In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Portuguese coach Joao Nuno Fonseca compares football to an orchestra, explains why TV commercials offer a lesson in coaching, and discusses the coaches who are changing the game. Hologram mannequins could be next...
Tuesday 13 June 2023 17:23, UK
How does a coach add to his repertoire? Joao Nuno Fonseca is watching football but he is learning languages too. He has four. Two more on the way. "I am learning Italian and trying to find a way to speak German," he tells Sky Sports.
What is really striking is that the Portuguese, a coach in Benfica's famed academy before working as first-team assistant at Stade Reims in France's top division, is looking beyond sport in an effort to better understand what is required from a leader.
He even met with the director of a musical orchestra.
"The example of the orchestra is massive because the synchronisation that they need to have, it is something we can try to adapt to football. How you deal with egos. How you try to push people to play well. It is unbelievable. Football is the same."
He sees parallels in television commercials too with the need to transmit information quickly. "You look at TikTok with the kids," he explains. "They have two seconds to see the videos." There are lessons there in the importance of clarity and speed.
"They need to be short and sharp to get the attention of the public. We need to be the same as coaches otherwise players will start to look for an insect in the room. The attention is lost. So it is crucial to be precise with the information that you give.
"I like the analogy of society. Everything is so fast now. You need fast internet or you cannot see the video properly. In football, I am predicting that the game is going to become more and more fast, the emphasis on players who are capable of thinking quickly."
Quicker minds means quicker passing. "A better understanding of the game will bring more speed," he adds. "Quick football will continue to be the future." He believes the direction of travel is already being influenced by Pep Guardiola and Roberto De Zerbi.
"What we are seeing at Brighton, with Ederson at Manchester City, it is creating a trend in football because 10 years ago you did not see teams playing this football. Roberto De Zerbi is producing something that is maybe unique in terms of the build-up play.
"By attracting the opponent far from their goal, this creates spaces. When you try to press a team, this leaves half of the pitch. Imagine if you conquer the space in between? These are really important developments. It is an evolution, especially in England."
Fonseca recalls a time when teams in England were "only kicking long balls" and playing for the knockdowns. "To win second balls is a lottery." Now, he sees a dramatic shift in style. "The best teams play with 11, they do not play only with 10," he explains.
"Teams forgot they had the goalkeeper. I really believe in their involvement in the offensive process. They can be the player to communicate with the defensive line. But mainly we cannot forget that the goalkeeper plays with the feet as well as the hands.
"I think it is one of the biggest evolutions that has happened in football over the years and it is happening not only in England but around the world. Look at Al Sadd in Qatar. If you were to watch the matches of Niigata in Japan, it is amazing. It is an evolution.
"There are trends in football. It is like fashion. If someone wears a certain shoe, it becomes popular. But this is something very interesting." What will be the next trend? He anticipates greater fluidity of movement, positional flexibility, often within games.
Fonseca was the coach of Goncalo Ramos at Benfica when he scored two goals in the final of the UEFA Youth League in 2020. "Goncalo is a good example because some games he played in midfield as a No 8 or No 10 but he would finish playing as a No 9," he says.
"He was very good at reading spaces but when he reached the box he was unbelievable and it was difficult for the opponent to deal with these changes during the game. I believe we will see players going from the wing to midfield to striker even within games."
Technology is changing the game too. "I predict that in the next 10 years, because the technology is also capable of making a massive leap forward, holograms on the training pitch will be something that will become common in the future," adds Fonseca.
"Instead of static mannequins on the football pitch, imagine that you had the opportunity to use ones that were moving. Adapting to this, the technology in training, might produce certain ways to prepare for the match. We need to be ready to deal with this."
A faster game played by smarter players operating in more fluid systems aided by a level of technology beyond current comprehension. The demands on this next generation of coaches will be huge. The hard thing will be not losing sight of what matters.
"We are dealing with people who might have problems in their own lives. You might have children having problems at school or with health problems. We need to be sensitive to this as coaches. We cannot lose the real essence of us as human beings."
