KOLKATA: Tactics and philosophy are words you often come across in football. Whether it’s Pep Guardiola’s possession-based football or Antonio Conte’s high pressing style, it is always about players trying to adapt to different ideologies.
Many world class stars across the globe have been snubbed or benched just because they are not willing to change their style of play or not settling into the coach’s system. Manchester United’s Juan Mata is a classic example. Jose Mourinho sold him to United while he was at Chelsea saying that he does not have the desire and work rate of his teammates. But when Jose joined United, the same player was starting game after game, at least for a brief period of time. More often than not, it is the players who have to adapt.
Sometimes, the coach or the team will not have the best players in their squad. In such a situation, instead of stressing on a particular style, it makes sense for the coach to adapt to the players.
Joao de Deus who is currently managing NorthEast United FC agrees. “It’s like going to a restaurant in a new country. When I came here, I started to eat Indian food like dal and rice. At first, it was not easy on my stomach. But you slowly get used to it. If you try and adapt yourself, things will fall into place. If you know what suits you and what doesn’t, then it’s easy to make decisions. It’s the same for football. And I think to be a good coach, you need the capacity to adapt yourself to the surroundings,” Deus said.
Deus is doing exactly that. He visited NorthEast United’s junior teams in Shillong and is taking time to know the culture of people in the north-east. With ISL making it mandatory to have six Indian players in the starting eleven, it makes perfect sense.
“The most important part of my team are the local players. I cannot just come here and try to implement my ideas because some of them, and not just the Indians, do not have the characteristics to play that way. I do have my own ideas and philosophy. But hey, first I need to understand the capacity of my players. So we must adapt also to the qualities of the players and the league and then try to make them understand what I want them to do. That is the main point. If you do that, you will have a strong team and that is what I am trying to do here,” he concluded.