Carlos Alberto Parreira leaves nothing to chance

Harnessing technique, strengthening self-belief, feeding the passion and sharpening the blade is Carlos Alberto Parreira’s formula to unlock the defences of Uruguay, France and Mexico; and to catapult Bafana Bafana into the second round in the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup on South African soil.

It will not be easy. Yet, if anyone possesses the pedigree and knowledge to deliver in the World Cup, it is Parreira, coach of the South African soccer team. Parreira was the fitness coach of Brazil when, with Pelé as its talisman and leader, the team won the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1970, subsequently known as the World Cup.

He repeated the performance in 1994 as head coach of the national team when Brazil overcame spirited resistance by Italy to win the Cup.

A tidal wave of expectations

If anyone might have been in danger of being overwhelmed by a tidal wave of expectations in 1994,  it was Parreira.

The Brazilians bore 24 years of pressure because of the failure to win another Cup.

Parreira ran a campaign with the slogan, “maximum efficiency, zero error”.

“We knew we’d paid heavily for mistakes in the previous six World Cups. So we knew if we were to go all the way, there would be no room for mistakes,” he said.

Managing expectations from soccer-crazy Bafana Bafana fans represents a different challenge altogether, and a daunting one. Parreira is unfazed by it, and gave a frank assessment of the task at hand. “I said at the final draw that the group is like climbing Everest. It takes good preparation, both mentally and physically to summit Everest.”

“It is the same with South Africa in this World Cup as a host nation – we need good preparation and we can’t afford to take shortcuts.”

Bafana’s first assignment at the World Cup is taking on Mexico on 11 June in Johannesburg’s Soccer City.

Five days on, the South Africans face two-time champion Uruguay in Pretoria. On 22 June, the mighty French, winners of the 1998 tournament, await in Bafana’s final group match.

One of the greatest assets of Parreira is that he leaves nothing to chance.

The physical demands

After the training camp in Brazil, Parreira said the one positive about the visit was that the team identified a style of playing. They have a shape and the players know what is required of them.

“But the physical fitness should be much higher than where it is now,” he told Leadership.

“If we want to progress further in the World Cup, we must be physically and mentally strong.”

Perhaps the team does not understand the consequence of those words. There will not be another Camp Staaldraad, but do not expect any cotton wool or pussyfooting from
Parreira either.

He acknowledged to Leadership that in preparation for the World Cup in 1970 as the fitness coach of Brazil, the team had to work out hard in Mexico to acclimatise to the overwhelming heat of that country.

And by training in Mexico, the team improved their pace and physical fitness considerably. In Brazil, they ran 2 750 metres in 12 minutes. In Mexico, they ultimately ran 2 950m in a matter of nine minutes.

Parreira did the training and the preparation to ensure the Brazilians were ready and fit physically for the Cup. And they were…

He said that part of Mission Brazil was to improve the fitness level and get it up to World Cup standards.

“We played Brazil teams who helped us in our mission to get our team where we wanted it to be. We trained a lot, travelled a lot and played almost everywhere – and that is good for mental strength,” said Parreira.

“Germany is the continuation of what we did here in Brazil. We have organised three games there, but we will first start with intensive training like we did when we got to Granja Comary in Teresópolis.”

While in Germany, one of the friendly games there would be against China, a match that would ask questions of the intensity of Bafana.

He applauds the fighting spirit, speed and acceleration of the Chinese, which will challenge the South African team’s defensive capabilities.

Possession and finishing

Parreira has spearheaded four international teams at World Cups, and one of the greatest improvements he has seen in the game over the past 40 years is in its (greater) pace, as well as the physical demands thereof.

Fighting for the ball is now key, he says.

In order to keep up with the ever changing developments in football and sport, Parreira convened technical seminars in Brazil, similar to the one that was attended recently by Pitso Mosimane, Serame Letsoaka and Simon Ngomane. He invited experts from around the world to lead discussions in the field of sports medicine, coaching methods, administration and psychology.

Returning to ‘fighting for the ball’, or possession, Parreira said Bafana Bafana needs to improve the quality of possession – a problem he has witnessed at Premier Soccer League level. “We need to improve our ability to keep possession.”

He referred to the recent match between Arsenal and Barcelona in which the wizard Lionel Messi mesmerised Arsenal with his silky skills.

