs as well as the Scottish Under 21 side.  He is a UEFA A licensed coach and has been coaching in the Youth Development and Professional Development phases of professional football for the last couple of years.  He is also a BA (Hons) Professional Sports Writing & Broadcasting graduate.

This article originally appeared on Craig's own site, East On.  Connect to Craig on Twitter.

Blueprint for Football Extra Digest: Issue 27

Nick Littlehales: the man who showed Cristiano Ronaldo how to sleep
A couple of months back, we did a feature on Blueprint for Football on the importance of sleep for players' performance so it is nice to see that other outlets are now starting to cover this subject as well.

Early Specialisation in Goalkeepers
A lot has been written about early specialisation but usually it is from the angle of football vs other sports.  This piece looks at whether kids should be specialising in the goalkeeper role from an early age.

Fitness coach Raymond Verheijen on why Chelsea are better prepared than Manchester United or Arsenal
"The problem in the Premier League is that football and training is hijacked by sports science – clubs spend millions on it and think they are very professional but in reality it is very amateur because most sports scientists don’t have a deep understanding of football and as a result they are doing a lot of non-specific football training with players."

Raymond Verheijen, as always, doesn't pull any punches.

This weekly digest is sent to subscribers of Blueprint for Football Extra every Monday evening.  Join the list (for free!) so that you don't miss out.  Details here.

"It Is Important That There Is A Level Of Respect Between Parent And Coach"

Have you got your free copy of Blueprint According To...Volume 3 yet?  No?  Here are the details to fix that.

Any coach will face challenges throughout their career; be it unresponsive players, lack of facilities or difficulties getting opportunities.   Tim Palmer is like any other coach with the exception that in his case the challenge is a bit more specific and unique: he was born profoundly deaf.

It is about how he has gone about facing this challenge and how it has impacted the development of his blueprint that we spoke in this interview.

Blueprint for Football: What got you into coaching?
Tim Palmer: Like many, I originally grew up with the dream of being a professional footballer.  However, around the age of 16 I had the sudden and not particularly enjoyable realisation that I would not make it to the highest level.  Thankfully though, this realisation was quickly followed with the question, "what else can I do to work at the highest level of football?".  The answer, inevitably, was coaching.

I'd actually always thought if I didn't make it as a player, I could fall back on a career of writing.  I did a lot of writing as a teenager in high school, starting my own blog as well as doing bits and pieces for others on the Internet.  At 16, I'd actually already been lucky enough to be doing freelance work with FourFourTwo by this time, but a week's work experience at the Daily Telegraph (an Australian newspaper) made me realise that although I loved football writing, I didn't necessarily love journalism.  I'd realised there's a great joy in being able to teach, learn and bond with others.  You just don't get in journalism, but you do in coaching, and even at the age of 16 I knew that was the path for me.

Since then, I've looked to immerse myself as much as I can in a learning process of coaching; doing as many courses as I can, observing as many sessions as I can, reading and talking as much as I can.  Nothing quite beats actually working with a team, though, and at the moment I'm working with a team at St Joseph's College (a private school in Sydney) as well as with a regional team in Sydney.

BfF: Have you had any mentors?
TP: While I haven't had a mentor in the strictest sense of the word, I've been fortunate enough to have guidance and experience from a number of excellent coaches, as well as teachers and friends.  Furthermore, as I'm still playing at a competitive level at present, I'm able to observe and discuss coaching practices with the coaches of my current teams.  

One of them is Robbie Stanton, who's just been appointed Sydney FC's new youth coach.  He is my coach for the Australian Deaf football team and he's been an absolute inspiration in terms of his approach to the game, and particularly in structuring training sessions.

I'm also lucky enough to be currently working as an assistant coach under Alex Zimbounellis, who gives me some much-needed direction in not only how I coach, but in also many aspects of life.  He is the closest thing I have to a mentor, though I learn something from all those that I meet.

BfF: You are also a performance analyst for Prozone.  What is that about?
TP: Prozone came out of the blue last year.  I'm friendly on Twitter with a fellow called Grant James who works in Prozone's South Africa office, and when discussions began at the company about starting a division in Australia he was kind enough to put my name forward.  The Australian based guys, who had been working exclusively with the NRL (National Rugby League), approached me and asked if I would be interested in creating and establishing Prozone's football office in Australia.  I was only 19 at the time so it was hugely flattering that they would consider me for such a role, but it's been nothing but a positive.

