'Coaches need to
show more Courage '
by
Pelé
The
Daily Telegraph June 10, 2000
I ALWAYS
enjoy the European Championship - as much as I can enjoy
any tournament in which Brazil are not taking part.
Euro 96 was very dramatic but I do not want to see a
repeat of the penalties and golden-goal decider. I want
to see coaches encouraging players to show courage and to
score goals. The teams that catch my eye are the ones who
possess the attackers who can win matches.
In Group A, I have great respect for England. You can see
that the players always feel pride in their country's
tradition as the motherland of football.At the World Cup
in France, England had emerging young talent - there is
nothing much wrong when you can produce players such as
Michael Owen and Sol Campbell. And Steve McManaman is
back to his best.Four years ago, he was one of the
players who impressed me the most. His European Cup win
with Real Madrid is good for England because of the
confidence the other players will gain from him. Germany,
I am not as confident about. They do not have any young
players coming through.
Like all Brazilians, I have a special feeling for
Portugal but I worry that they have the same problem as
four years ago: no one who can score goals.Romania, a
little like Germany, are well organised and have good
morale but to win big matches you have to surprise your
opponents.Romania have been playing the same way with the
same players for 10 years.
Belgium can be the surprise in Group B. New coach Robert
Waseige is obviously in tune with the key players. To be
hosts is a very big bonus and Belgium are helped in that
their group is not so strong.Hakan Sukur may become a
star for Turkey but they need to believe in themselves
more. At Euro 96, they were happy just to be there.
Sweden must hope Henrik Larsson is fit. If I were the
coach, I would play him.You have 22 players. You can take
a risk with one. Coaches need to show more courage.
That is always Italy's problem.The team lose and everyone
says: "Sack the coach." So he prepares his team
not to lose, starving wonderful attacking players, like
Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi, of chances and
causing more boring, goalless draws. The fans don't like
that either, so why not take a risk? They are their own
worst enemies.
In Group C, Spain are the logical choice and I think they
can go a long way. They have a new coach, Jose Camacho,
who can bring the best out of their attackers. Spanish
football is the best in Europe right now.They had three
clubs in the semi-finals of the Champions League and
th'\t says a lot about the depth in quality. Of their
opponents, Slovenia's only top player is Zatko Zahovic
and Yugoslavia always seem weighed down by the pressure
of a tournament.Norway can go to the quarterfinals
because the players work hard for each other and in Tore
Andre Flo they have an underestimated centre-forward who
makes as many goals as he scores.
Group D is so strong. My worry about Holland is that they
do not appear able to win matches. That's bad for team
spirit and Dutch players are sometimes not the best
teammates. They have their own ideas about tactics and
selection. That's dangerous especially if Holland make a
slow start. If they come to their last group match
needing to beat France, then I will worry about them.
France have stuck with almost all the players who won the
World Cup. They still have Zinedine Zidane and, even more
importantly, players like Thierry Henry and Nicolas
Anelka have become serious goalscorers. Yes, I like
France. The Czech Republic and Denmark may lack a player
who can produce the moment of magic you need at this
highest level.
Pelé is a spokesperson for Eurocard-MasterCard, an
official sponsor of Euro 2000
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