It
would take South Africa probably 40 years to win the World Cup. This is the
view of Simon Clifford, founder of the Brazilian Soccer Schools, which has
recently established a franchise in South Africa. The former school teacher,
who has become a football development guru, is in the country and took time to
have a chat with MaximalFootball.com.
“You
people in South Africa want South Africa to do well in world football,” said
Clifford. “Could you win the World Cup? Definitely! But will you? Not! I think
it would take about 40 years for things to be restructured better.”
Clifford
journeyed to Brazil some 14 years ago to uncover the secrets behind that
country’s unrivalled footballing prowess. There he spoke with legends of the
game such as Pele, Zico, Rivelino and Socrates and also developed a close
friendship with Brazilian and Middlesbrough midfielder Juninho.
In
1998 Clifford started a Brazilian-style soccer school for youngsters in Leeds.
His philosophy was to concentrate on improving ball skills and close control
and an even greater emphasis on fitness and physical strength. He also
introduced his students to futebol de salao, the original version of
five-a-side football that is played with a small size-two ball that has limited
bounce, and the version of the game that virtually all Brazilian superstars
grew up playing.
Following
the World Cup, BSS noted a glaring gap in local football development; the need
for sustainable, grassroots development programmes to maximise the natural
skills of South African youngsters in all communities.
“There
was a lot of talk going into the World Cup about doing this and that for SA
football, but after the World Cup is gone I don’t think there’s anything good
that has come out of it for SA football,” observed Clifford. “What I have
noticed is that there is a lot of talent in this country. I wouldn’t even start
talking about the system the country needs to follow right now. What I can tell
you is that you just need a system because at the moment you don’t have a
system in this country. With some system that people are going to follow; give
them good pitches, good Youth Coaches, etc. SA football can benefit a lot.”
Nick
Aresti, Director of the Brazilian Soccer School’s South African franchise,
concurs: “I believe we have to commit 10 to 15 years of meaningful work to
soccer development. Anything else to me is irrelevant. With 15 year-olds and
above, I don’t think we’ve got chance. I do think we have all the right
ingredients to succeed as a country, but need to get our development programmes
in order.”
According
to Clifford, “Financially, football is resourced more than any sport in the
world, but intellectually it is the most impoverished. I think on the coaching
side, football is impoverished.”
Clifford’s
work also received recognition from some of the World’s greatest football
people including Pele. “I developed my skills playing Futebol de Salão in my
home town of Bauru. I explained to Simon that the true and total beauty of
football is only seen in the ingenuity, inventiveness, instinct and skill of
the players, both individually and as a team. This can only be seen in an
attacking style of football, when the ball is always under control. A long kick
the length of the field, hoping a team-mate will first reach the ball or head
it into the net can hardly be called artistic.”
MaximalFootball.com will at a later
stage publish a full in-depth interview with Clifford.
By Editor
Email: editor@maximalfootball.com
Story: http://goo.gl/q3Of9