My role, at present, involves working with the A-League clubs and Socceroos to provide performance analysis services.  This includes pre- and post-match reporting, statistical analysis, video analysis, opposition analysis and much more.  It's a wide-ranging role where I'm working with lots of different clubs, but the challenge is fantastic and the opportunities it offers me to work with some of the top people in the game here in Australia is unbelievable.

BfF: Does that aspect help in your coaching?  If yes, how?
TP: Absolutely.  Analysis is obviously a massive part of the game today and working in this area has given me lots of skills and ideas for my coaching.  Even something as routine as opposition analysis; the more I do it as part of my Prozone work, the better I become at it, and the better that is then able to serve me as a coach.  By virtue of Prozone I'm able to talk many highly knowledgeable, experienced people in the game, as well as observe and work with A-League clubs, look at their practice and then apply that to my own coaching.  

Another example I can give is video - like I would, say, for a national team who is a Prozone client, I clip and categorise the footage of the team I coach: the players are able to access that via a private website, and they can view their game footage.

The relationship also works the other way round, too - there are things I learn as a coach that I then use with my analysis work.  It's a fantastic gig, one I'm very lucky to have.

BfF: What is your learning process like?  In which setting do you feel that you learn most?
TP: As I have quite a history in writing thanks to my blog, I actually learn quite a lot from simply reading - I like soaking up information from books and articles and just reading for hours on end.  But I learn in lots of different ways: for example, as a player I've always understood what coaches want from me through visual tools like whiteboards or video; as a coach, I learn best when I'm actually out on the training ground, actually coaching.  That's the setting where I learn the most, where I'm able to experiment with my practice and approach and find what works best for me.  I learn so, so much from just being out there, working with teams, and it's the environment I try to put myself in as much as possible.

BfF: What is your coaching philosophy?
TP: I agree with the likes of Ray Power in that I think the word 'philosophy' can be a little broad or generic, although I do have a very clear vision of not only how I want my teams to play, but also what I want my players to become, and how I want to be seen as a coach.

The dominant playing style many coaches today endorse is what we might call the 'Barcelona' approach: one founded upon possession and an emphasis on technical play.  That is certainly how I might summarise my preferred playing style and certainly here in Australia there is great work being done by the Football Federation Australia to promote this proactive style of play in coaching courses.  

Personally I like to break the game down into four components - possession, opposition possession and the two transition moments - and develop a clear set of principles for each of these moments in each third of the pitch.  Therefore, for example, one component of my Team Model is that when we have possession in the back third, I want my teams to 'build up play in a structured manner to progress the ball with control into the middle third'.  

With that statement - an objective, if you like - I can then articulate team tasks and player tasks which I can communicate to my players in training sessions so we can bring the playing style to life.  Of course, given that the four moments in a game are interconnected and interrelated, there are several principles, team tasks and player tasks which my players must learn - but the Team Model is clear, consistent and logical, and I have a clear style of play which I can call my own as a coach.

As I mentioned before, though, I think philosophy extends beyond that.  How do I teach the players this Team Model? What methods do I use? How do I foster leadership skills in players? What human qualities do I want my players to have? How do I teach them to have the same love of learning I am lucky enough to possess? These are all important questions which I can answer and that encapsulate my philosophy.  

There is so much to coaching that I would find it impossible to write it all down, and developing a coaching philosophy is an enormously tough but incredibly joyful and rewarding process.

BfF: You have cochlear implants: what exactly does this mean?  And how does it impact your coaching?
TP: I was born profoundly deaf; which means the only thing I would've heard as a baby was a jumbo jet if I was sitting next to it when it took off.  I was implanted at the age of 2 which gave me the incredible gift of hearing.  I received a second cochlear implant at the age of 14, giving me hearing in both ears for the first time.

While the cochlear implant (an Australian invention, something I'm quite patriotic about!) gives me incredible hearing that would not otherwise be possible, it's not perfect.  As a result, I don't hear everything, I find it very difficult to hear over large distances or in crowded areas, and because there was such a long time gap between implants (12 years), one has developed far more effectively than the other.  The result is I essentially can still only hear out of one ear.

Thankfully, this doesn't impact my coaching as much you might think.  I'm not much of a shouter anyway, and I prefer to talk via quiet conversation with my players.  When they're together in a large group it can be difficult to facilitate discussion as a result of my hearing.  These are minor things, however, and the kids I've worked with in my career to date have all been very good in terms of any difficulties we might have.

