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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by Karl[/i] [br]Not a whole lot wrong - Head coach Sebastiao Lazaroni sees growth in Jamaica's football Football Ian Burnett - Jamaica Observer Saturday, November 13, 2004 Though he believes the country still has some way to go to maximise its potential, Jamaica's head coach Sebastiao Lazaroni is pleased with the growth of Jamaica's football. Lazaroni, the technical director of the Brazilian national senior team that won the Copa America in 1989 but lost to fierce rivals Argentina in the second round of the 1990 World Cup Finals in Italy, gave the impression that Jamaica's football is comparable or even ahead of nations with similar levels of development and/or infrastructure. LAZARONI... I think we need to develop in attack more cool players "No, I don't see a whole lot of things wrong with your football," he told Sporting World in an interview this week. "I haven't seen many points not good. the players are happy (on) the field, they love football and they want to do well, which is important for success," added Lazaroni, who also coached the Reggae Boyz for three months, four years ago. However, the Brazilian, who has watched a number of games in the nation's top-flight league, the Wray and Nephew National Premier League, as well as the national Under-17 and Under-20 teams in Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualification rounds, noted that though the level of football at this time is reasonable, the administrators have no time to sit on their laurels. They need to always strive for better as the country continues its cycle of development, he said. Brazilians pride themselves on great technique and comfort on the ball, and it is no wonder the head coach readily appreciates the attempt by most Jamaican clubs to adopt this philosophy. "The teams are fairly good, they try to play more with the ball on the ground than before, not too (many) long passes, now they try to play with ball possession, movement, rotation.," he said. But there is one aspect that he would like to see addressed by all concerned - composure in front of goal. "I think we need to develop in attack more cool players," he said. "More calm players to score goals, because they create a lot of situations to score, but sometimes the players get hot-headed at the end instead of remaining cool to score." And as the nation's development cycle moves to the next phase, Lazaroni suggested that all the players in the football industry, the JFF, the confederations, the government, private companies should move more towards professionalism. "They have to continue to work, continue to give better conditions - good fields, better stadiums, full professional lives for the players, gymnasium, medical department, nutrition is important, regular medical check-ups - I think this is the way to go," he argued. Like his Brazilian predecessors Rene Simoes and Clovis de Oliveira and technical director Carl Brown, Lazaroni emphasised the importance of a properly equipped training centre for the further development of the national football programme. This, he said, would allow talented players, particularly youth players, to raise their levels. "I told the president (Crenston Boxhill) they have a good idea with the youth programme, what we need is a Training Centre with fields, dormitory, restaurant, medical department, swimming pool. this is the next step for Jamaica because the football development should never stop. The Reggae Boyz are forever, it doesn't matter if it is Fuller (Ricardo), Goodison (Ian), King (Marlon), Hue (Jermaine) or Ralph (Damani), I think new players are important," he said. He identified youth as crucial for the "present moment and for the future", and he praised the country's strong tradition in schoolboy football, as well as the efforts being made at the club level. "This is important," he said for the umpteenth time during the interview. "This is like you building one house and you need each stone to put at the right place to have a strong foundation for the family to move inside." Lazaroni also joined the call for corporate support for the youth teams, explaining that since he's been here he has seen tremendous improvement in the Under-20 squad, but argued that they need to be exposed more to international teams of various styles, which would continue to raise their standard. He voiced satisfaction that his inclusion of five Under-20 players in the senior Reggae Boyz squad for a recent friendly international against Guatemala in Fort Lauderdale was no mistake. He said that while some of them were still some way off first team standard, that opportunity would have given them confidence for the future. Lazaroni explained that Jamaicans should understand that it will take time for nations like Jamaica to attain the level of world powers such as Brazil and Argentina. "It is a different school of football between Jamaica and countries like Brazil and Argentina," he said. "These countries have rich football traditions for many, many years. it starts when a boy is born; he gets one ball and he tries to enjoy that ball even before he can walk. Now in Jamaica I am seeing that. The people now know that the football can give to their families good lives when players go outside to the big clubs. This is important for the nation and it encourages more participation from the youth, which is a basis for strong players in the future," said Lazaroni. [/quote]   Check here to include your profile signature.