Former Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard is using the
club’s pattern to establish the foundations of future success in Saudi
Arabia. He says Lionel Messi will win the best player award on Monday in
an interview with FIFA.com.
It’s been almost a year since you took over as Saudi Arabia coach. How has it been so far?
It hasn’t been easy, but we knew that from the
outset. I think that our last two matches have seen us break free of a
vicious circle of bad results, with a late win over Congo and a great
performance in holding Argentina to a draw. This means we can start
looking forward.
In a previous interview, you said there was a plan in
place for the future of Saudi football, and that it was based on youth.
How is it working out?
Like we wanted it to. Lots of people are putting in a
lot of hard work. We’ve got Spanish coaches who are working on a daily
basis and a lot of great stuff is being done with younger players,
starting at around age 12. It’s all excellent, but of course one
shouldn’t expect to see the benefits tomorrow. These players are only 10
or 12 years old and it will be another decade before the results come
through.
Saudi Arabia exited in the third round of Asian Zone
qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Has the squad’s
disappointment at missing out on a second successive edition of the
tournament subsided at all?
To be perfectly honest, I’ve no idea. We’ve recently
started placing more and more responsibility on the shoulders of younger
and less experienced players, like the team that faced Australia in the
last match of our qualifying campaign. We are trying to create a blend
of youth and experience, as I said before, and given the recent results
against Congo and Argentina (3-2 and 0-0 respectively) it looks like we
can create something new here.
Did the Netherland’s early exit from UEFA EURO 2012 surprise you and what is your take on their lack of form?
No-one expected it before the tournament, but during
the competition it became clear that all was not well with Dutch team.
This is football, and if you’re not in the right place at the right time
and you don’t perform well then things like this are going to happen.
That’s the beauty of the game. Unfortunately it happened to the
Netherlands this time, but it can happen to anyone.
You spent five years as coach of Barcelona. What are you memories of your time at the club?
Of course, five years is a long time. We went through
some tough times and some excellent ones, and it’s only natural to
dwell on the positives. I’m happy because I had the chance to work with a
major club like Barcelona with so many star players, so I have
wonderful memories of the place.
You managed to end a lengthy trophy drought at Barça. Would you say you laid the foundations for Barcelona’s recent domination?
Definitely not. I was just passing through. I had a
lot of success, of course, but whatever was achieved was due to a group
effort on the part of all the players. That said, I must have had a good
relationship with the players because otherwise I wouldn’t have won two
league titles and the Champions League.
Basically, I think it comes down to the fact that
Barcelona has for many years immersed its younger players coming through
the cantera in the club’s footballing philosophy, helping them create
their own football culture. The coach’s role is to acclimatise to this
way of playing. It was easy for me because I’m Dutch and I played at
Ajax, so once I felt comfortable at the club I had a wonderful time.
Barcelona are famous for their eye-catching style of play. If you were coaching a side against them, what tactics would you use?
There’s no magic bullet, but you have to adapt to
their style. Most of the clubs who have had success against Barcelona
have relied on a highly organised and disciplined defence. Inter Milan
and Chelsea have both sent Barcelona out of the Champions League and
then you have Real Madrid (who won La Liga in 2011/12). You could call
it the ‘Jose Mourinho recipe for success’, which he began while he was
at Chelsea. If you play Barcelona that way ten times, you might beat
them once, but it certainly doesn’t guarantee success.
You are one of a number of big names tasting coaching
in Asia, with Marcello Lippi in China PR and Diego Maradona’s time in
UAE. Are these personalities helping Asia close the talent gap on the
rest of the world?
They are not really helping because these are such
short-term projects. You have coaches from major footballing nations who
come to work for a year for massive wages, and then they turn it all
over to new coaches who have to start from scratch. This doesn’t help
football on the continent.
Next Monday the winner of the FIFA Ballon d’Or will be announced. Who do you think will take it?
I’m going for Lionel Messi, because I think he’s the
best player on the three-man final shortlist and he’s performed
brilliantly this year.
You have worked alongside Messi. What do you think of him as a man both on and off the pitch?
He’s an incredible person. Messi is not simply a
uniquely talented footballer. He’s also strong mentally, very bright and
exceptionally dedicated to his job. Personally speaking I enjoy
watching him play and I’m deeply proud of him and what he has achieved.
Quite simply, he’s the best.
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