BfF: How do you communicate with players?
TP: The same as any coach, to be honest: through language, naturally, something which does come naturally to me as a result of my writing.  Communication is a two-way street, of course, so I always need to ensure I listen carefully to what my players say and ensure every interaction we have is a positive one that contributes to their learning and development.

I like using video and whiteboards, too, when I can, and I'm always looking for new ways to communicate my ideas across to players.  The private website I mentioned earlier is a nice tool as well.  Along those lines, I think it's important too that we embrace the technology we have available today, so that means looking at things like Facebook and Twitter as ways of communicating with players (although there are obvious privacy issues here).  I'm still learning as a coach, and finding new, appropriate and the best ways to communicate with players is an ongoing challenge.

BfF: What is your relationship with players' parents?
TP: I think it's important that there is a level of respect in the relationship between parent and coach; I think there needs to be an acknowledgement from both parties that ultimately we both want what is the best for the player, and that that sometimes requires certain boundaries so that the coach and the parent can work effectively.

It should never be a negative relationship, though, and I always look to reach out to parents, be friendly, honest and sincere with them and to communicate to them as well what my aims are as a coach.  I think sometimes coaches can forget that players don't always tell their parents everything about their sport, or sometimes the message from player to parent can be disjointed, and hence, it's important that the parent understands what the coach is doing and why they are doing it.  Things like mid-season meetings and informational documents you can give to the parents are simple ways of strengthening that relationship.

BfF: And the kids themselves?
TP: I want it to be open.  I'm still young myself and I'm still learning, and there's so much my players can teach me that it would be foolish to have a relationship where I am firmly a 'dictator' coach.  Instead, I aim to be open and honest with players - making my expectations clear, but emphasising how they can improve and better themselves as players and people, hopefully with me as their guide along some of the way.  

I love unlocking that little door where players realise they can and want to be the best they can possibly be, and can achieve that if they are hungry for it, work hard and never give up.  I was lucky enough to have that door opened for me, and if I can open as many of those doors for others, too,, that will be the most rewarding part of being a coach.

BfF: What are your plans for the future?  What do you want to achieve?
TP: In the future, I plan to continue my current development - doing courses, learning from others, working on the training ground to develop my coaching practice.  Ultimately I want to be working professionally as a coach, whether that be in the A-League, Asia or beyond.  I am ambitious, and I'd like to think there'll never be a point where I can look back and say 'yes, I have achieved everything'.  The further I can go, and the better a coach I am, the happier I'll be.

“I Am So Proud of How Much Progress We've Made”

As the club’s technical director, Victor Satei has had a very direct role in shaping the philosophy of Gulu United, the Uganda based club that is  trying to foster a project that educates and, at the same time, prepares players for top level football.  In this interview he talks of the process he went through in joining the club and what he has learned from the experience.

Blueprint for Football: How did you get to know of the Gulu United project? 
Victor Satei: I received a message from Adrian Bradbury (Gulu United's International and Academy Director) who wanted to discuss a possible project he was looking to pursue at the time.  We sat down for coffee and he described his story and what he had in mind, I was in from the moment he started describing it.

BfF: What is your role?  
VS: As the clubs techincal director, my company and I are responsible for the technical development of the coaches and players.  We worked hard alongside Adrian to lay out a plan that was simple enough to execute and effective enough to put us on the right path.

BfF: What differences and similarities do you see with kids you normally encounter in Canadian youth clubs?  
VS: At the end of the day both parts of the world have their advantages and disadvantages.

 In Northern Uganda you have children that are fearless, super athletic and love to play football but lack any type of elite structured environment.  

In Canada you have an amazingly multicultural country with children that are eager, super athletic and passionate about football but they are drowned with overly structured environments from too young an age, often gaining bad habits that later become too difficult to be undone.  

At Gulu United players are housed in a full-time program offering both education and football.  We have recruited the region’s top young talent and we're developing them as top level footballers who are educated.

BfF: Were you afraid to go to a country with the reputation of Uganda?
VS: No, Adrian filled me in on what to expect so I was not worried.

BfF: How has this experience helped you develop as a coach? 
VS: I'd say the most developmental part of the journey up to now is how far it challenges your adaptability.  You face different scenarios on a daily basis that cannot be planned for, you have to be ready to change things and adapt on the spot.  

As the first full-time professional football academy in Uganda, we've worked hard to shift the culture and beliefs surrounding youth player development making discipline and hard work our two main focal points followed by a commitment to excellency.  

I look back and am so proud of how much progress we've made, there has been great support from everyone back home in Canada and our staff can't wait to reach our goals.