“The way Barcelona kept the possession was unbelievable. They were passing the ball around – ball to goalkeeper, to defender, back to goalkeeper and to midfielder, and boom – one pass forward and it is a goal. They made over 500 passes in that match.” (Additional source: Sunday Independent, 11 April)

Possession per se is not enough, for the team will have to turn defence into attack quicker as well as develop a quality of opening up space and creating scoring opportunities.

Where is South Africa’s Messi?

Parreira has lamented South Africa’s lack of top-class strikers. “National team coaches are not responsible for making strikers. I didn’t make Romário and Bebeto. We found them, and we used them.

The quality of football in South Africa is not good much of the time.”

But asked by Leadership if this constituted a crisis that could accelerate South Africa’s first-round demise in the Fifa World Cup, Parreira said: “If we have good team preparations, self-belief and, most importantly, the support of the nation, we can go far in the tournament.

“We are beginning to play well as a unit on and off the ball, and we do have skilful players who can unlock tight defences.”

Strength in technique

In training, Parreira has focused on possession and quick passes, in the hope that he could hone the skills of the strikers to make the vital breakthroughs against Uruguay, Mexico and France.

In brief, he is working extremely hard on sharpening the blade...

He said: “Our strength is technique. We have many technically gifted players, and our training methodology is aimed at assisting the players to maximise their strength.

“South African players don’t have the ability to beat opponents by physical strength, so we have to do it with technique.”

Overseas players

South Africa starts a camp at home early in May after its training camp in Germany. The training squad at home will be joined by the overseas-based players for the camp in May, and will be a vast improvement.

Parreira said these players will bring experience to the squad and will enhance the level of performance, as they did in the Confederations Cup in 2009 in which Bafana Bafana was the beaten semifinalist.

Yet, Parreira is ambivalent about the overseas players. It is not so much their quality that disturbs him, but their lack of game time for the English Premier League and other clubs.

“Players who don’t get enough game time are negatively affected. They lose match fitness,” he said.

Stars such as Bernard Parker, Benni McCarthy and Kagiso Dikgacoi often found themselves on the bench, which reduced their fitness levels and frustrated the Brazilian coach.

In general, Parreira applauds the migration of international footballers, which adds different dimensions to the game and strengthens certain leagues. Yet, he said, “South Africa’s league should reduce the number of foreign players for the benefit of Bafana Bafana.”

Team spirit

Parreira treasures a good team spirit. In 1994, one of Brazil’s toughest assignments in winning the World Cup came against an American team of little special talent but enormous cohesion.

It might not have had much of a pedigree on the world football stage, but it was an extremely well-drilled unit.

The team had spent four years training together and was more like a club team than a national side.

It was very well coached and prepared.

Brazil won in spite of having a player sent off, but the team spirit of the USA was something that impressed Parreira.

He seeks something similar from Bafana Bafana, he told Leadership. His philosophy of a possible World Cup-winning team is based on that cohesion.

“We must be one solid family unit, we must play with passion and pride, and we must have a burning desire to succeed, to climb Mount Everest. But we cannot do this alone. We need the entire nation to be behind us,” he said.

With about 1.3 million tickets having been sold by 11 April, Parreira would be delighted about the amount of home support, for a mere 300 000 of those tickets have been purchased by European, American and Asian followers of the Beautiful Game.

Motivation

There will not be a lack of pride, says the coach.

South Africa had a history of isolation from international sport due to apartheid.

He sees this World Cup as a unique opportunity for players who are selected in the final squad to represent their country on home soil.

“South Africa’s achievement to host the Fifa World Cup in over 100 years of Fifa’s existence must be a good enough motivation for the players to represent their country with pride.

“Our task is to adequately prepare the team mentally and physically, and the rest is up to the players to finish the journey,” added Parreira.

O captain, my captain

The tough defender of Portsmouth, Aaron Mokoena is destined to captain South Africa during the World Cup.

Asked about his role, Parreira was tight-lipped and philosophical. “The captain’s role is important, but first things first, the captain has to play well, and the rest will follow. His good performances normally inspire the team and it makes it easier for other players to follow”.

Mokoena’s recent tackle on the talented South African in the Everton team, Steven Pienaar, is still reminisced about in South Africa. Bafana Bafana will need the same tough, uncompromising, relentless and passionate approach during the World Cup to proceed to the second round.

Fortunately, the team has a coach on board who has done it before, a man with an intimate first-hand knowledge of Everest...

Fanie Heyns